Happy Trails can be found at Swinley Forest and Queen Elizabeth Country Park.  These are our nearest trail centres in Berkshire and Hampshire respectively.

Yesterday’s trip to the QECP was partly business and partly pleasure as I helped improve their map display.  They were one of our first customers, so they got our original packaging concept.  It incorporates a lovely little ethically sourced natural cotton draw string bag. 

A super give away.  The idea was that the bag could be useful for any nick-nacks on your journey.  Great idea for customers.  Naff idea for retail.  The natural cotton tends to make the branding disappear and it’s tough to identify that we’re selling maps when you’re hidden inside a bag.  So our latest packaging works so much better for shifting product, but these bags  are very collectable, quite unique and now they only exist at the QECP or the New Forest Visitor centre in Lyndhurst. Get ’em while you can!

Picnicking on the trail and on the maps

“Slippy today isn’t it” was the key phrase from every passing MTBer in the QECP yesterday as Mrs SplashMaps and I traversed the Red runs.  Yes, lots of them passed us (and we passed a few!).  Indeed, though there’d been no rain for a few days, there was still a lot of choddy mud around which left you a little short of confidence on the swooping turns.

At the top of the 16th at Swinley Forest

By contrast the Swinley route today was dry as a bone.  Beautifully prepared tracks shrugged off the water and eliminated mud from the trail.  Okay, you may like the challenge of the slip, but I prefer the sheer enjoyment of those interconnected banked tracks and perhaps the sense of paternal pride as my 8 year old managed to climb the whole of the 16th section of the blue in one go.

Great also to meet Tristan from the Swinley Hub.  Clearly this is a great venture of his.  Get there for your maps, your spares, decent hire bikes and your advice before you set off.