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Bomb hills, not people.... Terrorism hits freeride mecca in SE UK If you go down to the woods in 2006, you're sure of a big surprise: riding straight into global politics, extremist-religion and a 'War on Terror'! What would you do? Since the London bombings on July 7th 2005, our cosy cup of tea Nation has been affected. That day brought home to us all the realities of living in the UK ( or indeed ´The West´ ) in the 21st century. Our most senior criminal prosecutor stated that the religious extremists ( "criminals"! ) responsible for the bombings ( "acts of terror"! ) want countries such as Britain "to abandon our values". Well, our values have been challenged, but we certainly aren´t abandoning them. Our way of life has largely remained unaffected; it is a worldwide problem, in our media constantly, but we carry on at school or work, in our social lives and in our free time. In our playtime. In response to the bus and tube bombs and increased threat of more, in October 2005 the government rushed through the controversial ´Terrorism Act´. It was opposed by those who felt that it is an undue imposition on civil liberties, but proved vital in August 2006, when authorities scuppered another transatlantic-aircraft terrorist plot. Thankfully, another 9/11 was averted at the last minute. Police swooped, airports closed. Raids were made in East London, Birmingham and, half-hour from London - High Wycombe; my home town and mountain boarding playground. Wycombe is in the Wye Valley within the Chiltern Hills, so many of our parks, beech woods and even golf courses are on big slopes. A friend who comes over to freeride described it once as "a Mountainboard Mecca". The irony is delicious. Five arrests were made from three different houses (in the Totteridge and Micklefield areas of the town) which back onto the same ´island´ of woodland; Kings wood. This beautiful beech wood is a magical place. To ride here enriches the soul. It holds ancient woodland status, and historically was saved from tree felling in 1922 when it was bought by Chepping Wycombe parish council for the local people. I´m lucky enough to have had it as my playground since my folks moved up the road in 1982. At the time, me and me mates were bmxing, but for the last five years it has been our mountainboard haven. The winding footpath through Yaffle glade. Mellow Breakheart Hill, the mummy and daddy: two of the longest craziest runs in the woods, and a labyrinth of dirt, chalk and flint tracks. Dropping in at ´Big Ben´ aka ´Cycle city´ aka ´The Bomb hole´: an old chalk quarry pit you can even see on Google Earth. It´s a great bowl, heavily banked on one side, that riders can session for ages, or use as a feature within part of a much longer run ( when it´s dry ). All this and much more. Loads of great features in 186 gorgeous undulating acres. Interestingly, the range of features in the wood reads like a history of human usage: old saw pits and coppice stools (local furniture industry), trenches (military training), excavations (quarrying) and a network of paths and earth bank boundaries (recreation and conservation). And now this. Terrorist training ground! With hindsight, The Kings wood ´bomb hole´ seems an apt nickname. I was to see the google earth-type-view of Kings wood on the telly, on the BBC news on August 10th 2006, as a police helicopter circled above it. On holiday in Bournemouth at the time, we had turned on the tv that day to see it all going off back home. The foiled terror plot! To our surprise, terrorists were being arrested in Wycombe, a three mile ´no flight zone´ was issued over the town, houses were evacuated and crime-scene Kings wood was shut off, as sacks of ´unidentifed materials´ were retrieved by swarms of police. Jaws dropped. Returning home was like entering CSI. Riot vans everywhere, entrances to the woods cordoned off, the various car parks turned into cop camps with pavilions, portaloos and plod plod plod. Centre of ´Operation Overt´ was in Totteridge, along from and in the local pub, near the bomb hole. ( slightly comedy, non? ) A full search of the woods had to take place, but of course I was keen to get back in to rip up the daddy and blow-up in the bomb hole ( sic ) after being on holiday. Kings wood was shut entirely for a few days, then to be reopened in parts. As soon as we were allowed, back in we went. The normally empty car park was a hive of police activity. The tranquil, intimate paths and glades felt violated by the old bill and why they were there. This is a place where dog-walkers leave Christmas cards to each other on a tree, and kids still make rope-swings in the dips. These places and more were out of reach behind blue & white do-not-cross police barriers. An Officer was posted every 30ft around the perimeter, and the inside scoured for explosives and general bomb-making materials. Riding was eerie, but fun; I still managed to carve up some coppers and scare the hell out of bored bobbies with abrupt appearances and sudden slides. They were all friendly as you´d imagine and I think only one asked if I´d built that skateboard-thing myself. They wanted to know if we´d seen anything dodgy (only chavs on crossers) and told us they´d be there for months, with more police on the way, and could they watch me drop in?! We all agreed that it was pretty crazy, but needed to be done (both the search and the drop). Over the next couple of weeks the local press kept us up to date with findings. There were rumours about explosives and detonators turning up. Inspector Gration and Sergeant Taylor stated " With all the police about, the woods are probably safer now than they ever have been. You should take this chance to enjoy the woods" "If there is a risk to public safety we would let you know. If you meet a man in a yellow jacket telling you not to go any further, just go a different way." (source ; Bucks Free Press, 29/08/06, Headline: ´Don´t be scared to visit terror search woodland´). And go a different way we did, inadvertently finding some nice new spots in the process, thankyou very much. The operation then split up because some kids bmxing in nearby Fennels wood, which backs onto the M40, had found something. They had prodded (with sticks) what they thought were some discarded bottles of water, but turned out to be liquid explosives. The old bill, forensic officers and explosive experts were there immediately and a lane of the motorway was closed as a precaution. A week later and Sunters Wood in Booker was locked-down too, due to more materials and evidence of weapons testing being found. They had closed off another quality mountainboard riding spot and the roads surrounding it. Why do these terrorists use the hilly woods??! Time rolled by, weekend riding continued, and in the wider media the thwarted attack was old news. For me, five months of sharing Kings wood with the Police had passed before they officially cleared out. Horses, vehicles, marquees, and all their police stuff really took their toll on the environment. The search had churned up undergrowth and shed-loads of litter, but, maybe more importantly, cost in excess of £5.2 million. It´s a price tag on our safety. 5.2. Million. Pounds. There was no extra police cover in Bucks County for 4 months because they were all in Wycombe woodland. Hundreds of ´em. Out of interest, the force had record resignations this year. They did a good job, but next year will no doubt have huge budget cuts as a result. Also, The murder rate doubled in the town in six months. Related? And won´t somebody please think of the badgers and interesting flora, fauna and fungi??? So what does all this, the ´politics´, matter to a mountainboarder anyway? Shredding the gnar, beasting some jumps, occasional snacking. Why should you care? You should care because you love what you do. We love our way of life and we love life, and that´s why we face our own mortality head on every time we drop-in. Care, because if you don´t - who will? Someone else? Questions always abound but there are never any definate answers, you just keep on going, doing what you do. Riding, snacking, working, playing. But it does affect ( to get all Team America on your ass ) your freedom. It affected mine! We are lucky enough to have Freedom as a right for all of us in Western cultures. Do we take it for granted? Do you? And is freeriding the right of all of us lucky enough to have found mountain boarding? Yes. Is that ´religious extremism´? No, but it is a way of life. My temple of worship, Kings wood, is now back to it´s old self, if not a little bruised, with it´s tail between it´s legs. My lifelong respect for the place makes me feel a bit sorry for it, having had it´s dignity taken away by the baddies. It´s almost back to it´s old self now. In fact, a lot of the tracks are now even better fun to ride having been widened by police traffic, and other areas have been coppiced and cleared of scrub. It seems a bit brighter, and it´s still a magical place to spend the day with your board, smiling. They say it´s all clear, but you can´t help thinking ( as you ride ), that there could still be something in here. The items allegedly found included hate tapes, weapons, detonators and explosives. That means next time I go to litter-pick a plastic bottle or carrier bag, I´ll think twice, because it might explode. Bomb hills, not people?? Real life can be pretty negative, but then in contrast bring out great positivity. The ´Friends of Kings wood´ committee´s recent ´fungi walk´ was apparently a great success. And the dog-walkers came back, and so did the chavs on their crossers. You see? I´m not the only local who isn´t afraid of the woods. The company who manage the wood for the council, Tilhill Forestry Ltd, have been doing excellent work here for years and have a comprehensive 20 year plan. They say "there is a careful balance to be struck between recreation and nature conservation" and I couldn't agree more. I cherish my right to play in the woods like I did when I was a kid, and treat it with reverence. You should, too. This is war, people, and in modern times of war we are encouraged to get on with our lives in the face of adversity. You have a moral obligation to go and free ride. Go. Your Country needs you. More: words by Dan Wilson |
