The balance between sharing locations and ruining trails.

No response yet but I think this is because it's difficult to judge from afar, not because you posted something unimportant.

My take is: Being local you and the guys who have put so much work in so far are best placed to judge this one.
I wonder if a group of you who are local could get enough support together to overcome the wear and chavs, so the place reaches critical mass and then thrives.

I take my hat off to the two chaps who have put their work in so far.

Difficult one really, I'd be tempted to keep it fairly quiet but in reality if mentioned on here there are only one or two of us who may go (myself included) but put it on cannock chase ftd FB page and it will be lost to over use i reckon.

Can i ride to it from Wombourne?

While I'm writing, I was walking over Kinver Edge yesterday with the dog, have you ever been there on the mtb, i reckon there is twice as much to do there as Baggeridge easily?

My own take on this is that if it's on private land without the landowners permission ..best to say nowt as making it well known to others will only result in its closure.
A good few years back now I found a change of status on a track from footpath to bridleway ..which transformed what could be ridden legally and a fantastic loop could be formed ..the only evidence of this was on the ground in that the finger posts had been changed ( I still don't think years later that it's status had changed on O.S.maps)
I invited Tom Hutton up from MBR and the route got published in the magazine ..I got a brief moment of fame in terms of a minuscule name check .
It has since been published in the route guide ...Beyond Hamsterley..the route itself is Bolts Law ..and it has become a very well used route,
It in some respects it has become a double edged sword for me ...in one sense I am pleased to have brought a fantastic ride to the attention of the mtb community ..tinged with a little bit of sadness that the trail is becoming ever wider due to the amount of use it gets.
However if it hadn't been me then someone else would have eventually " discovered " it ....
Without knowing the full facts behind your discovery ..it's very much your call ..but once it gets "known " things will never be the same ...

I'm with Marsbarman on this.

Keep it to yourself, you found it through exploration and so should others. On Cannock Chase, I was shown a few trails and now I know of at least 25 others which I found (granted, it's not difficult) myself. I consider these little trails as reward for the exploration. Some are obviously maintained by someone and I'll always hop off my bike and do a bit of maintenance (as i'm sure others do) where I see it necessary. As I've found out myself, you share the trails with friends, they'll share with their friends and they share with their friends... Soon a quiet, little used trail is ruined by people who don't ride it properly and have no intention of ever even attempting to maintain what they just ruined.

Dig to ride, as it were..

Keep it off Strava too IMO

I'll upload footage later, It's not going to be identifiable as it's all under cover but at least you will see my conundrum.

I agree with Marsbarman and irideabike though, It just feels wrong to have it all to myself!

It's not wrong at all, mate..

You found it by getting off the beaten track and having an explore.. Let others do the same!

I'm not saying all trails should be a secret and I will always share certain finds with friends and the people I ride with but, the obviously maintained trails, I keep to myself.

Not because I'm selfish or want the trail to myself but because I know that 99% of the people I ride with wouldn't get their hands dirty to do a share of maintaining!

If you ride it, you fix it IMO..

Imagine just how good FtD and the Monkey would be if every person who rode them helped to maintain them! 

Bloody hell Bob, narrow it down a bit - this is Wolverhampton we are talking about here.

I personally think that everyone who rides at a trail centre should be made to take part in at least one trail build a year ..at the centre local to them .
The few people who maintain these trails are all unpaid volunteers ..and riders ..just think what they would be like without them ..not too much to ask really is it?
I don't know how you could enforce this ..but there is too much of an " I can't be arsed doing that " attitude existing out there at the moment ..and those people with that attitude will be the first to complain when the trails are totally shagged !
They don't build themselves people .....

You volunteer with Chase Trails?

When you going next? If I'm off, I'll join you..

Only done two this year..

There's trails around Fort William that are hidden but most people know about. Then there's the "Secret Trails" you have to really know where to look where to find them. They are near Nevis range but far enough away that people wouldn't really be looking there and stumble across them.

I tell some people about some trails and act dumb for the Secret Trails. The secret ones are actually ridiculous though it's like a hidden Mecca inside a forest much like what you have described. Don't get much use in the winter due to potential of ruining them.

However in Nevis Range it self there are loads of little trails that I would happily tell anyone where to go and look as I think these are great for visitors to see and are pretty obvious anyway and gives them extra riding that they wouldn't have had if they stuck to mapped trails.

I have been told of a large hollow close by that has some real steep. Downhill bits but I have never found it might be worth a explore 

Hard to believe thats all in Wolverhampton eh, fifth worst city in the world my ars..