A brand new online database of 24,000 publicly accessible woods across the UK has been created by the Woodland Trust.

Clear symbols will indicate cycle friendly woods on the VisitWoods website, which has been made possible with a £1.2 million grant from Natural England through its Access to Nature programme.

“They will no longer have to scour an out of date map of the local area, but simply type into their computer where they live and let the VisitWoods website find all of the woods near to them,” says Dave Bloor, from the Woodland Trust’s corporate partnerships team.

Despite the funding, which has enabled the Trust to recruit a specialist team tasked with creating the website by Autumn this year, they’re seeking sponsorship from companies in the cycling industry.

“There is a great natural fit between VisitWoods and companies which cater for the cycling industry,” added Dave Bloor, “because this service will help cycling enthusiasts find new, exciting and appropriate places to ride their bikes.”

More at www.woodlandtrust.org.uk