KIELDER will host one of the UK’s leading mountain biking conferences next month.

With Kielder Water and Forest Park one of the country’s fastest growing mountain biking destinations, it will welcome speakers and delegates from the influential UK Mountain Bike Conference over three days from October 15.

While in Kielder, the conference will explain the benefits of cycling on people’s health, the environment and the rural economy.

The event will also mark the official launch of OpenMTB, a new online service which offers mountain bikers the opportunity to download maps of bike trails across the world provided by fellow riders.

It will be the first time the conference has been held in Kielder since 2006.

Writer and mountain biking expert Tom Hutton, who is speaking at the event, said: “I’m really looking forward to the conference at Kielder.

“It’s a breath of fresh air to see mountain biking coming out into the open and discussing the opportunities the sport presents and the problems it faces.”

The Forestry Commission’s recreation and public affairs manager for the North-East, Alex MacLennan, said: “We are very excited to be hosting the UK Mountain Bike Conference at Kielder again for a number of reasons.

“Mountain biking is now a key contributor to the local rural economy and we have invested heavily, with the help of the local community and volunteers across the North-East, to make our biking offer one of the best regions now in the UK.

“We also see this conference as our opportunity to contribute to the future evolution of mountain biking and its contribution to both rural economies and the health and well-being of our visitors.”