Hadleigh Farm
Hadleigh Farm is a farm outside Hadleigh, Essex at (TQ810860). It was developed as an educational working farm from 1891 and was catapulted to national prominence in 2012 as the venue for the mountain biking competition in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and 2012 Paralympic Games.
Site
Hadleigh Farm is owned by The Salvation Army and run as an educational working farm. It features a rare breeds centre and tea room for visitors. The 700-acre farm was purchased in 1891 by William Booth ("General Booth") as part of a plan to rescue the destitute from the squalor of London.
Hadleigh Farm overlooks the Thames Estuary to the south and adjoins Hadleigh Castle, built in the 1230s during the reign of King Henry III, and one of the most important late-mediæval castles in Essex, now preserved by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. A portion of the mountain bike course crosses the adjacent Hadleigh Country Park, owned and managed by Essex County Council and a Site of Special Scientific Interest with special regard for invertebrates.[1]
2012 Olympics
Hadleigh Farm was confirmed in 2008 as the venue for the mountain biking competition in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.[2][3] The original proposed venue at Weald Country Park had been deemed insufficiently challenging by the Union Cycliste Internationale, who were described as being delighted with Hadleigh.[4]
For the duration of the Olympic Games, temporary grandstands holding 3,000 people were be erected.[5]
It is as yet unknown what legacy will be left for mountain biking after the event.[6] Hadleigh Farm is included within the "Essex Legacy" plans for regeneration in Essex.[7]
Outside links
- London 2012 venues: Hadleigh Farm
- Salvation Army - Hadleigh Farm website
- Hadleigh Country Park website
- London 2012: "London 2012 Olympic Mountain Bike venue gets into gear"
References
- ↑ "Hadleigh Country Park official website". http://www.hadleighcountrypark.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
- ↑ Essex venue to host 2012 biking BBC Sport; 11-08-08; 03-12-08
- ↑ London2012.com profile. - accessed 29 September 2010.
- ↑ New mountain biking venue in Essex confirmed for the London 2012 Games Cole, Matthew; bikeradar.com; 11-08-08; Accessed 03-12-08
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Hadleigh Farm London2012.com; Accessed 03-12-08
- ↑ Essex Legacy