Hadleigh Farm
Encyclopedia
Mountain bike racing
The Union Cycliste Internationale recognised the sport of mountain bike racing relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Purgatory, Colorado. The first mountain biking world cup series took place in 1991. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North...
competition in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and 2012 Paralympic Games and is located at Hadleigh
Hadleigh, Essex
Hadleigh is a town in southeast Essex, England, on the A13 between Benfleet and Leigh-on-Sea with a population of about 18,300.-History:Hadleigh is known for its castle, and the country park that surrounds it. The castle has been a romantic ruin for a few hundred years, but parts of two towers are...
within the borough of Castle Point
Castle Point
Castle Point is a local government district and borough in south Essex. The borough comprises the towns of Canvey Island, Hadleigh, South Benfleet, and Thundersley which also provides the site of the council headquarters.-History:...
, near Southend in the county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Site
Hadleigh Farm is owned by The Salvation ArmyThe Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
and run as an educational working farm. It features a rare breeds centre and tea room for visitors. The 700 acres (2.8 km²) farm was purchased in 1891 by General Booth
William Booth
William Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...
as part of a plan to rescue the destitute from the squalor of London.
Hadleigh Farm overlooks the Thames estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
to the south and adjoins Hadleigh Castle
Hadleigh Castle
Hadleigh Castle in the English county of Essex overlooks the Thames estuary from a ridge to the south of the town of Hadleigh. Built after 1215 during the reign of Henry III by Hubert de Burgh, the castle was surrounded by parkland and had an important economic, as well as defensive role...
, built in the 1230s during the reign of King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
, and one of the most important late-medieval castles in Essex, now preserved by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
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
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
with special regard for invertebrates.
2012 Olympics
Hadleigh Farm was confirmed in 2008 as the venue for the mountain bikingCycling at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Cycling at the 2012 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place at five different venues. The venues are the London Velopark for track cycling and BMX, and Hadleigh Farm in Essex for mountain biking...
competition in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The original proposed venue at Weald Country Park
Weald Country Park
Weald Country Park is a 700-year-old, 500 acre country park in South Weald in the borough of Brentwood in the English county of Essex. It is on the north-east fringe of Greater London....
had been deemed insufficiently challenging by the International Cycling Union
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
, who were described as being delighted with Hadleigh.
During the Olympic Games, temporary grandstands holding 3,000 people will be erected.
Transport
Plans for improving access to the site for the Olympics include widening of Castle Lane and Chapel Lane in Hadleigh. The site is approximately five miles from London Southend AirportLondon Southend Airport
London Southend Airport or Southend Airport is a regional airport in the district of Rochford within Essex, England.During the 1960s, Southend was the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It remained London's third-busiest airport in terms of passengers handled until the end of the 1970s,...
.