Despite the negative reports of this place i decided to check it out yesterday....it would have been rude not too considering i only live 15 mins down the road!
First off Broadwater farm is NOTHING like it used to be. It is actually a very tight nit community of people who are proud of their local area and the how its changed over the last 20 years. I must admit i was very sceptical at first when i heard of where it was going to be built. However I was there on my own yesterday afternoon and was approached by a range of people who were as nice as you could ask. Speaking to one of the local guys who works with the local community he claimed there have been 0 crime related incidents since the track opened. Not bad eh?
Kind of agree with Anselm in that the track does not really work as a pump track. I was getting round the whole thing ok but with some tweaking it could be a really awesome track. The frustrating bit about the design for me is the flat sections!? The pump tracks that i have been impressed with in the past are the ones with no flat sections at all so you literally pump the whole thing constantly. Also the damn thing is HUGE two consecutive laps and was sounding like an asthmatic!
Would still say its well worth a visit and everyone should try and support it. Stealing Anselms words.... it is a great community project but Im guessing if this one is not successful then the local authorities will think twice about putting one anywhere else!