Can I ride on a beach?

[CRAIGREVO]

As the title says I'm after advice on whether I can ride on beaches. I'm heading down to Cornwall for a week and there are loads of beaches with sand dunes to play in.
So what are the rules? :unsure:

[V-Rider]

Erm - Have fun until you're caught??

[Marra]

Was just about to post that but couldn't possibly condone such actions :whistle:

Had a CCM few years back and 'manufactured' a quick release numberplate for such occasions. There's an old slagbank/spoil heap near me that local folk use but every now and then someone complains and there's a bit of a crack down. I think if you're being sensible less likely to draw attention, but you're probably not supposed to do it.

[doctorzippy]

There's a beach just north of where I was brought up called Cockerham Sands and it is frequently used by bikes, quads, cars, etc. The beach has an access path that allows vehicles to get onto the beach. When I was there a few years back I was pulled over by a very annoyed plod and an even more irate local. I was on a fully road-legal KTM 525EXC.

What then transpired was that plod could only do me for:

a) Trespassing - some of the beach areas were "owned" by the irate local, but only as far as the tide-line at high tide. Further out was public land owned by no-one. The access path was public land and I had been riding past the tide-line (the tide was out :whistle: ).
b) Vehicle not road-legal - it was, including number plate and road-legal enduro tyres (I had a "discussion" with plod about the tyres on my bike as he tried to claim they were off-road only, until I pointed out all the relevant markings). Bike was taxed, MOTd and insured.

So, all fully legal and I had a lot more fun getting my bike all sandy. B)

I'd check the land access - if there's a public slipway, then as long as you ride beyond the tide-line you're unlikely to be breaking any laws.
I am not qualified to give legal advice and if you get nicked based on the above will deny any responsibility and simply laugh at you!

[Barnman]

I am not qualified to give legal advice and if you get nicked based on the above will deny any responsibility and simply laugh at you!

:laugh:

Don't know anything about beach riding - sorry

[digitalcaptive]

As the title says I'm after advice on whether I can ride on beaches. I'm heading down to Cornwall for a week and there are loads of beaches with sand dunes to play in.
So what are the rules? :unsure:

You can't help yourself can you, wasn't there enough water in that ford for you ......now you want to tackle the sea :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[gebrauchtwagen83]

hi mate. my best buddy is a cop and says that its not illegal to ride bikes on beaches. he does it regularly. he is a member of this forum and hopefully he might see this and shed further light (im abroad right now)

[davsato]

as far as i know doctorzippy is right, this reminds me of a shooting rights row we had years ago.
'then', (dont know about now), yes the land exposed by the dropping tide is technically owned by nobody as its not permanent and you can do what you want within reason. this is where it differs from your problem craig- we could technically, shoot wildfowl all along any stretch where we could also comply with the law and thats where they got us, we couldnt get far enough away from a public right of way or someone in the water, there being so many footpaths and private residences around here. (you must shoot more than 50' from and shoot away from a public right of way or private land you dont have permission to shoot on. doesnt sound much but try it down here!)

for you, i would say go for it, stay on the tideline and if anyone complains give them what for, your bike is a lot cleaner and safer than 90% of dog owners that leave presents on the beach for kids to play in

[scouse]

Please don't be a selfish tw@t and ride in dunes. Dune environments in the UK are mainly SSSI environments and vehicular erosion causes issues with other SSSI habitats further inland. Fragile things coastal dunes and it doesn't take too much damage to start one "marching" inland...

Over the tideline , yes... we used to do this to wind the locals up at Ainsdale and Formby when I were a lad. Council regulated area up to the tideline and beyond that a wheelie, rooster tail and doughnut pardise

[jaz1259]

You can ride on beaches it comes down to a lot of common sense, you cant if the beach is designated public sector such as blue flag beaches or nature reserves. These are normally obvious with signs.
Actual beach itself is common land and as such unless stated otherwise you can ride on it.