Hadleigh Farm is an educational working

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

and

cross-country cycling Cross-country (XC) cycling is a discipline of mountain biking. Cross-country cycling became an Olympic sport in 1996 and is the only form of mountain biking practiced at the Olympics. Terrain Cross-country cycling is defined by the terrain on w ...

venue located in Hadleigh, within the borough of

Castle Point Castle Point is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south Essex, east of central London. The borough comprises the towns and villages of Canvey Island, Hadleigh, Ess ...

, in the county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. The men's and women's mountain biking events of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

took place at Hadleigh Farm on 11 and 12 August.

Site

Hadleigh Farm is owned by

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

and run as an educational working farm. It features a rare breeds centre and tea room for visitors. The farm was purchased in 1891 by

William Booth William Booth (10 April 182920 August 1912) was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first "General" (1878–1912). His 1890 book In Darkest England and The Way Out outli ...

as part of a plan to rescue the destitute from the squalor of London. Hadleigh Farm overlooks the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

to the south and adjoins

Hadleigh Castle Hadleigh Castle is a ruined fortification in the English county of Essex, overlooking the Thames Estuary from south of the town of Hadleigh. Built after 1215 during the reign of Henry III by Hubert de Burgh, the castle was surrounded by parkl ...

, built in the 1230s during the reign of King Henry III, and one of the most important late-

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

castles in Essex, now preserved by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. A portion of the mountain bike course for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games crosses the adjacent Hadleigh Country Park, owned and managed by

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

and a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

with special regard for

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

2012 Summer Olympics

Hadleigh Farm venue MTB cycling 2012 Olympics W cross-country

Hadleigh Farm was confirmed in 2008 as the venue for the mountain biking competitions of the

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

programme of the

. The original proposed venue at

Weald Country Park Weald Country Park is a 700-year-old, 500 acre (2 km²) country park in South Weald in the borough of Brentwood (borough), Brentwood in the English county of Essex. It is on the north-east fringe of Greater London. Weald manor, parts of wh ...

had been deemed insufficiently challenging by the UCI, who were described as being delighted with Hadleigh. Temporary grandstands seating up to 3,000 people were erected for the Olympics. Following the Olympics the course was adapted for use by the general public, with a new bike shop, cafe, and workshop and broader facilities for the farm. A new mountain bike club based at the farm has been founded and the course has been used for events including the British National Mountain Bike Championships.

Transport

Plans for improving access to the site for the Olympics included the widening of Castle Lane and Chapel Lane in Hadleigh."Go ahead given for highways works to deliver London 2012 Olympic Mountain bike event"
The site is approximately from

London Southend Airport London Southend Airport is an international airport situated on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, approximately from the centre of London. The airport straddles the boundaries between the city of Southend-on-Sea and the Ro ...

. Hadleigh Farm lies along the

London, Tilbury and Southend line The London, Tilbury and Southend line, also known as Essex Thameside, is a commuter railway line on the British railway system. It connects Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including , , , ...

between Benfleet and

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a town and civil parish in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011, it had a population of 22,509. Geography Leigh-on-Sea is on the northern ...

railway stations.

References

External 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"

Aerial video of Hadleigh Farm
{{Authority control Tourist attractions in Essex Castle Point Parks and open spaces in Essex Venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics Sports venues in Essex The Salvation Army Olympic cycling venues Salvation Army buildings Salvationism in England Hadleigh, Essex