Yes, it’s true. After years of listening to riders saying that they want an uplift, the Aston Hill think tank have finally worked out a solution that should solve the problem for once and for all.

We all know how how hard it is pushing back up Aston Hill. The uplift should solve all this.

Marketing Officer Neil Cain had the idea after seeing locals on Croatia’s Peljesac Penisular - a mountainous penisular with few roads leading to the dwellings on the top - transporting food and wares back home. Neil says ” After the recent barrage of emails and calls about the lack of uplift at Aston Hill, it’s been on my mind quite a lot. So when I was hiking back down from the highest point of the Peljesac and passed a couple of guys hiking back up, it got me thinking.

“They looked stereotypically rural Croatian, and the older gent was riding a packhorse which was also carrying all their supplies. It was then it dawned on me; here’s a couple of guys with access issues similar to those on Aston Hill. They have tenuous vehicle access between the top and bottom of their respective hill, and have reverted back to reliable, tried and tested methods of transporting everything they need to survive to the top. That’s when I had an idea.”

The Peljsac Peninsular.

The solution’s name is Mr. Crusty and he’s a rescue donkey from Island Farm Donkey Sanctuary near Wallingford in Oxfordshire.

After a few trial runs it seems that Mr. Crusty is very at home on the Hill. He happily tows a small trailer which can hold either three bikes or one bike and a rider, and takes approximately ten minutes to walk up the long push path. A Hillbilly dig day is also being planned to make access past the halfway steps a little easier.

He’s also been given a stable in the Forestry Commission office area and a food sponsorship from neighbour Bill (the farmer and landowner of the Aston Hill overflow car park). A custom all-terrrain trailer specifically designed for transporting unwieldy downhill rigs is also currently being made.

Mr. Crusty is a very loveable cheeky chappy (photo courtesy of openmouthboy).

Once up and running, the uplift should be a bit of a bargain at around £10 for the day, plus carrots for Mr. Crusty. To book your place, please see the Forestry Commission ranger when buying your daypass. To find out more about Mr. Crusty, click here.

13 Responses to “Aston Hill gets an uplift!”

1. Deon says:

   01/04/2019 at 09:04

   Love it… can’t wait

   .. oh, what’s the date again today?
2. nick fsr dh says:

   01/04/2019 at 09:16

   if it wasent for the fact its aprill fools day this would be a tremendous post. the fact that you are adopting donkeys for our needs of an uplift. thanks for all the great work guys cant wait to see what you do next year…
3. Brunel says:

   01/04/2019 at 10:15

   Are you serious??

   The solution to the Aston Hill Uplift is a donkey???

   Come on……..

   I will continue to push my bike to the top until a sustainable solution is in place.
4. Andy says:

   01/04/2019 at 12:35

   If only this were real
5. Craig says:

   01/04/2019 at 14:36

   hopes dashed against the rocks… I want to laugh but the tears are in the way…
6. alex gann says:

   01/04/2019 at 16:38

   lol is this serious??
7. Stu says:

   01/04/2019 at 19:10

   2011 Technology hits Aston Hill…..?
8. Udder says:

   01/04/2019 at 19:36

   Ass if…
9. scooott says:

   05/04/2019 at 13:22

   you seroiusly need to sort a uplift out for astonhill, because i would certanly go there mooore!!!! and im sure it will attract a lot more riders too!!!!! even if it means paying a little more to get in. im sure people will pay up…
10. Stu says:

    05/04/2019 at 20:23

    Lets be honest here, An uplift at Aston Hill just ain’t gonna happen. It would never pay for itself for a start!….Besides it;s only a 10-15 min push back to the start anyhow.
11. scooott says:

    08/04/2019 at 18:26

    I recon it would pay for its self if they raised the price of the ride, and i would certainly pay the money if i was getting an uplift. also you’ll get more runs in.
12. Aston Hillbilly says:

    12/04/2019 at 15:28

    scooott - it’s estimated that it could possibly pay for itself over several years. However, the initial costs of setting something up are huge, before we’ve even touched on the red tape of building in the Green Belt, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and on Forestry Commission land.

    It’s discussed in greater detail here: http://www.rideastonhill.co.uk/about/faqs/#push

    If you’ve a blank cheque burning a hole in your pocket then we’d love to take it off you and put an uplift in! Otherwise it’s still a way off yet.
13. Rupes says:

    15/04/2019 at 02:13

    Damn, I’m reading this on the 15th April and am now a little gutted it’s an April fool - I was rather looking forward to making use of mr Crusty!
    I expect a donkey could manage more than three bikes though..