There has been a bit of talk about this, so we thought it would be best to get the official story for you all.

And yes, it is true, there will be a uplift service for the Forest of Dean starting very soon. We have just talked to Simon from Flyup Downhill and he gave us this bit of information:

“In Nov ’09, I spoke to the Forestry Commission and put the idea of an uplift forward. I was amazed when they said that they wanted an uplift service but that no one had applied. I put in a business plan, which was very well received. I had a meeting and it was decided that the service would have to go to tender. I waited an agonizing 3 weeks to eventually be told there had been no more applications and that I had the contract. The new company is called Flyup Downhill. Vehicles will be a 17 seater transit and one other depending on take up.
Launch will be April 2010, no exact date as yet. And prices will be very competitive.”

Simon also told us that the service will running from Friday through to Tuesday. The website is not live yet, but we’ll let you know when it is.