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What's taking so long? Penhydd has been closed for several years now and I'm sure when I first looked last year the new blue was due to open in late summer last year. On the Penhydd trail page there is currently a link to [url= http://www.afanforestpark.co.uk/PDF/CognationNewsletter220911.pdf ]this document[/url] which suggests all trails will be up and running by March 2013, so given I'm down there next week I eagerly checked again, confident that it would now be open. Yet
suggests "late winter 2013".
Isn't this all a bit rubbish? Why is it taking so long?
I've stopped believing anything I see about Penhydd. It's closed and closed for good as far as I'm concerned until I see some pigs flying.
Not just me then. Utterly frustrating - I thought it would be worth taking the off-road uni to ride the new blue, but it seems there is still nothing there of an appropriate standard (the bit of blue off the new green is pathetically easy - should really be green).
work is going on up there. its just taking longer than expected.
Cognation website says the estimated opening is July 2013.
Every year it's been saying it's opening later that year and it never does.
no skyline, no penhydd, i don't bother with Afan at all anymore. No interest in what is left.
Penhydd was my favourite trail at Afan, could do it two or three times a day and never get bored.
Used to do Penhydd then take Mrs, who'd waited patiently for me in car with the dogs, up to Glyncorrwg cafe for Welsh Rarebit... aah happy days. 😥
Trails on the otherside of the valley were quite dull in comparison.
no skyline, no penhydd, i don't bother with Afan at all anymore. No interest in what is left.
I've never done either trails, but i think W2 is a great ride...What am i missing?
I really enjoyed Penhydd and was/am really pleased I managed to ride it a week or two before it was closed, it was good fun.
Personally I always choose to ride Whites and the Wall over it though, isn't it good how we all like different things.
The Penhydd was the perfect hangover trail. Many times I laboured up that first climb with the Reverend James sweating from every pore of my body. Without it, there's just not enough to really merit a weekend at Afan these days, IMHO. Once you've done W2, what else is there? Not enough.
mrmo - Member
no skyline, no penhydd, i don't bother with Afan at all anymore. No interest in what is left
More so as from what I understand, Whites final descent has been replaced with another of Sorrell's smooth runs and the old descent is now a climb! (I've yet to try the new stuff, but I'm put off by everything I've heard about it).
Skyline is all still rideable if you know it or have a GPS map phone thingy.
Nothing wrong with the changes to Whites in my opinion, even tho I do miss the old descent, even that is coming back tho.
New trail Blade and Penhydd will be open end of this year apparently, probably put back coz Back On Track have been working on gethin so much.
Afan is in the middle/end of an awkward time due to the windfarm and tree disease but will come back better than it was in my opinion.
but will come back better than it was in my opinion.
but without trees? can't beat blasting through the trees. so give it 10-15 years before its back as it should be
Only whites climb and descent and some of penhydd is missing trees.The wall hasnt lost any trees, windy point, energy and goodwood on whites are still wooded and awesome.
Where theyre planning on putting this new Blade trail is proper heavy tree line stuff.
From the FC website: ''[i]Note 20/3/13: Next year Afan will be up to full compliment of trails, including the new 'Penhydd' and 'Blade' trails. This will allow the holding of mountain bike events in Afan to take place, with the minimum of disruption to regular riders."[/i]
White's, Wall, bike park, the unofficial stuff, and next year Skyline back, Penhydd reopened and new blade trail. I'll take that, never get tired of riding there, no trail centre in South Wales offers more, even in it's current decimated state. Cognation are doing quite a bit to other areas (Cwmcarn, Gethin) which probably explains the delay.
Let's just hope Penhydd doesn't become a bulldozed gravel track and retains some of it's character.
Penhydd due to open in September, and they've improved the Wall with half a dozen new sections of singletrack. God forbid commercial forestry operations should interfere with their core business of MTB trails!
Blade will link Whites and Wall eliminating the fireroad slog so that W2 will be nearly all singletrack, and the forestry ops have moved up the valley towards glyncorrwg from Afan-when we were last there the ranger recommended Wall over Whites.
Doesnt look like blade will be a new W2 link imo. The route i've seen is around skyline top loop area, around heartburn and joyrider which means they might put in a new W2 singletrack link.
Here's the plan...
One of the three trails, in current state, will have to share a climb or descent unless they put in another climb/descent which looking at that map there will be branching off the bottom of joyrider on skyline.
I cant wait personally, I can ride from my house onto skyline pretty easy so this additional stuff in the skyline area is gonna be awesome for me.
Good times.
Just going off what ranger said when we chatted with him at Afan Lodge, unless he conflated the new W2 s/track link and Blade in conversation.
Either way, envious of your locale!
You do know that about half of the Penhydd is still there right?
Just ride up the big forestry track and then come down via sidewinder and dead sheep gully. Frog corner and dead sheep valley long gone though.