Afan... Which trail

Afan lodge was very reasonably priced when I stayed there, but there is a campsite nearby too.

There's a short loop on the east side of the valley that's more 'modern trail center'.

And multiple longer trails on the west/north side. Can't remember names. My advice would be look at an uptodate map (which is almost impossible to come by) combined with trailforks and pick out sections to link together as most of the good stuff I rode was within a few miles of the start. Doing the whole long loop feels like an odd mix of natural riding distance, rough but flat trails which are hard going and fire roads. My fitness was lacking at the time so I had to bail out halfway but my impression was that I'd rather do either a natural ride (on less technical byways) or a more technical ride that gained and lost elevation. I'd really like to go back and just spend a day just putting together short loops around the top and seasoning the descents on the hillside above Glyncorrwg.

Not sure of the current situation re Y Wal at the moment, access from the visitor centre was pretty much closed when we went there not too long ago, probably worth checking before making plans.

Quite big detours at the start of y wal when I visited last a month or two back, whites side seemed relatively unaffected so I’d head there and do the trails that side (but will let someone else comment as I’ve only ever done w2 ie y wal and whites, both of which I love and think are punishing and technical). Think either skyline or blade was redone not too long ago.

Whites is open, but as said above is initially a bit technical on the uphill first portion. It has minimal fireroad though and is @95% single-track.

For a bigger day out the Skyline trail is open, initial Whites climb, however it has a lot more fireroad which may suit or not.

Both above well signposted.

Pretty sure you can camp at Glyncorwygg as well, just behind the shop/cafe.

Afan is also open, but I've only done the Green/Blue trails on the east side of the valley lately with some peeps. Might be more suitable for junior AA depending on his skill levels/fitness.

OP: For a 12 yr old then Blue Scar at Afan (the core blue graded trail) would be perfect as its fun and flowing but challenging enough to feel like you're riding at your limit. Most of the climbing is on easy single track/fireroad and the final descent is an absolute corker, plus you can loop it several times.

TBH Blue scar for anyone who loves riding is perfect unless you are fully tooled up and skilled for some serious DH

You can do most of Pennydd (red graded) and detour to the Blue Scar descent for a fun 90-120mins ride.

Couldn't agree more ⬆️⬆️⬆️ @muddy@rseguy

Blue Scar is enormous fun for even the most gnarly rider.

You can just turn up at Glyncorryg but best to book. There's a camp site at the Afan visitor centre too (on the start of Blue Scar / Penhydd), but that is basic.

Agreed with last two posts. Stay at Afan Lodge. Ride from the lodge (on the old railway line at the bottom of the car park) to Blue Scar and Penhydd.

Afan and Cwmcarn are superb places to ride and afan has trails for all abilities

Blue scar with a young one will be fun

The last decent off blade is one of my favourite bits of trail ever

Currently in tent at Glyncorryg son wants to do Blade. He's pretty fit, has done 70km road rides or the red and blue at Forest of Dean for example but both of us are firmly wheels on the ground riders is it a daft idea?

My only criticism of Afan is that the signposting on the diversion is pretty non existent / rubbish

Blade was really good my son found the first big climb quite tough as it has some techy bits he lacks the power to get over but the rest was all good. I suddenly got really embarrassed after passing the 240 000 wind turbine and worked out why the trail is called Blade 🤔🤔😆😆