[Closed] Cwmcarn - Twrch diversion?

I've not seen anything to say it's been reopened from the Ranger.

I've overheard in the carpark from explorers/trespassers that it's "****ed".

I'm gutted Twrch is my favourite TC ride, but I fear it'll turn into Afan, no tree cover, so not soil - just a constant trail of rock that needs to be perfectly maintained all the time like a BMX track or it rattles your eyeballs.

Was closed on Friday when I went

I did this on Saturday. There is still a diversion that avoids the long traverse and the rocky bit that leads down to where you double back for the final descent.

I found it quite entertaining to do though - fast and steep straight down the hill. Not as good as the original obvs but better than the usual fire-road diversion.

I'm gutted Twrch is my favourite TC ride, but I fear it'll turn into Afan

One of the things I like about Cwmcarn is that it's rocky.

I've only ever ridden the diversion route, but it's the worst bit of the ride. It's just straight lining down the hill- no technical. With all the climbing it would be nice to have something a bit more rewarding.
I'll definitely head back once the diversions gone as the rest of the trails cracking.

My thoughts are:

Climb up to the top of the DH & down from there..

Anyone done that?

Yep. That's what we do every time (except when it was snowing last time out!). Do the top of the DH and then finish on the final Twrch trail into the car park.

As per Alex, on Saturday. I don't mind the diversion too much, but that DH is FUN!

Incidentally, I'm a mid-fifties mincer on a trail bike, so don't be too put off by the "DH" tag...

My thoughts are:

Climb up to the top of the DH & down from there..

Anyone done that?

We did just that last week. Makes for a good loop. That plus a lap of the other side left me knackered.

Is Twrch rideable on a rigid?

copa, why wouldn't it be rideable on a rigid?

References to it being rocky, 'bone shaking' etc.

Of course it's rideable, it's a trail center. It's rough, so you can't go as fast of course, but that's par for the course with a rigid bike and I'm sure every rigid bike owner is well familiar with the situation 🙂

When Twrch opened I was still on a '94 fully rigid bike from back in the days when suspension was an aftermarket upgrade...

copa - Member

References to it being rocky, 'bone shaking' etc.

The rockiest part is actually diverted at the moment.

As above, you'd be fine on a rigid. Just a question of skill on how fast you can descend. I would still prefer FS for comfort though. Less fatigue means more loops.

Alex - Member

Yep. That's what we do every time (except when it was snowing last time out!). Do the top of the DH and then finish on the final Twrch trail into the car park.

My current CC route is Carpark to Ranger Station, then fire road to Quadzilla, follow Cafal around (if you know it well enough you can skip the last bar 2 sections and take the bottom 2/3rds of Pedalhounds instead, but I don't like Pedalhounds much) almost to the end, when it crosses the road and heads down the bottom of the valley I leave it, ride the Forrest Drive backwards to the end of the diversion for Twrch and then down the final descent to the car park.

P-Jay have you explored any natural around there?

I would still prefer FS for comfort though.

Yes I've done it rigid, was nowhere near as much fun. But still fun.

cokie - Member

As above, you'd be fine on a rigid. Just a question of skill on how fast you can descend. I would still prefer FS for comfort though. Less fatigue means more loops.

I should add, as it was me to ordinally moaned about it becoming like Afan and bone shaking.

Cwmcarn has some rocky bits, diverted at the moment but that's not the point, but they're fun rocky bits, it's a long section of twisty bits with great lumps of rock laying around the place - it's classic TC trail really.

Afan, and Penhydd in particular isn't like that and that's what I've got the arsehole over. Penhydd wasn't a really TC trail, it was a collection of "natural" trails that were made back when Peaty was racing a rigid, formed together to create a way-marked trail and I believe the first office TC trail in South Wales a year or so after Coed opened in North Wales. I loved that trail. Anyway the same Tree rot issue that's the cause of the tree felling in CC now closed Penhydd in 2010 (That's made me feel old, I was sure it was about 3 years ago) anyway after "about a year" in NRW speak or "three and a bit years" if you use a calendar it reopened, some new bits, some original bits. The new bits are very TC, laid like a motorway so as long as they don't get water draining across them, they don't need much upkeep, it's the older bits that had suffered. Going from tight 'tree factory' forest to exposed hillside has destroyed the surface, washed / blown away it's left what I assume is the bedrock of the man-made trail - it's not rocks like you find in nature, more like a rubble that's been fused in place. The original descent of White’s Level is the same but not nearly as bad. It batters my hands and I don’t seem to be able to tune my forks for it, without making them useless anywhere else.

I'm quite aware that this might be a problem limited to me.

Ah right, I see what you mean now.

I think much of Cwmcarn is bedrock anyway though.

molgrips - Member

P-Jay have you explored any natural around there?

I hate to say it, but I haven’t - I've noticed some other riders who use the Farmers Gate at the end of the Freeride track, and head up the hill - I'm assuming they're missing Odin etc and coming back down the steep bit by the start of where the diversion is now.

I was also told a few times about a mysterious trail that runs from the top down to the village, it was spoken in hushed tones but is meant to be miles a miles long all descent.

One of the Lads in work once rode from the office (Taffs Well) to Cwmcarn, completed a lap and back again on a route that was 95% off-road, sounds like a big day out to me.

If you take the road that joins the driveway where the carpark entrance is and follow it up, you end up on a fire road. Lots of evidence of steep tech in those woods.

One of the Lads in work once rode from the office (Taffs Well) to Cwmcarn, completed a lap and back again on a route that was 95% off-road

I could do that on trails I know. I'd be tired though, it's a bit up-and-downy...

I have tried looking for natural up there. I found interesting and unusual places, and some proper barren ones, but not great trails.

P-jay. The natural trails you talk of were being decimated by tree fellers a few weeks ago. Shame but had to be done I guess.

I will have final confirmation next week however after lot 's of work from our contractors we hope to fully reopen the Twrch #MTB trail at Cwmcarn in the next 2 weeks. There will still be some spots to 'tidy up' once it has been ridden in a bit however the legendary Twrch will be open again soon. Really looking forward to riding it all again!

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I was kind of disapointed by Twrch when I rode it for the first time last week. It's either really badly worn or the trail builders were trying to prove something and I couldn't work out which. With the diversion in place there was very little joy to be had afer a needlessly technical climb. Perhaps the closed section makes it worthwhile, but the little downhill that remained was so slow as to make it boring. Admittedly I'm used to Swinley and like a bit of swoopy speed but Twrch really was the least fun trail I've ridden so far.

I'm used to Swinley and like a bit of swoopy speed but Twrch really was the least fun trail I've ridden so far.

id take twrch over swinley any day of the week! ridden swinley many many times and its fun but even truncated twrch is still great

Perhaps the closed section makes it worthwhile

Even when the Twrch is fully open I think the DH is a more worthwhile descent.

Twrch of old used to be pretty good, but with all the trees chopped down it's going to have lost its charm. Much like Whites at Afan.

Long since lost the stuff at top with the ladder stuff and corkscrew tunnel, which is also a shame.

Y Mynydd is good, but it's a different beast being a DH trail. Can't really compare it to an XC type trail.

lustyd - Member 
Admittedly I'm used to Swinley and like a bit of swoopy speed

Swoopy speed at Swinley? 😕 😉

needlessly technical climb

There's some of us who like that kind of thing..... 😉

It's not really worth it at the moment, I ride it sometimes on the back of Cafal or if I'm short on time because it's only a 30 min drive for me.

The closed section is some of the best of it - mostly descents too so I can understand why some might be pissed off to do all the climb and then lose half your elevation on a sketchy fire road, and a big lump of rock put a nasty mark on the bottom of my bike last time.

There's some of us who like that kind of thing.....

I think you misunderstood me. I love technical climbing. What I hated at Cwmcarn is that it's unnecessarily over technical, and impossible to pick a rideable line without knowing the trail really well because avoiding a rock leads you to a bigger rock, or a tree stump, and avoiding both leads you to the next huge boulder one yard on. It's a big climb, there's no need to have trail features every two yards all the way up, and there's certainly no need to have so many sections that are borderline unrideable. It's this sort of thing that leads to uplifts becoming popular because nobody can be arsed getting up the slope.
As I said, I don't know if it's due to trail wear, or if the trail builders genuinely intended it to suck the joy out of your morning. The climb at Whites Level in Afan is nice and technical, just as big, but actually leaves room for enjoyment. Afan also doesn't break your wrists on the descent if you lack full suspension!

I'm gonna ride Cafell tomorrow after I deliver some bikes. I love that trail. I also like the way you can loop the top half without losing elevation, going to be a fun day!

Cafall is closing next.

Cafall is closing next.

Spoke to Darrel about it a few months ago - the pines have to go like on the other side. No firm plans when we spoke but it's assumed it'll be a combination of some total closures and a couple of months each of various diversions.

At least there does seem to be a decent amount of broadleaf over that side, but that section at the top when you ride between tight trees will have to go - without that it's pretty much just a slightly downhill section that winds about a bit, being that it'll just be desolate open space after that they might as well build some jumps like on the other side.

Twrch of old used to be pretty good, but with all the trees chopped down it's going to have lost its charm. Much like Whites at Afan.

Same thinking here, loved the swoopy nature of blasting through the trees that gave such a sense of speed. Looking at how open the section is now (good view from Tesco's car park) it's going to be very, very different. The trees also helped calm down any erosion by shielding it from heavy rain and they slowly added soil to replace what was worn away. It's going to be very rocky and loose after a few weeks unless they've done some rebuilding of the surface. I am holding out hope that it's better than we fear after we all found the Twrch climb in much, much better shape than it looked from the Cafall side!

Cafall in bits is going to feel like the top sections of Brechfa's Raven trail does now post-felling, just a windy trail with no real reason behind it.

At least there does seem to be a decent amount of broadleaf over that side.

I've been mentally noting where broadleaf and pine are for the last few months and it's going to make it very patchy to ride. I was talking to one of the Cwmcarn Trail Crew a while back and he said that as soon as the Twrch is fully open again they'll be moving over to the Cafall. Have already spotted a few paint markers on the trees over there in the mixed variety sections so that sounds like it is indeed the plan.

To end on a plus, the trees around the Freeride section are getting to a good height now. Should add to the speed sensation.

its open

Heading over tomorrow!

Ah, good news..!

It's great go have the old girl back - there's a short bit that was pretty cool that's been felled, it's a bit of a shame, trail has had to be redone, where it used to be tight and challenging to maintain speed through its massively wide and smooth now (very loose too) then you're back in the trees for a bit then a very long section which was sort of neither here nor there before, it's just a ledge on the side of a hill now, I'm sure it'll be hellish in bad weather but on balance, considering that's had to be done there's little to moan about and as a positive the rest of the bits that have been closed have really benefited from the 'rest' there's more soil so it rides like a trial in the woods rather than a rocky TC ride, won't last forever for but it's nice - had a lovely early evening ride.

That looks different

But then, there are bits that used to look that way that are now woody. All part of the circle and that.

It's great go have the old girl back - there's a short bit that was pretty cool that's been felled, it's a bit of a shame, trail has had to be redone, where it used to be tight and challenging to maintain speed through its massively wide and smooth now (very loose too) then you're back in the trees for a bit then a very long section which was sort of neither here nor there before, it's just a ledge on the side of a hill now, I'm sure it'll be hellish in bad weather but on balance, considering that's had to be done there's little to moan about and as a positive the rest of the bits that have been closed have really benefited from the 'rest' there's more soil so it rides like a trial in the woods rather than a rocky TC ride, won't last forever for but it's nice.

Rode it today, exactly how I thought. The repaired sections just need time to bed in and weather so as to make them rough again, thankfully it's opened during a period of dry weather so shouldn't turn into a complete slopfest like when the Cafall opened! Was heaving round it so it should bed in really quickly.

The only downside is that it was far too busy on the freeride section to do laps, too many other riders doing the same thing 😀

Still, really good to have an old favourite back 8)

Managed two laps of Twrch yesterday,and it was great to have it all rideable again.
Aching today mind !