[Closed] Skyline shop & cafe?

Last it was discussed there was someone waiting in the wings to take over, not a peep since though.

Feels like the place is dying, last time down that Older Chap who's been there forever was sat in a chair in reception with the look of someone who's worked out he's only there to unlock in the morning and lock up again in the evening.

How long has it been since he was stood at the gate taking money for parking and trying to cram an extra car in the over-flow!

Sad times. Still loads to offer in terms of riding. Surely its still an excellent opportunity for someone to take on?

Surely its still an excellent opportunity for someone to take on?

There's no customers. Chicken and egg maybe but it's dead!

Sort an uplift and they will come.

Shame it's closed down they were good boys and my LBS

Surely still customers for the cafe from the campsite, on top of riders & walkers?

Much prefer parking there as it's nearer the better trails and not crowded. Though if less busy that's also its problem. The cafe always had people in it when I've stopped in there though. Usually enough to be queuing for food. Weekends that is.

And would have thought the bike shop was more than just shop for trail visitors, but as said, an LBS too. Did they do events, shop rides etc too?

Bound to happen when BPW opened , only a finite audience innit ?

I was in Glyncorrwg a week ago, and apparently there's a husband-and-wife team starting it up again in a few weeks time.

Husband running the bike shop, wife the cafe.

Apparently they are starting with Saturday morning breakfast to begin with and building up from there.

oldtalent - Member
Sort an uplift and they will come.

The problem is, it doesn't really lend itself to one, there are fire road about, but they're not easy to access from the centre itself and the trails don't have much of a common start / end like say BPW.

Glyncorrwg's problem is, for a lot of people coming for a weekend, or for a decent sized day out, you have to go past, BPW, Cwmcarn and Afan to get to Glyncorrwg and it's those riders who vist the cafe and the shop, if you're only coming from Cardiff or Swansea areas, I think you're less inclined, hop back in the car and get home for a proper shower and something to eat.

One solution would certainly be to sink £2m-£4m into it (roughly the cost of BPW I believe) build a tonne of new trails around a central point to make it easier to uplift, but I don't see it happening. BPW has been a great success both for the Park itself and it's owners/managers, they've done a great job and for the various agencies who initially funded it breathing a bit more life into the area, but I don't think they'll want to repeat it so close.

Cwmcarn had to fight tooth and nail to get them to build Cafal and Pedalhounds even though it was in the original plans because whoever holds the pursestrings didn't feel that another venue was needed.

There's a chance, if things keep going the way they do, we'll lose some venues, or at least their facilities because BPW sucks up all the trade.

Different style places. Afan is a trail centre with XC/Trail type trails. BPW is a bike park. Gravity based, uplift, enduro-ish style riding. Very different.

Is it that the majority of people are shunning traditional trail centre riding in favour of BPW? Given the long wait and expense for tickets vs the ease of popping into Afan whenever you like, it can't be that bad surely. I know plenty who would never be interested in the likes of BPW but go to regular trail centres often.

Or is it most people can't be bothered to drive up to Glencorrwg and just hop off at the Afan centre on the road? In my opinion Glencorrwg is the better centre, larger, purpose built for MTB, was a nice cafe, but that's just me.

Bound to happen when BPW opened , only a finite audience innit ?

My feeling is that BPW has generated a new audience to a large extent, but that Afan's core audience has been declining at the same time.

I see BPW as a minor contributory factor - along with increasing awareness and interest in "natural" riding, enduro bikes needing bigger terrain, trail centres being seen as a bit naff, 50to1 and British Pie videos encouraging kids to rail ruts in the woods instead.

I still love Afan and will return though.

We had a long weekend in the area a couple of weeks back. Did Afan in the morning then to the cafe there, 45minute wait for food. So drove up to Glyncorrwg only to discover the place pretty much closed (apart from that bored bloke!). The shop in the village doesn't have a great range of ready to eat food

I went to Afan/Glyncorrwg last Friday last three trips to Wales have been BPW but my lad wanted to ride up some hills.

TBH we most likely wont be heading back again it's true to say that, for us, hooning down hills 8-10 times in a day is more fun and it's not worth driving past BPW to get there. We can ride up hills locally but for a trip.....Not so much.

From SE here. We've stayed at the Lodge a few times and liked to ride W2 for lunch at Glyncorrwg, yes stopping for a half day at BPW or Cwmcarn too.

With the cafe closure news we decided to try Snowdonia recently. CYB, Marin, Cafair Idris. Wow, more than worth the extra hour each way. No toll. Great scenery, friendlier locals, lack of area blight, fantastic riding.

Sorry South Wales but we'll be heading north again next time.

Rode Afan for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Did W2 on the Saturday and BPW uplift on the Sunday. Same bike (Rocket) for both. To my surprise I think I enjoyed W2 more. Cracking descents on the Glyncorrwg side especially. A real shame if it dies off completely.

Did W2 on the Saturday and BPW uplift on the Sunday. Same bike (Rocket) for both. To my surprise I think I enjoyed W2 more

Most of us felt the same after our last visit doing the same as you.

Meanwhile - Just north of Cardiff

[url= http://tongwynlais.com/2017/10/17/bike-park-under-construction-just-outside-tongwynlais/ ]New Bike Park[/url]

I live about 20 mins from Afan etc and Oli and Mark at Skyline are great lads but Natural Resources Wales and the wind farm development have been the death null for the place - very poor replacement trails and massive amounts of clear felling ruined the feel for me. Still pass through on gravel bike outings on the forest roads but that's about it.

I just saw that on FB. Could be good that, it’s a 20 min pedal from my house and on my way home from work. 🙂

The cafe has reopened under the name cwtch cafe and have tonight posted that they have secured £25000 funding to buy kitchen equipment. Quite surprised they didn’t buy all skylines equipment when they were selling up.

the various agencies who initially funded it breathing a bit more life into the area, but I don't think they'll want to repeat it so close

Since a large part of the BPW £ was match funding from the EU, I'd say we're very unlikely to see an investment like that in Wales again.

The cafe has reopened under the name cwtch cafe and have tonight posted that they have secured £25000 funding to buy kitchen equipment. Quite surprised they didn’t buy all skylines equipment when they were selling up.

That is a surprise, commercial catering stuff is odd, it’s lasts forever, or at least it can usually been cleaned up and made useable again but at the same time almost worthless second-hand so I’m surprised Skyline would have wanted to take it, but you never know the story behind it.

Wish them the best of of luck, I’ll be sure to pop in when they open.