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Hi we're thinking we might try some of the trail centers this year and wondered which ones you would recommend. So how about listing your favourite 3 and we'll plan a road trip.
Glentress. Job jobbed.
GOLSPIE, LAGGAN
Brechfa / Cwmcarn / Bike Park Wales
Wolftrax.
Innerleithen.
Golfie.
Glentress.
Oops - that’s 4!
Hamsterley.
Start at the start...Coed y Brenin, both of the trails there.
Ah yes CYB best beans on toast ever.
Whakarewarewa, over 160kms of trails from mild to wild.
Hopton, Woburn, Cwmcarn
Just need Woburn to reopen......
Woburn is apparently on its way back
CYB is great
In the dry so is Penmachno. Although that’s a trail not a trail centre. No cafe etc.
In the dry so is Penmachno.
Wait, there's dry at Penmachno? When was this?!
CyB is great, Cwmcarn as well.
Basically, just hit Wales and Scotland.
Laggan.
Whinlatter.
Aonach Mor.
Laggan.... Then probably more Laggan 😆
Woburn is apparently on its way back
Any news on that? I'd love to take my son somewhere that is a step up from thetford and Woburn would be perfect if it reopened.
Cannock Chase, Sherwood Pines, that shite pump track.
@ac282
Try chicksands for xc. You do have to do some exploring but have managed to make a 13km loop in the woods outside the bike park
Jeez, when did 13km become xc. Anyway CYB for a good start.
Mabie, Dalbeattie, Ae - stay in Dumfries and they're all damn close as well.
Try chicksands for xc. You do have to do some exploring but have managed to make a 13km loop in the woods outside the bike park
Wow that’s an achievement. It’s getting harder as it gets over grown
Woburn has re assembled a volunteer crew and are back at work. I have heard nothing on time scales
Trail center loveliness
Manic Street Preachers' long awaited follow up to Motorcycle Emptiness?
Marin (gwydir)
Cyb
Climach X (plus off piste bit)
GOLSPIE, LAGGAN
+ Balblair.
And dozens of local trails in between...
How are Woburn and chicksands making it onto people's top 3 trail centres!? Suddenly it makes a lot more sense why people don't like them if that's their baseline... (Unless I've taken the troll bait?)
Most of them are pretty good, would almost be easier to list the ones to avoid.
Kirroughtree is my favourite of all the 7 stanes. Drumlanrig was great too but think the storm damage is still a problem. Good variety of trails at Glentress but the golfie's hard to beat for technical trails.
Brechfa, Afan, Cwm carn
I did W2 with the Blade tagged on the North end on Sunday & there were only 3 cars in Rhyslyn car park @ 0830 but it was nearly full on my return @ 1320
All Good but Whites level was poor, its nearly overgrown in many places, the drainage needs attention in lots of areas & the woodwork section is still closed with a poor diversion down a muddy ditch - how many years has it been like that?
Cwm Carn on Monday morning was a joy, only car in the car park @ 0730, all running well & buzzards everywhere !
Hard to pick 3 but Comrie Croft would be in there.
Maybe CYB, Laggan and Comrie…
Glentress
Cwmcarn
And still got love for Coed y Brenin
No love for the woods behind Nationwide in Swindon? Times have changed.
Hard to recommend anywhere without knowing what type of rider you are. Some places mentioned don't have much in the way of easier options or like Laggan and Comrie you want to be able to ride the harder stuff to make a day of it. Comrie has the most fun blue trail but also one of the most demanding red routes.
Gisburn
Llandegla
Hamsterley
Afan
Coed y Brenin
Glentress
Theres 2 good days riding at each
+1 for Laggan
Mabie
CyB
Kirroughtree
My three fave for various reasons.
For a more geographically coherent trip, I'd suggest Kirroughtree, Mabie & Glentress.
Then you might as well throw in some of the other Stanes as well.
Comrie +1
Small but very well built so all the reds are "just" the right side of rollable. And the overall size means you can just re-run the fun bits to your hearts content once you've done all the loops. The campsite gives it an interesting nature, as you can hang around your tent, have a beer and BBQ, do some laps, and repeat. Which makes it easy to end up doing a lot of miles in a day without having to commit to a 4 hour ride.
No love for the woods behind Nationwide in Swindon? Times have changed.
I came here to say this, but in my heart knew it had already been said.
Gisburn
Llandegla
Hamsterley
I’ve not been to the other 2 but I was very underwhelmed with Llandegla. The blue / red was underwhelming- even the section named ‘rollercoaster’ wasn’t very ‘rollercoastery’ and lacked flow.
The black bits were all good - I’d say at most welsh trail centres they’d be red graded - I just wish there was more black there.
No love for the woods behind Nationwide in Swindon? Times have changed.
Ah but we're talking trail centres, not gnarly enduro-style off-piste with World Cup DH level features.
CYB , Antor Stiniog, Rveolution of Dyfi.
CYB, Glentress and... Yeah, maybe Comrie, it's ace.
in no particular order:
Hamsterley
Dyfi
Glentress
For all round great views, great descents and some decent swoopy fun stuff, I keep going back to CyB. Just has a really nice feel. Not absolutely rammed with whoppers like Glentress seems to be usually. Nice drive out there too...
Another vote for CyB here.
Also get quite nostalgic for the old Penhyd trail at Again, that was really nice, gutted when it went.
Dyfi - bad ass!
Antur
Hamsterley
Most of them are pretty good, would almost be easier to list the ones to avoid.
That one is easy, Glenlivet
Just out of interest, have any of Llandegla's proponents been to Laggan?
I'm trying to comprehend a world where anyone might like the former having been to the latter.
( travel distance notwithstanding)
For trails not jumps - the Syfydrin trail at Bwlch Nant-yr-Arian is worth a ride but, it is miles away from anywhere outside Wales so linking it with a few days away is a good idea.
Thanks for all the interest replies, the dots on the map are increasing. Oh and I thought the Nationwide woods were more freeride, knarly drops and skinnies.
Just out of interest, have any of Llandegla’s proponents been to Laggan?
I’m trying to comprehend a world where anyone might like the former having been to the latter.
( travel distance notwithstanding)
No I haven’t. To add travel back in, llandegla is 90mins away, which is fine, Laggan is 5 1/2 hours away, which is a bit of a stretch.
If we aren’t factoring in travel distance, then Whistler.
I have to say that Llandegla was a big disappointment IMO, Dalby and Dalbeattie too. There's a lot of decent trail centres that aren't mind blowing, but there are a few really good ones.
I must be a weirdo as I like both Llandegla (obviously not near my top 3 though) and Laggan. they're definitely not the same beast though...
Gwydir Mawr
Eastridge (going even slightly off the signposted route you have an extra variety of awesome trails in a tiny area)
Brechfa or Laggan
Lots of love for Hamsterley which I think is great to see - I love it too except when gurning uphill. As its my 'local' (closest, not at all local) I'm intrigued why other folks like it. Is it the 'piste' or 'off-piste' you like it for? I must confess I will always take a breather at the top of a long hill and watch in awe at the shredding capabilities of some of the folks on the Descend park. Nutters the lot of em 🙂
Edit - PS - I love Laggan and one day will pluck up the courage to throw myself over the edge of that particular feature that so far has me defeated.
Edit – PS – I love Laggan and one day will pluck up the courage to throw myself over the edge of that particular feature that so far has me defeated.
The Slab? Yeah, I bottled that when I was up there, looks innocuous when you see pictures of it, but it's buttock clenching when you get there.
but it’s buttock clenching when you get there.
Can confirm 😳
Man, I love a trail centre, it's like a UK institution. In my mind it's a visitor centre with XC trails and a cafe. Uplifts don't count. Ideally you want enough to ride to keep you busy all day, maybe some sneaky bits, some exposure, some natural features. There's something nice about just taking your brain out and following arrows for a couple of hours, having a scone, browsing the shop, doing another lap. Bliss.
My faves:
Coed y Brenin
Tweed Valley
Laggan
Honourable mentions:
Gwydyr and Penmachno
Golspie
Whinlatter
Yeah, maybe Comrie, it’s ace.
Never been, but got a holiday up that way next week, and planning on visiting Comrie, so this makes me happy.
Aonoch Mor
Laggan
Innerliethen (linked to Yair by SUW, although that's not really a trail centre)
.
If you doing those three a stop at Comrie on the way past is an option😁
Lots of love for Hamsterley…
…I’m intrigued why other folks like it.
Just back from a great night’s riding there. I think one of the reasons I like it so much, is it feels really natural: very few of the trails feel forced and they just meld into the landscape as if you’re on an extreme sheep’s trail (the wall).
Where they’re not natural, they’re outstandingly good, always peril inducing in some way - in a proper “you screw this up Andy, you’re ending up slumped at the side of the trail in bits” (k-line is a prime example). They reward speed, commitment and a modicum of skill in a way other centres sanitize out. It’s like FC just adopted some local trail monkey trails and forgot to run the elfNSafety bulldozer through them.
The off piste is amazeballs too.
Accelerator at Hamsterley is one of my favourite sections of trail at any trail centre, it's short, it doesn't lose much height, but there's something about it that makes you want to attack it (I guess hence the name). The beauty is it's very easy to go back to the start on the fire road and do it a few times
All I can say is the answers never Llandegla
Not a lot of love for BPW....
For me it's BPW then Afan, then, well i don't really care after that.
BPW isn't a trail centre, it's a bike park
BPW isn’t a trail centre, it’s a bike park
Not going to bother arguing.... but i disagree completely. (despite the BP in it's name lol)
Just realised I've not been to a tc since well before the pandemic.
With petrol prices in mind, most bang for your buck is probably some combo of CYB, Penmachno, Gwydir Mawr (Marin), maybe Nant y Arian (the biggest trail there is quite XC in nature, though), or the Stanes.
Most disappointing (if you're driving some way to get there) for me would be Gisburn, Grizedale (North Face), Dalby.
Not a single mention of FoD...
The marked trails are a bit meh but there's so much variety in a smallish area that a long weekend wouldn't cover it all.
Has the OP shared his location? Suggesting he hit Scotland if he's in Cornwall may not be achievable..
Most disappointing (if you’re driving some way to get there) for me would be Gisburn, Grizedale (North Face), Dalby.
Agree with all those.
Gisburn - not ridden in years but apart from Homebaked, I seem to remember everything being a bit rubbish and LOADS of knackered blown out bits and very little seemed to flow.
Grizedale NFT I treat as a gentle ride with the kids. Meant to be red graded isn't it? Ha. Luckily there is (was) the awesome off-piste down to Coniston but there's also so much good natural riding nearby that the better bits of the NFT can be included easy enough into bigger/better rides.
Dalby - similar to the NFT although each time I ride the red I seem to enjoy it more. There are some seemingly unnecessary long sloggy bits but I kinda like it. Good for a pedal with mates and not have to think about it too much. Luckily, like the NFT, there is so much good off-piste there that you can have an epic day/weekends riding and barely touch the trail centre stuff.
If we're excluding uplift, I'd say if you go to Scotland and pick 3 of the available options you pretty much can't go wrong. I'd definitely make Glentress one of the choices and Laggan if it's not too far. None of the English ones are worth a road trip and the Welsh ones I've been to (Llandegla, CyB, Afan) are just "fine I guess".
Not a single mention of FoD…
The marked trails are a bit meh
I don't get that, in what way ? From fast swoopy blues like Countdown/Launchpad, to techie Enduro like Y2k and onto things like GBU for the crazies, or Ski run for some rooty fun, i can't see which part of FoD is a bit meh.... it's an awesome place IMO.
I don’t get that, in what way ? From fast swoopy blues like Countdown/Launchpad, to techie Enduro like Y2k and onto things like GBU for the crazies, or Ski run for some rooty fun, i can’t see which part of FoD is a bit meh…. it’s an awesome place IMO.
I think if you were looking for a marked loop that’s where FOD is a bit meh. The blue and red are ok - but don’t compare well to the likes of the Cwmcarn red laps of some of the ones at CYB.
If you want a day of mix and match and are happy to explore then FOD is awesome. I wouldn’t ride either of the xc laps - I’d do a bit of DH run shuttling probably, then go exploring the off piste. Everywhere you go you find sometring and you’re never quite sure what you might get which can be excellent.
"when did 13km become xc"
That's XCC. 🙂
All I can say is the answers never Llandegla
Have you counted how rarely Swinley has been mentioned despite massive visitor numbers compared to most trail centres? Llandegla may not be great but it's far from the worst.
I wouldn’t ride either of the xc laps – I’d do a bit of DH run shuttling probably, then go exploring the off piste.
+1 ^ FoD is brilliant for this.
Very regionally biased, but it's CyB, Penmachno and Marin for me. All pretty close too so OP could stop in one spot and make short day trips out.
Road Dalby earlier this week as I was in the area. Really weird! Very odd to have no proper climbs or extended descents. The World Cup sections have some spicy bits though with one almighty drop-off (15ft?) that, safe to say, I did not attempt. Quite a surprise for a trail centre.
Unfashionable opinion i know, but i quite like Dalby as an interesting xc route. I wish there were more technical/steep climbs, but the singletrack is good fun.
as has been said above though, "best" trail centre depends massively on what you want from it. I go to Dalby when I want two hours of quick xc riding on a little hardtail, without having to think about a proper route.
It's not where I'd go if I was on a 150mm bike and wanted to scare myself.
All I can say is the answers never Llandegla
Doch, Si etc
If the question is " where's a good place to cycle with the kids any time between -0.75 and 16 years old, which is chilled, predictable, safe, fun and with a high likelihood of someone coming along to pick up the pieces"
Then Llandegla is defo the answer
Unfashionable opinion i know
Not as unfashionable as mine, which is that trail centres are contrived, soulless and basically, awful.
I do realise that I'm in pretty much a minority of one though, and lots of people love 'em. Different strokes for different folks.
I really liked Dalby- apart from getting really lost anyway, which is kinda one of the things that trail centres are supposed to do well. No "big hits" apart from the mad stuff in the gully but as a complete ride I enjoyed it more than many.
TBH this thread is just people saying their own preferences, which is fine, except that a good chunk of posters don't grasp that other people like different things. Like, why is it so hard to grasp that people like Llandegla? Yes even people who've been to Laggan. They're so different, comparisons are damn nearly meaningless and in fact it's pretty much inevitable that a lot of people who love one, wouldn't like the other.
As the OP has not specified a geographical location the results are typically scattergun. There is more than a whiff of 'I love lamp!' about this thread!
Personally each centre can have two categories; which is why the ever popular Swinley is not making much headway here. There is the - "would you travel the length of the country and build a holiday around riding it?" category. And there is the "if it was close by to where you lived or just happened to be for another reason, would you give it a shot?" category. Swinley would be a possibly/maybe on the latter scale and an abject definitely not on the former. But as about a bazillion people live a short drive from Swinley and by default therefore not too close to Golspie, it's stupendously popular in terms of rider numbers.
To bother answering the question I'd need to know how much of a 'mission' you are after getting there (esp given the current price of fuel and modern moral conundrum of spunking shit tons of fossil fuel just to ride a bike). I'd also want to know what you liked. For example Laggan is lovely and I am so glad its not a daft distance from me but you have to like nuggety rocky ascents and transitions. If fast and flowing is you bag, maybe not so much.