Afan Forest Park

Afan has two centres, the Afan Forest Visitor centre and the Glyncorrwg Mountain bike centre. Located in South Wales it has a number of XC trails as well as a bike park and competition level 4X track. The trails are graded from blue to black – Y Wall, Penhydd, Blue Scar and the Rookie start from the Afan Forest Visitor Centre and White’s Level, Blade and Skyline start from Glyncorrwg.

Details of the trails are as follows…

Rookie – Green trail – 5.5km taking around 30 minutes to two hours over a gentle gradient. Suitable for families.
Blue Scar – Blue trail – 7km – 1-1.5 hours with 437m of climbing. Great for those wanting to improve their riding skills.
Blade – Red trail – 24km – 2.5-3.5 hours with 795m of climbing. Great singletrack, technical climbs, fast descents and it can be combined with Skyline for a longer ride.
Skyline – Red trail – 46km – 4-7 hours with 2000m of climbing. Steady technical climb via singletrack and forestry road offering stunning views of the Brecon Beacons, Black Mountains and South Wales coast followed by flowing descents.
White’s Level – Red trail – 17km – 1.5-3 hours with 525m of climbing. White’s is a 90% purpose built trail starting with a 6km sheep track climb. The trail offers tight and twisty singletrack with demanding descents and an optional black run.
Y Wal – Red trail – 23km – 1.5-3 hours with 450m of climbing. Y Wal offers great views of the valley and coastline as well as some great technical sections.
Penhydd – Red trail – 14km – 1.5-3 hours with 550m of climbing. The Penhydd splits off from the Blue Scar and offers a loop with big climbs and flowing descents.
W2 – Black trail – 44km – 4-7 hours with 975m of climbing. W2 gives you the option to start from either centre and then you’re able to stop at the other one half way round to break up the ride. A challenging but rewarding trail with some great downhill style sections.
Afan Bike Park – A progression area that offers a variation of five trails ranging from blue to black with a mixture of berms and jumps. The bike park is located next to Bryn Bettws lodge and is also close to the 4x track.

Here’s a video of Mike Jones hitting up the Blade trail…

And this is where Afan sits on the map…

How to get there: Stick SA13 3HG in your Sat Nav for Afan and SA13 3EA in for Glyncorrwg.

Afan Visitor Centre opening hours:
April to September: Monday to Friday 9.30am – 5.00pm (6pm on weekends and Bank Holidays)
October to March: Monday to Friday 9.30am – 4.00pm (5pm on weekends and Bank Holidays)

Glyncorrwg Ponds Visitor Centre opening hours:
8am – 5pm Mon & Tues
8pm – 8pm Wed & Thurs
9am – 10pm Fri & Sat
9am – 5pm Sun (10pm on Bank Holidays)

Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike Centre: 01639 851 900
www.afanforestpark.co.uk