Bike Park Wales
No list about mountain biking in Wales would be complete without Bike Park Wales. As the first full scale private mountain bike park in the UK, BPW has loads to offer. The park has an uplift service which allows you to choose from a whole pile of different tracks and sections, most of which can be mixed and matched to your hearts delight. As if that isn’t enough there’s also a great XC loop, pump track, bike shop and visitor centre with café. You can even hire good quality bikes if you haven’t got one of your own, and BPW are now offering coaching too. The great video below was produced last year to mark the opening of BPW and it gives you a great flavour of the place.
The trails are graded from green to black and most people can average around eight runs a day on the uplift. If you’d prefer to ride up then the climb to the top is 4.6km and takes around 20 to 40 minutes. BPW have a professional trail crew meaning the trails are well maintained, and with most of them being hard packed they are rideable in all weathers.
Beginner trails include the Badger trail and the link from the Taff Trail. These are a great option for families and beginners.
The intermediate trails include the XC loop Beast of Burden, Sixtapod, Willy Waver, Melted Welly, Blue Belle, Norkle, Bush Wacker and the pump track. These range from 0.2km to 4.6km.
The Advanced trails are Locomotion, Wibbly Wobbly, Rim Dinger, Vicious Valley, Bonneyville and Insufficient Funds. They vary from 0.3km to 1.5km.
The Expert trails are Enter the Dragon, Dai Hard, Pork Belly, Coal not Dole, Deep Navigation, Zut Alors, Half Cut and Rock ‘n’ Roll. These are between 0.2km to 1km long.
All the trails in Bike Park Wales contain a range of features from sweeping flowy turns, rock gardens, drops, berms and jumps, but perhaps the best thing is you don’t need to keep riding the same trail, there’s something for everyone.
BPW are also constructing a red jump trail and a steeper black downhill run which are expected to open in August 2014.
This is where you’ll find Bike Park Wales…
Full directions along with a whole pile of other useful info on the area can be found on the Bike Park Wales website.
Prices: Entry £5, Uplift £30 (this includes your £5 park entry fee), Weekend Uplift Pass £55.
Opening hours: 9:30am to 4:30pm – Thursday Evening sessions from May until mid-August 5pm – 8pm
