Overview
The trail centres in South Wales are truly fantastic – but we feel that there's a lot of riding that gets overlooked here, and that actually includes some of the lesser ridden man-made trails. Normally we like to give a balance of natural vs. built riding – and this week will do that too...however, we're going to show you not only amazing natural routes that might be new to you, but we're going to take you to a couple of man-made spots that seem to have slipped under most people's radar! Over the course of the week you will ride at least 5 days, guided at nearly all times by our expert staff, and we'll always be on hand to help you identify the best routes and sections to get the most from your visit.
We'll start off with some familiar territory by taking you on one of our eye-opening "Escape the Centre" rides, which are designed to give you a taste of what lies just out of sight of the trail markers at the trail centres. We've actually developed a whole host of these routes at the South Welsh centres, but trust us; you're going to be amazed at the hidden natural singletrack that you never realised was there! Departing from Cwmcarn's car park we'll barely see a route marker all day – but the singletrack on offer will test your mettle in preparation for the rest of the week.
At Afan we'll stick a little more to the brilliant marked routes, but we'll show you a way of linking together the riding at the higher and lower visitor centres that you will probably never have realised was possible – or if you've never been here before you can always opt to have a day on the brilliant marked routes!
Something More Natural
Of course, no week with us would be complete without some natural trails, and we have some great natural routes which we can take you on in both the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains – you can either opt for one of our own concoctions or we'll take you on a classic Welsh epic – like our version of the infamous "Gap Ride" which offers some fantastic technical natural trails with stiff climbs and monumental descents set against the backdrop of South Britain's highest mountain, Pen y Fan.
Back at the trail centres there are a few locations which attract far less visitor numbers, but are every bit the equal of their limelight-hogging counterparts – we'll give you a chance to see how good they really are. Some of these are trails that you may have overlooked in favour of the "star attractions" at centres you have visited in the past, whilst others are simply too far to drive to for many people who have visited the area on a day or weekend trip.
There's also the option*, if you choose to accept it, to undertake our "Secret Raid Mission" which means an early drive to strike into the interior of Wales to experience one of the most incredible sections of singletrack in the UK. Due to its extremely remote location, this amazing trail rarely sees visitors – but we've been out and scouted it, and can confirm it is something very special indeed....super technical climbing challenges reward you with an enormous descent into a deep valley and through a ravine on sinuous and often challenging singletrack....did we mention that this is all set amongst some of the most dramatic scenery in the UK?
*- a small extra fuel charge will apply
