Trail Centre Review Number 1: Coed y Brenin, Snowdonia, Wales

Coed y Brenin is a trail centre located in South Snowdonia, Wales about 15 mins drive from the town of Dolgellau. It was the first forest to be developed for the sport of mountain biking. I actually hired a bike here back in 1992 at the grand old age of 12 but it wasn't until 2007 that I got back on a mountain bike and started to experience the sport properly.

It's close to my heart as I've been coming here many times over the years. I've seen it develop into an amazing facility that I can't recommend highly enough and is getting more and more popular as the place develops with more investment.

In terms of trails in 2011 there is plenty for beginners, families and the more experienced riders. There's also fantastic walks in the forest, a Go Ape activity centre and amazing scenery from the rivers that run by the trails, to the far reaching views over to the Cadair Idris mountain range. It's beautiful...I especially love the alpine feeling you get here when cycling over the bridges with the white water of the rivers lashing underneath and the sweet smell of pine wafting under the nostrils.

Facilities

There is ample parking to cater for the busiest of days with the current cost of parking at £4 for the whole day and lower prices for less hours.

The visitor centre here is fantastic - a great eco build type facility with information on trails, walks and friendly staff on hand to answer any questions.

There is of course an excellent cafe with great value tea and cakes and sandwiches etc - awesome for a wind down after some activity on the trails.

If you catch a nice day there's great benches outside too to sit and chill out with your bikes, tea and cake.

Below the visitor centre is a bike shop, toilets and showers. Not all visitor centres have showers which can be a bit of a bummer if you're riding in wet conditions but Coed y Brenin does it all! At £1 for 3 minutes it's come in handy for me recently after a very wet bank holiday.

Bike Hire

I've hired bikes here a couple of times. Their entry level hardtail Trek at £25 for the day is sufficient enough for a blast round the trails (although I'm not a fan of the Suntour suspension forks).

If you fancy a full suspension beast which will be a little slower on the uphills but pack more of a punch on the downhills I recommend the Specialized Enduro Expert which is £45 for the day.

I think that these prices for all day are darn good value. If you're thinking of getting a mountain bike then hiring one out and trying a trail centre with it is a great way to start your buying decision process. You'll get a feel for what's right for you which is the most important thing.

Bike hire info at Beics Brenin can be found here: CLICK HERE

Trails

Now for the most important bit! In summary Coed y Brenin's trails are fantatsic fun, not too technical, lots of very well built singletrack, well maintained and are great to ride in most weather conditions all year round. A great bonus is they never get that busy once you're out there (despite when the car park suggests otherwise and compared to somewhere like  Llandegla on a weekend).

For the beginner / families and for a little bit of fun for the more experienced riders there is a new blue run which opened this year called The Minor Taur. 

I got my mum and dad to try this run and trust me I mean it when I say they have the most basic of skills on a bike i.e. they like to ride very steady on flat ground. 

After a bit of encouragement I got them whizzing down the Minor Taur...and at the end my mum liked it so much she did it twice and is keen to go back. 

I think this trail epitimises the quality of build at Coed y Brenin - basic enough for beginners yet still a lot of fun for someone like me... a more experienced rider to do at pace (watch out for the slower paced beginners though and pay them respect). 

In fact I now prefer to start off all my riding at Coed y Brenin with the first section of Minor Taur to get warmed up, you can check in your basic skills and start the day's riding with a great flow. There's really good racing lines to be taken, great flowing berms, cheeky table tops, easy switchbacks and some nice little drops. Hats off to the trail builders here. There are currently two sections of the Minor Taur built with another five to come over the next few years - I look forward to giving them a go and taking more newbie riders for the experience.

For more detailed trail info CLICK HERE

                                  Mum and dad hitting the Minor Taur trail!

Mossy's Magic Mash Up!

For the more experienced rider there are a number of trails graded red to black that criss cross each other and ranging in distance from circa 8km - 40km. After trying all the trails there this summer I came up with my own mix to create Mossy's Magic Mash Up. I believe this takes in all the very best parts you can do at Coed y Brenin (sometimes twice) which gives you a massive bang for your buck over the course of about 3 hrs or so - give or take depending on your fitness. Sweet sweet singletrack track at pace: this bad boy is a lot of fun with grin factors everywhere!

In terms of the route here goes:
1. Start off on the first section of the Minor Taur starting at the back of the visitor centre to the left - enjoy the fast racing lines, nice little drops, the odd table top and superbly built berms at the end.
2. After this first section get onto the tarmac road ahead and take a left climb up a short but steep hill - about half way up on the right you will join the mbr / Dragon's Back section - take the trail up here which leads you onto dream time - a fantastic flowing section that definitely gets the blood pumping - it's flowing, there are a couple of small drops, and a nice bermy switchback bit at the end too.
3. Once completed and back on the tarmac road head right and go back on yourself following the green markers onto the forest road, then at the end of the forest road turn right back onto the tarmac road and yes head back up that steep hill you've just done but this time carrying on up taking 'The Beast' route.
4. Go passed The Beginning of the End, up Brutus which is a bit of a brute!, tackle Cain with no dabbing! Then after here you get to a lovely new section - Adam & Eve
5. I recommend doing Adam and Eve at least twice (just cycle or push up the old downhill path next to it to re-start) - especially if it's new to you. Swooping berms, table tops, hills, and crazy roller things...hit them right and it's just like a roller coaster...gets better each time you do it. Awesome - check out this vid - CLICK HERE
6. Once you've had your fun here head on through Slated, Abel aand to false teeth - all brilliant in their own right - especially false teeth - watch for the drop offs - they get bigger!
7. Once you've been spat out after, instead of taking as directed Bugsy head on up the forest road which will take you to the start of Uncle Fester - this being one of my favourite sections of singletrack at Coed y Brenin I prefer to take this route down to start the climb towards the Pink heifer. It's fast - no need for brakes when taking the racing lines! Love it
8. Once onto the Pink Heifer and into Big Doug be prepared for a lung burner awesome singletrack experience - this is where fitness really pays - alongside the adrenaline this makes for a great bit of riding.
9. Head up forest road to Beefy, then up again until Hermon - again a cracking little section - great to race down with a friend or two - goading each other as it spits you out at the bottom of a tarmac hill.
10. Go passed the cafe on the left hand side and follow the tarmac road up the steep ascent - then instead of following the Beast signs to the right onto the forest road, take the left hand option and continue on the tarmac road. This is a steep climb and I recommend getting off and walking it so you can save your energy for the descents at the top. When you start to get to more or less the top of the hill take the second right onto the forest road. Carry on here until you get to the start of Gomez.
11. Catch some breath - have a rest then prepare for an amazingly varied decscent that will test the mind, body, and soul - but all in a good way! All you need to do is follow the signs of The Beast as here it picks up the route again. I try and do Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Lurch and then Uncle Fester all in one without stopping. I also like to interchange leader on alternate sections if biking with a buddy (usually my friend Sam!). Once at the end of Uncle Fester it's massive grins!
12. If you're still feeling fit you can follow the Beast signs still and pick up the last leg burning hill and then go onto the Beginning of The End. As an alternative you could do Dream Time again...or just follow the green route back to base!


All in all this is a fantastic route with loads of fun to be had and is the one I'll be doing each time I go - until they bring out more sections of course ;-)


For information on all routes CLICK HERE

Finally...
Coed Y Brenin is getting some really good investment which is going into very good use in developing the new beginners Minor Taur Trail and now a skills area to practice those core elements of moutain biking.  Without a doubt come here, spend your money, enjoy your time...it is a first class place.

I recommend becoming a fan of their Facebook page to keep up to date with what's going on and you can also follow the MTB Ranger for the region, Andy, on twitter @MTBRanger. Plenty of accommodation in the area - check out Cadair View Lodge. Lots of other places to visit and outdoor activities to do - climbing the Cadir Idris Mountain, doing the Mawdach trail on a bike (nice and easy) - great area for families and days of entertainment.