Elan Valley

Teflon Dave

Has anyboby ridden the Monks Trod trail at the end of the Claerwen reservoir in the Elan Valley region?, as the trail is open to 4X4 vehicles i wondered if it is ok for a mountain bike, or is it too rutted?.

Paulie W

I rode it a couple of years ago. The Claerwen end is very boggy for a long stretch and therefore not really rideable and then it becomes heavily rutted. They'd stopped 4x4s using it at that point - in theory at least - but it was almost too late. Not sure whether this ban is still in place. You had to ride at a very slow pace for fear of dropping into a ditch. It gets better further into the ride and the scenery is magnificent (particularly the sense that you are in the middle of nowhere with no-one else for miles around, which you rarely get in the UK, even in the Highlands). If you do it, think of it as an old-school MTB adventure and dont expect any flow or fast descents.

Check out: http://www.ridingthetrod.com/ride.htm - someone recently rode the whole route on horseback and there might be some better clues as to the state of the trail at the moment.

Teflon Dave

Thanks for that, more research and perhaps a recce is in order.