Afan- Why go there these days?

kevolution

The penhydd trail has been closed for ages, the Skyline has been diverted so it's mostly firetrack and now they've closed the climb on the Wall.
So you can't ride the W2 trail, and White's is so cut up it's not worth riding.
What the hell s going on?
Get your act together FC guys. You're spoiling one of the best trail centres in the country.

welshkev

i agree in some respects but as for the wall you only miss out a bit of the old railway line and the bottom of the fireroad, and the diversion is about the same amount of climbing anyway :?

but i do miss the penhydd trail, not vas technical as the others but more fun

i don't really like whites so i very rarely ride it

Thewaylander

Most locals don't really like whites its not a flowing trail in anyways.

And i find it annoying at the moment too most half the skyline trail has been closed for 6 months or so, which is a bit long. Need to get about and find the local trails anyways there meant to be way way better from what iv'e heard.

Pumpkin Positive

I'm heading up to Afan next week I was planning on doing Skyline or W2 on Monday and The Wall on Tuesday.

Is it worth the journey from Devon or should I be thinking about somewhere else instead?

welshkev

Pumpkin Positive wrote:

I'm heading up to Afan next week I was planning on doing Skyline or W2 on Monday and The Wall on Tuesday.

Is it worth the journey from Devon or should I be thinking about somewhere else instead?

i would still say yes, the wall alone is worth it IMO and the weather is nice 8)

Thewaylander

All the way from Devon when most of it is shut, To be honest I'd say no, I'd drive on by and go to Brechfa and the ones near Aber.

welshkev

all the way from devon? it's only abuot 2 and half hours. and brechfa would add another hour onto that. OK all the trails are open down there. but you can still get around w2, the wall, whites and the july trail, aswell as a shortened skyline and with some exploring other places.

ok, so it's not the full selection of afan trails but still worth a trip.

with also maybe a stop at cwmcarn on the way back why go all the way to brechfa unless you wanted to go there in the first place?

Thewaylander

Its about 40 mintutes further Afan,

And to be honest i would say the trails are a good step up in terms of fun and challenge, He is traveling for a long trip not a day trip so the further distance isn't an issue.
There are no decent facilities left at Afan bar a bike shop currently the guy who used to run the cafe spends his time in his bus by brechfa,

Basically for 40 mintues its just a better palle to be at the moment IMO and if you making the effort to come all the way over from Deveon why not go the trip for the fun.

welshkev

i've not ridden there but have heard the trails are good. but there's no services at brechfa is there? are there even any toilets?

ok, so you have the drop off bus but that's it. i'll admit it would be a good weekend away as an alternative to afan

P-Jay

welshkev wrote:

i've not ridden there but have heard the trails are good. but there's no services at brechfa is there? are there even any toilets?

ok, so you have the drop off bus but that's it. i'll admit it would be a good weekend away as an alternative to afan

Trails are great! No real facilities, a few thunderboxes for loos, I heard the Drop Off bus has ended for some reason - sad times.

Local pubs are really nice though.

Silversladey

Thewaylander wrote:

Its about 40 mintutes further Afan,

And to be honest i would say the trails are a good step up in terms of fun and challenge, He is traveling for a long trip not a day trip so the further distance isn't an issue.
There are no decent facilities left at Afan bar a bike shop currently the guy who used to run the cafe spends his time in his bus by brechfa,

Basically for 40 mintues its just a better palle to be at the moment IMO and if you making the effort to come all the way over from Deveon why not go the trip for the fun.

40 minutes Maybe in a helicopter, well over an hour in the real world closer to an hour and a half

The roads around Abergorlech are real slow

I did a trip there last year

the red (Gorlech) is pretty good but not as good as Cwmcarn/Whites or the Wall
the black is a bit bonkers
The Green/ Blue is awesome

Johnskiii

Thewaylander wrote:

Most locals don't really like whites its not a flowing trail in anyways.

And i find it annoying at the moment too most half the skyline trail has been closed for 6 months or so, which is a bit long. Need to get about and find the local trails anyways there meant to be way way better from what iv'e heard.

Hey Weylander....Im a local (Live about 3 miles from Afan) I love whites level!!

The climb at the beginning is totally evil, In fact I completly ignore it and take alternative routes up. Whites is great from "Windy point" onwards imo.

As the months drift by I am getting more and more annoyed about the situation at Afan.
I know the forest is suffering from a disease and all efforts are geared towards getting that sorted but its really taking its toll on the trails.


Penhydd has been closed for a year (Was supposed to be opened this April but now has been pushed back to late summer at least) Certain sections of Skyline have been closed since summer 2009, I know this because that was when I took up mountainbiking seriously. Ive riden afan 3 times a week for the last 2 years and there are still singletrack sections up there I have never riden because they have been closed all this time.

Last time I bothered with Skyline (Mid Jan) It was in a hell of a mess.

I feel sorry for people who travel for hours to get to afan only to find every trail diverted onto stupid fire roads. The park is only damaging itself ultimately because these tourists will look elsewhere next time they pack their bikes onto their roof racks. Im spending more and more time at Rheola and Kilvey hill these days, simply because I know they will be open when I go there.

Also, If you are coming a long way to afan, My advice would (As people above have already said) be to carry on and head to Brechfa. Dont bother with Afan for a few months, its just full of diversions and forestry workers who cut trees and leave hundreds of thousands of tiny little puncture making twigs ALL OVER THE TRAIL

jon.lane

What are the alternate routes up the White's first climb? :? it is a sh*t of a killer climb although is a great buzz when achieved. alsoooo... does anyone know of any trails around the Sarn/Bridgend area i could try out without driving to? If anyone else is a local or knows one.

welshkev

he things is, i don't fine the climb on white's that bad :? i mean it's not and 'easy' climb but i find cwmcarns much harder.

sorry mate, i don't really know bridgend so can't help you with routes there

Stanners79

jon.lane wrote:

What are the alternate routes up the White's first climb? :? it is a sh*t of a killer climb although is a great buzz when achieved. alsoooo... does anyone know of any trails around the Sarn/Bridgend area i could try out without driving to? If anyone else is a local or knows one.

There's an alternative way up which I go with my mate when it's busy up Glyncorrwg. You head down the cycle path and turn right into Abercregan and keep following the main road until it stops and turns into a rocky road.

About 2-300m up this (gentlish climb), the fireroad starts and there are two options.

1. Turn right and head up fireroad which takes you to the road between Goodwood and darkside.
2. Turn left and go up a steep rocky path which takes you out by the end of energy and the start of goodwood.

Its the red and black escape road on the link below

http://www.mbwales.com/media/viewfile.a ... filetype=4

I live in Bridgend, and have mainly road rides around the area, not much off road stuff as when me and a mate looked, we encountered some rather pissed off farmers!

miss notax

We are off to Afan for 3 days this weekend.... :?

I like Whites Level though (can easily ride that at least twice!), and a shortened version of Skyline. The Wall is also good fun.

Having said that, I might be tempted to drive up and give Brechfa another go.... I rode it about 2 years ago and managed to terrify myself :shock:

Thewaylander

Silversladey wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

Its about 40 mintutes further Afan,

And to be honest i would say the trails are a good step up in terms of fun and challenge, He is traveling for a long trip not a day trip so the further distance isn't an issue.
There are no decent facilities left at Afan bar a bike shop currently the guy who used to run the cafe spends his time in his bus by brechfa,

Basically for 40 mintues its just a better palle to be at the moment IMO and if you making the effort to come all the way over from Deveon why not go the trip for the fun.

40 minutes Maybe in a helicopter, well over an hour in the real world closer to an hour and a half

The roads around Abergorlech are real slow

Ok i took my car to be serviced around there.

I did a trip there last year

the red (Gorlech) is pretty good but not as good as Cwmcarn/Whites or the Wall
the black is a bit bonkers
The Green/ Blue is awesome

Took me an hour 15 from Newport without breaking the speed limit. Its about 40 min from afan.

Silversladey

Thewaylander wrote:

Silversladey wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

Its about 40 mintutes further Afan,

And to be honest i would say the trails are a good step up in terms of fun and challenge, He is traveling for a long trip not a day trip so the further distance isn't an issue.
There are no decent facilities left at Afan bar a bike shop currently the guy who used to run the cafe spends his time in his bus by brechfa,

Basically for 40 mintues its just a better palle to be at the moment IMO and if you making the effort to come all the way over from Deveon why not go the trip for the fun.

40 minutes Maybe in a helicopter, well over an hour in the real world closer to an hour and a half

The roads around Abergorlech are real slow

Ok i took my car to be serviced around there.

I did a trip there last year

the red (Gorlech) is pretty good but not as good as Cwmcarn/Whites or the Wall
the black is a bit bonkers
The Green/ Blue is awesome

Took me an hour 15 from Newport without breaking the speed limit. Its about 40 min from afan.

you have messed around with my post when you have quoted me

in between the lines " the roads are real slow and i did a trip there last year you" seem you have inserted the line "ok i took my car to be serviced there" what is that about.

Any ways i must have caught all the local farmers Pootling around in their tractors i found the roads real slow after you come off the M4.

And regardless of the extra time Brechfa is worth a visit

Thewaylander

LOl actualy that was me trying to type my message at work, and i think it inserted bits all over due to it being sooooooooooooooooooooo slow, bounces all our net trafic through our danish servers. total pest i can tell ya.

Silversladey

Thewaylander wrote:

LOl actualy that was me trying to type my message at work, and i think it inserted bits all over due to it being sooooooooooooooooooooo slow, bounces all our net trafic through our danish servers. total pest i can tell ya.

Thought so

So Bri have we agreed that :-

Brechfa is well worth a visit and has more to offer than Afan at the moment

It is quite far somewhere between 10 minutes and 3 hours from Afan

And Whites Level is the best trail in S Wales

jon.lane

welshkev. never been to cwmcarn. dyin to go but not sure what it's like there. heard good things. is there much in the way of xc tho? don't have a DH bike.

cheers stanners will have a go at the alt routes when i'm up there next.

no worries about not havin a trail around my area.

Thewaylander

Silversladey wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

LOl actualy that was me trying to type my message at work, and i think it inserted bits all over due to it being sooooooooooooooooooooo slow, bounces all our net trafic through our danish servers. total pest i can tell ya.

Thought so

So Bri have we agreed that :-

Brechfa is well worth a visit and has more to offer than Afan at the moment

It is quite far somewhere between 10 minutes and 3 hours from Afan

And Whites Level is the WORST trail in S Wales

yup about that hehe

welshkev

jon.lane wrote:

welshkev. never been to cwmcarn. dyin to go but not sure what it's like there. heard good things. is there much in the way of xc tho? don't have a DH bike.

.

yep cwmcarn has a great xc trail (unfortunately only 1, but there's tons of extensions you can do to that) next time we're all there come and have a go with us. it's got a killer 1st climb - which i sometimes cheat and take the fireroad :oops: but it's a great trail

sladey, you got that right about whites

Sinkrate

hi, is the xc trail the Twrch over at Cwmcarn?

Off to the Beacons next week and was thinking of dropping in at a trail centre.

Cheers

welshkev

Sinkrate wrote:

hi, is the xc trail the Twrch over at Cwmcarn?

Off to the Beacons next week and was thinking of dropping in at a trail centre.

Cheers

yes mate, the twrch is the xc trail

AND BREAKING NEWS (maybe)

i've just read MBUK and apparently they're closing the skyline trail to make way for a new windfarm

Thewaylander

You joking kev?

Only reason i go to that trail center is to ride that or shortened versions of that

welshkev

nope not joking, it'll be shut by june i think they said

Thewaylander

ok crap.

I best get a full skyline ride or two in before then

miss notax

welshkev wrote:

nope not joking, it'll be shut by june i think they said

Blimey :shock:

Glad I rode a shortened version yesterday morning then (although I still have to conquer that bloody rocky step section on the descent before they close it :? )!

Johnskiii

Goodwood and Darkside are closed on Whites level now.
Reason - Evil tree fungus that is taking complete hold on Afan forest.

Diversion is back up the black run climb and all the way round to Peregrine ridge (Which as far as I remember is the final descent off skyline)

I didnt bother, turned onto the W2 link road and came down the end of the Wall trail.

More misery for cycle tourists. I actually enjoyed the extra bit I did last night because the descent on the wall is nearer to my house. I would be very annoyed if I lived miles away tho.
Penhydd still totally closed and tramway? (Forgotten exact name) Still shut on the Wall.
Also the fire roads are being torn to bits with all the heavy duty plant machinery that is rolling around the mountains all the time. One of the fire roads on the wall was very very rutty and muddy in the wet yesterday

God knows whats closed on Skyline at the moment,I dont want to ride all the way out there just to be diverted all the time.

If the rumours are true and Skyline is going to be closed that is very sad news indeed. Afan will lose its grip as one of the better centres in South Wales if they dont replace it.


Surely they can build a wind farm around the trail? its not like the turbines take up ALL the space on the mountain?