Wales has some of the best biking you’ll find anywhere, with quiet country lanes, remote hills and ancient forests, miles of gravel and world class single track. There’s a ride here for just about everyone. The only thing Wales isn’t good at is being flat! Expect an average road ride to have something in the region of 1,000ft of elevation for every 10 miles, but if you press on, you’ll be rewarded with beautiful scenery and a sense of wilderness that is lost in many parts of the UK.

Road Riding

It’s hard to go too far wrong with a road ride here, find a nice café half the distance you want to ride and head out, most of the roads are quiet and reasonably well maintained. But if you need a little help we have a GPS unit with some pre-loaded road rides available to rent for £15 (per stay). You’ll also find OS maps in the house and we’re usually around if you fancy a chat about routes.

Gravel/MTB

Most of the best gravel can be found towards Llyn Brianne/Elan Valley, that section of mid Wales is made for a gravel adventure, you’ll find miles of forestry tracks and winding lanes to explore. Below are some of our favoured MTB trails, some of which can be ridden on gravel bikes and most have forestry tracks and quiet roads nearby.

Brechfa Forrest – Brechfa has the closest marked mountain bike trails. It has green, blue, red and black routes. It’s quiet, fun, well maintained and really well designed. There are three car parks, access to the start of all trails is found at the two car parks close to Abergorlech (around 45mins), where you’ll also find an excellent pub for post ride refreshments. The third car park at Sifigwm (30mins) has access to the red route only and starts at the top of the valley, halfway through the loop. We’d recommend a mountain bike for all trails except the green trail; however, we have ridden all except black on gravel bikes and still had a bunch of fun. Free car parking and trails.

Bwlch Nant yr Arian – A little over an hours drive, Bwlch Nant yr Arian has a visitor centre/café/red kite feeding station and a good selection of trails from blue to black. The scenery is typical Mid Wales, desolate and still, interspersed with plantation woodland. If you have time and a good level of fitness, the black trail is no more technical than the red trails but is far longer, taking you across open moor for a real sense of wilderness. A mountain bike is recommended for red and black trails. Paid parking or the layby at the entrance is free if there’s space. Trails are free.

Llys y Fran – A Wesh Water owned reservoir with visitor centre and café. The biking routes follow the reservoir, as such the sections (and the loop itself) are fairly short, climbing away from the waters edge to gain elevation before dropping back down. The park can get quite busy, especially in the summer. We’ve ridden all trails on both gravel but would recommend MTB for red. 50mins drive, paid parking, free trails.

Cwm Rhaeadr – A single red-graded trail, a steady ascent up the Cwm (valley), and a single descent 4km back to the car park. Given its short length we’d probably not recommend a special trip, but a nice one to do if you’re heading out that way. Free trails and car park.

Afan Forest Park – Owned and managed by Natural Resources Wales, Afan has established itself as one of the best sites in the UK. Catering mainly for intermediate to advanced riders it has some fun flowy trails and some tough technical stuff too. Leave the gravel bike behind for anything more than the green or blue. Bike hire, café and an excellent bike shop all on site/nearby. 1.15mins drive, paid parking and free trails.

Elan Valley – A bit of a drive (1.50mins), but a wonderful location for those wishing to advance their skills. The dams themselves are worth the trek alone (especially after good rainfall). A good selection of trails for all abilities, spectacular scenery and on some of the longer trails a real sense of isolation. Be aware some of the long trails will involve some hiker/bike in bad weather as some of the trail is shared with 4×4 users, if you want to keep your feet dry stick to the easy stuff. Some trails can be ridden on gravel bikes. Visitor centre and café, free trails.

Bike Park Wales – With over 40 purpose-built trails, if you can’t find something here then you probably shouldn’t be riding! Bike Park Wales is a Mecca for mountain bike, think ski resort, now take away the snow and skis and add a whole load of bikes. There’s bike hire, uplift service a café and just about everything else you’d expect from a world class ski bike centre. 1.50mins drive, check website for costs. This is the only park we haven’t personally ridden but we thought it was worth including, given its scale.

For more information on all the trails above and more, please visit MBwales.com