, mid-Wales

THE LOWDOWN ELAN VALLEY

Liverpool

Rhayader Shrewsbury

Birmingham Cardigan

Swansea Chippenham

DISTANCE: 1425 MILES CLIMBING: 2,0004,000FT TIME: 36 HOURS GRADING: UNGRADED, BUT EXPOSED HILLTOPS AND SOME NAVIGATION REQUIRED WHY RIDE HERE? This is out there, big country riding at its best, but it’s all within easy reach of civilisation RAD…  Epic views  Remote, back country feel  Great descents BAD…  Lots of climbing  You need a map and/or a guide to get around

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MBK293.w_crew.indd 166 7/10/13 10:21 AM Nestled smack in the middle of Wales, this compact area of lakes and hills offers easily accessible big country riding for everyone Words and Pics Seb Rogers

ou’re not likely to stumble your way to the nearby trail referred to as the Welsh Lake across the Elan Valley by centre at Nant-yr-Arian. District. OK, it’s a smaller area accident. It is, by any But its remoteness is exactly than the Lake District National Yreasonable standards, in what makes the Elan Valley Park. And the lakes aren’t the middle of nowhere. It’s not special. There’s a clue to just natural, they’re reservoirs even on the way to anywhere how special in the fact that created by dams. But you get in particular, unless you this network of hills, valleys the idea. Big hills. Big lakes. happen to be passing by on and lakes is sometimes Big country. Big riding.

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MBK293.w_crew.indd 167 7/10/13 10:21 AM IN THE REMOTE WELSH HILLSIDES THAT ENCOMPASS THE LAKES, THERE’S ENOUGH RIDING TO KEEP YOU OCCUPIED FOR DAYS

Water, water have flooded miles of upland everywhere hillsides. And, more The lakes are almost certainly significantly for us, the trails what draws people to this area, criss-crossing them. Luckily but they serve a bigger purpose sanity prevailed, the plans were – this is where Birmingham dropped and the riding is as gets a lot of its water from. Late good as it’s always been. in the 19th century the city was How good? Well, this is expanding rapidly and there proper big, out there riding. The wasn’t enough clean water to go area’s criss-crossed with around. So the city council bridleways, byways and the like bought up the hills surrounding (basically, mostly fair game for the Elan Valley, built a railway to mountain biking). In the 150sq transport goods and workers, km or so of remote Welsh and started building. hillsides that encompass the The result is four big dams lakes, there’s enough riding to and reservoirs containing up to keep you occupied for several 100 billion litres of water. The days, probably. water flows downhill – no The thing is, it sounds like a pumps required – for over big area, but isn’t. A square of 100km to Birmingham, taking a 12km by 12km more or less day and a half to reach the city. completely encloses the lakes. Why is this relevant to The market town of is riding? Well it isn’t, really, about 5km away – and there’s a except that there was a plan in visitor centre with café and Not another soul in sight. the 70s to convert one of the toilets next to Elan Village. Big It makes us wonder how long it’s been since existing reservoirs into a country riding was never so anyone else rode here mega-reservoir, which would civilised, or accessible.

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MBK293.w_crew.indd 168 7/10/13 10:21 AM MANUAL

The thrill-ride descents must inevitably be earned with a climb. This one’s pretty good as it goes

The Wrecking Crew Who are we?

GUEST RIDER GUEST RIDER SEB ROGERS MATT PAGE ROWAN SORRELL Writer and snapper Solo endurance Pro trail builder Seb has been with specialist Matt also Rowan is one of the MBUK for longer leads guided rides people behind than he’d admit! in the Elan Valley BikePark Wales

ANDREW DODD ROBIN WEAVER JAMES BLACKWELL Doddy’s on the Rob’s a racer at Five feet of trouble, never-ending search heart and loves a bit Jamer rides quick for the ultimate trail of downhill action and talks quicker

Rowan manuals his way Does Rowan ever through a typically moist ride with two wheels section of Welsh trail on the ground?!

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MBK293.w_crew.indd 169 7/10/13 10:21 AM ROWAN PROVING HIS DESCENDING SKILLS BY RIDING A NONEXISTENT LINE OFF A ROCK DROP PARTWAY DOWN „ RESPECT

Truly out there which is only emphasised by To prove it to us, MBUK’s the lack of any tyre tracks on LOCAL resident endurance rider Matt the trails. For all we know, we’re KNOWLEDGE Page has ošered to show us the only riders to have been round, and trail building guru here for weeks. LOCALS DO… Rowan Sorrell’s turned up for What goes up must come  Park at the visitor the day too. We head out of the down, apparently. Certainly centre (£2 all day) visitor centre back down the works here, and it turns out that  Take a map with road towards Rhayader for a the descent - passing through them, even if they short distance, before turning the saddle between the summits know the route up through a gate to start the of Y Glog Fawr and Y Foel – is a The trails, the views…  Slow down for everything about big climb into the hills. peach. Fast and narrow, it keeps walkers The bridleways around here concentration and fun levels this place rules! are all fairly clearly marked with high. Until, as we crest a short LOCALS DON’T… blue arrows on posts or signs, uphill rise, Garreg-ddu reservoir but you still need to use your heaves into view below us. WRECKING CREW  Leave gates open head from time to time. A map  Spook the sheep or a guide who knows the area Down, down, deeper WISDOM grazing on the hills both come in handy too – we and down You’re never too far from civilisation, are lucky to have Matt here. He Views like this are one of the but don’t underestimate the knows this patch like the back of reasons for riding the Elan potential for serious weather in the his hand. Valley, so – despite the hills. Take a map, waterproof, food, water, pump, spare tube and tools. As we gain height, we excitement of the descent – Not all the trails are clearly marked, gradually leave the fields behind we all pause for a moment to especially on top of the hills where in a patchwork that blankets the drink it in. But the pull of weather takes its toll on signs. Some valley below. The trail narrows, gravity proves too strong to turnings may not be obvious - keep climbing through scrubby resist and it’s not long before your eyes open and keep checking vegetation to emerge on we’re barrelling down the hill the map. Or hire a guide… moorland overlooking two of the again, Rowan proving his SEB ROGERS MBUK WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER valleys. There’s a real sense of descending skills by riding a isolation and piercing, non-existent line oš a rock drop enveloping quietness, all of partway down. Respect.

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MBK293.w_crew.indd 170 7/10/13 10:21 AM THE DIRECTORY It’s really hard to resist a gravity EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW hit like this ABOUT THE ELAN VALLEY

GET YOUR G ET THERE LOCAL RIDE Rhayader is on the A470 FEATURED! between and We’re on the lookout . Come of the M5 at for new great riding junction 6 or 7, then after locations to send our Worcester, it’s a straight run on Wrecking Crew to. If you think we’ve missed the A44. one near you or you know of some hidden gem that we don’t then CONTACT send us your riding www.elanvalley.org.uk videos or helmet cam footage of the spot and www.rhayader.co.uk we’ll do our best to come and visit. And we’ll invite you along to FACILITI ES pass on your local Visitor centre, café, car park (£2 knowledge. Send us the details and video a day), toilets, bike hire footage to – mbuk@ futurenet.com B IKE SHOP When a pro trail builder gives an area Clive Powell, 01597 811343 his seal of approval, www.clivepowell-mtb.co.uk you know it’s good! WHAT E L SE I S NEARBY? Still buzzing from the Past the radio mast at Rhos y Nant-yr-Arian: Three experience of the view-soaked Gelynnen it is, then. all-weather trails just a short descent, we make use of the This one is not as tight or as drive from Rhayader purpose-built cycle track around technical as this morning’s Coed-y-Brenin: Further north is the reservoir to spin the few gravity run was. And the view is Wales’ premier trail centre with kilometres back to the visitor almost entirely hidden by the its six epic routes centre. After refuelling in the forest. But the descent’s a good Brechfa: Trails for all abilities to café surrounded by a coach load ’un all the same, beginning as the south-west of the Elan Valley of pensioners, we head back out fast, tight singletrack and ending for round two. in a rocky, bottle-testing gulley VERDICT The afternoon’s route is of a trail. mellower than the morning’s, We’ve got bigger grins than The Elan Valley doesn’t offer the easy access, groomed trails and making use of wide tracks along the people we’ve seen out effortless fun of a trail centre. What the reservoir and river edges to testing the new Range Rovers all it does offer though, is a taste of true gain height towards the day, which can’t be bad. “I’ll British wilderness riding within a short distance of a visitor centre enormous reservoir definitely be coming back,” says with all the facilities you’d expect. gradually before cutting loose to pro trail builder Rowan. What climb onto the hilltops again. bigger recommendation can you Gotta climb to descend, right? get than that?

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