Abstract:
From 2020 to 2022, David Evans (Bike Corris Ltd) was contract by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to survey and risk-assess “Wild Trails” built across Wales by the mountain bike (MTB) community. David personally rode over 200km of these Trails during his work, noting not only the safety aspects required by his contract, but also the design, layout and feeling these Trails provided.
During this time David also ran development programmes for young riders and volunteered leading children’s sessions with a local MTB club at the Coed Y Brenin. From running these activities, David realised the difference in layout between “Trail Centre” and “Wild Trail” sites made a big difference to the learning environment, and the suitability of a venue for multi-skilled groups.
This paper presents those differences and highlights features found in Wild Trail site which could be adopted to modernise Trail Centre design, creating a more progressive environment in which to develop the sport.
Introducing the Trail Centre:
Prior to the Trail Centre concept arriving in the UK, a typical recreational mountain bike ride would have involved planning a journey by bridleway using an OS map. Once underway, the riders would have to make frequent stops to check navigation and open gates. Bridleways were often overgrown or flooded (Fig.1) and some landowners did not take kindly to this new method of crossing their land.
Figure 1 - Mountain Biking Before Trail Centres
Whilst fun in a certain way, this style of riding lacked flow. When the UK’s first Trail Centre opened at Coed y Brenin, it provided a choice of Routes, on purpose built singletrack, with signs to follow and best of all, no gates! This brand-new experience was well received by the MTB community and quickly prospered!
As the Trail Centre model proved popular with riders it was widely copied across the UK. Forestry Commission Wales were keen to capitalise on their resources and in the early 2000’s built centres in Brechfa, Afan Argoed, Nant Y Arian and Cwm Carn. A single dedicated MTB Trail was also constructed in the Gwydir forest, North Wales at this time.
The Layout of a Trail Centre:
For consistency, I used the following terminology when discussing trail centres and wild trails:
· Site – The area of land in which the Trails lie.
· Trail – A section of singletrack within the Site designed and constructed to be ridden by mountain bike.
· Route – A collection of Trails brought together to create a journey
Although each Trail Centre location is geographically unique, the deigned riding experience follows similar lines. The typical riding experience goes something like this:
· The rider arrives at the Site via a carpark at the bottom of a hill. From here they have a choice of Routes, usually based on distance.
· The ride starts with a climb, which may be a mixture of forest road and uphill Trail sections.
· On reaching the top of the climb, the ground becomes more undulating and the riders follows several sections of Trail along a linear Route.
· At the end of the elevated part of the Route, the terrain steepens for the final Trail descending back to the carpark.
If we take Cwm Carn as an example (Fig. 2), we can see the waymarked Routes in red. The Routes start from the car park (Fig.2-1) via a long (c. 3km) initial climb (Fig.2-2). At the top of the hill, the Routes follow several undulating Trails (Fig.2-3) around either side of the valley, before entering their final trails for a steeper descent (Fig.2-4) back to the carpark.
Figure 2: Map of Cwm Carn with Trail Centre features highlighted.
NRW states Red Trails are suitable for “Proficient mountain bikers with good off-road riding skills and higher level of fitness and stamina” (2). While a rider of that calibre is likely to have a good time on a Route built to the above criteria, those who are less fit or still developing their developing skills, would have a completely different experience on the same Route.
How it feels for a beginner:
From running kids’ session and guiding less skilled clients around several Trail Centres, I noticed their experience of this Site layout is very different to that of an experienced rider. Many beginners perceive the existing Trail Centre design along these lines:
· The rider arrives at a carpark. Sees a massive hill. Asks “are we going up there?!”.
· Their ride starts with a long climb. Rider finds this hard work as they are not warmed up and takes multiple stops to adjust clothing and catch breath. Children will moan at this point and less skilled members of the group often say things like “I can’t do this, I’ll head back”.
· On reaching the top of the climb, the Route now takes in undulating and flowing Trail sections which less skilled riders tend to really enjoy. These sections of Trail can make ideal areas to improve skills if they can easily be repeated. However, due to the elongated loop layout of the Route, the group is now at the furthest point from the start and still has to cover the same distance to return to safety
· At the end of the elevated loop, the Route increases in gradient for the final Trail descending back to the carpark. Fit and skilled riders relish this reward, but those still developing their skills and stamina are by now tired. This tiredness can cause the rider to make mistakes resulting in loss of confidence and crashes. Sometimes the rider may even choose to descend back down the forest road, leaving them feeling they have “failed” to complete the Route and unable to join in with other’s celebrations after the ride.
The Site Layout Problem:
At many Trail Centres, the Trails best suited to developing riders’ skill and confidence (Fig.3) are often located at the highest point on the terrain, furthest from the carpark (Fig.2-3). Due to the time and energy needed to reach them, and the lack of escape options, these trail which otherwise great for progressing a riders skills, are not used as much as they could be.
Figure 3: Flowing Trails are a great place to develop skills
It may seem I am picking on Cwm Carn, but the same description can be applied to most other Trail centres in Wales. The reason I chose Cwm Carn as an example is because the forest also features some of the best developed rider-built Trails in Wales, which we will examine later.
A New Site Layout:
While the official Trail centre network was closed during the Covid-19 lockdowns, riders across the world set out creating Trail networks of their own. Travel restrictions enforced at the time set a design specification of “rideable within an hour [or so] from home”. Faced with this restriction, riders looked at their local forests in a new way, but almost all arrived at the same outcome: the “Ski-Resort” style using forest roads as the “Lifts” and building descending singletrack Trails at the “pistes”.
A New Riding Experience:
If we look at the rider-built Wild Trails at Cwm Carn (Fig. 4, overleaf), we can see the “Ski Resort” layout provides a very different experience to the Trail Centre layout:
· The rider can pedal to the access point (Fig.4-1) from their home.
· A single entrance joins a forest road climb (orange line) which zig-zags up the hill (Fig.4-2).
· The multiple “layers” of forest road have several Trails (dotted black lines) linking between them (Fig.4-3).
· By using the forest roads, riders have the options to change Trail, or to climb up and repeat sections.
· The Trails converge on a single point of exit.
Figure 4: Map of Cwm Carn with Wild Trail features highlighted
This style of layout at Wild Trail Sites can be summarised as “A Site with a winding forest road climb offering multiple descending Trail options from which riders can create their own Routes.”. The geography of NRW estate in Wales seems particularly suited to this layout, as the design pattern is repeated at many different locations (Fig.5).
Figure 5: Examples of the “Ski Piste” layout found at four Wild Trail venues.
(White line – forest road climb. Dotted line – Wild Trail descent)
Advantages of The Wild Trail Layout:
Trails built by riders are a true reflection of where the mountain biking currently stands, and offer an insight into the future. For many participants, mountain biking is a social experience to be enjoyed with a group of friends. The Wild Trail site layout offers several advantages over the Trail-Centre model, both in terms of riding and enjoyment of the sport:
· Climbs at Trail Centres are typically of single-track construction. This creates a “convoy” of riders with fitter riders feeling frustrated and the less-fit feeling pressurised. Wild-Trail sites use Forest Roads as climbs, meaning riders can pass each other and climb at their own natural paces. Being able to ride side-by-side also allows conversation within the group, which is not possible when riding in a line.
· Wild-Trail Sites have several Trails connecting each level of forest road. These are typically of different technical grades, giving a choice of Route for riders of different skill levels within the same group. This allows groups of people with different skill levels to ride together and enjoy each other’s company, but choose separate Trails within the Route according to ability or desire.
· The choice of Trails of different technical grades allows riders to challenge themselves on a harder Trail, but to return to their familiar Route if required. This allows riders to push their boundaries with less risk of failure due fatigue or technical overwhelm.
· The high density of Trails in compact Site allows the rider to create a different Route on each visit. This means the length of ride can be adjusted to suit the time available. Changing the order of Trails in a Route also keeps the venue fresh and extends its appeal for repeat visitors.
The Wild Trail Site layout also offers several benefits to the landowner.
· This layout packs more Trails into a smaller Site. This reduces time required for Trail assessment and maintenance.
· The use of forest roads or ride as the climbing Route is more cost effective that constructing dedicated mountain bike Trails going uphill.
· Having a single entrance and exit point allows installation of signage and display boards creating a point of communication between landowner and site users. This can covey information regarding the use of the site and any upcoming activities such as dig-days or felling operations. It also provides a single muster point for emergency services should they be required.
Updating the Trail Centre:
When Trail Centres were constructed, there were only two terrain options available to the recreational mountain biker: Natural Countryside or Trail Centres. Today the private sector Bike Park model (with vehicle uplift) is seen as the gold standard, with rider-built Wild Trail sites broadly following this design (although without the uplift). The technical standard of Trails at Bike Parks and Wild Trail sites is suited to more advanced riders than Trails at Trail Centres, reflecting the advances in bicycle technology and rider ability over the last two decades.
My study compared rider numbers recorded by electronic counters and estimated rider figures from Strava, finding at several Sites Wild Trails saw greater rider numbers than official Trail Centre offerings.
So where does that leave the Trail Centre infrastructure? As many Trail Centre Routes are now twenty years old, many need a refresh to restore their appeal. This presents the opportunity to both use the lessons learned from Wild Trail Sites, and to adjust marketed position of the Trail Centre to cater for a different category of rider.
A good example of refurbishment is the recent addition of a new Melindwr blue Trail at Nant y Arian (Fig. 6). This has transformed the centre, which previously had a range of red grade Routes of differing lengths, but nothing suitable for beginners. Riders wishing to develop their skills can now ride a blue Trail, then progress to a red Trail within the same hillside. From a coaching perspective, this a reassuring centre to work from, as you have a lot of Trail options with a short distance of the safety of the carpark and facilities.
Figure 6: Map of Nant Y Arian showing new Blue Trail location (3)
Conclusion:
During the Covid-19 pandemic, mountain bike riders across the country built over 200km of wild Trails to meet their needs. During my work surveying and risk assessing these Trails, I noticed the patten that the sites were built to was radically different to the established Trail centre design. As a mountain bike guide, I considered the difference in site layouts from the perspective of different riders and found although most Wild Trail sites were of a higher technical grade than Trail Centre Trails, the layout of these sites was more inclusive and welcoming. The use of forest roads for climbs allowed riders to progress at their own pace, or chat as a group. Having multiple Trails descending between each level of forest road allows riders to choose a Trail to suit their technical ability (Fig. 7) or simply mood on the day! As these Trails crossed the forest road climb at several locations, riders could repeat sections for a longer ride, or create a smaller Route to fit their available time.
Figure 7: Riders of all abilities can enjoy Trails on the same hillside.
Trail Centre design can be made more welcoming and suitable for developing riders by adopting characteristic from Wild Trail site layouts.
For example, NRW currently issue individual maps of each Route at each Site, making it very difficult for riders to explore and find other Trails away from their prescribed Route. A good starting point would be to create maps showing all the individual Trails on the same page. This would benefit beginner riders wishing to progress their skills by trying something new, while having the reassurance of returning to their comfort zone.
Another innovation would be to try and run multiple Trails of differing technical grades in parallel. A low-cost approach would be to look at the existing Trail network and see which singletrack climbs could be reversed, using existing infrastructure to provide more Trails within a smaller area. This would particularly benefit children’s coached sessions who have a limited time window to operate.
Although Trail Centres were constructed to attract mountain bike tourism, they have fallen out of favour with advanced riders as Bike Parks and Wild Trail venues have grown in popularity as the sport has developed. I believe Trail Centres have a new place in mountain bike culture. If redeveloped carefully, this infrastructure can now to serve local communities and future generations by providing a friendly gateway to the sport, with Trails that boost confidence without overwhelming the rider. The key to achieving this to provide more Trails nearer to the site hub and give the rider the option to create their own Routes in a way they can develop their skills.
The existing cafes and play areas make Trail centres ideal places to raise the next generation of riders in an enjoyable and controllable environment. It’s time to update our infrastructure to support the future of the sport.
References:
(1) Scan from MBUK magazine, Summer 1992.
(2) https://naturalresources.wales/days-out/things-to-do/mountain-bike-Trail-grades/?lang=en
(3) Map extracted from www.Trailforks.com
The Author
Owner of Bike Corris Ltd, David Evans is a British Cycling Level 3 qualified MTB guide. He provides H&S and Operation Management services as a consultant to public and private mountain bike sites. David started riding through the gates and sheep-muck of Radnorshire, then across the World. He believes a professional approach to trail management will preserve and develop the current amazing network for future generations.