Mountain biking in the United Kingdom

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Cannop Cycle Centre in the Forest of Dean Pedalabikeaway.jpg
Cannop Cycle Centre in the Forest of Dean

Mountain biking in the UK comprises a mix of dedicated mountain bike trail centres and other areas that have become popular with mountain bikers despite lacking dedicated facilities. The main governing body for mountain bike racing in the UK is British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation).

Contents

Trail Centres in England

Cumbria and Lancashire

East Midlands

East of England

The North East

The North West

The South East and London

The South West

West Midlands

Yorkshire and the Humber

Trail Centres in Scotland

North Scotland

South Scotland, collectively known as the 7Stanes sites

Trail Centres in Wales

North Wales

Mid Wales

South Wales

Trail Centres in Northern Ireland

British mountain bike manufacturers

See also

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Trail riding Traveling on trails and forest roads by horse, bicycle, motorcycle, or all-terrain vehicle

Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance, multi-day trip. It originated with horse riding, and in North America, the equestrian form is usually called "trail riding," or, less often "hacking." In the UK and Europe, the practice is usually called horse or pony trekking.

Snowdonia Mountainous region in north Wales

Snowdonia is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of 823 square miles (2,130 km2) in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.

Trail Path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel

A trail is usually a path, track or unpaved lane or road. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, path or footpath is the preferred term for a walking trail. The term is also applied in North America to routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the US, the term was historically used for a route into or through wild territory used by emigrants. In the USA "trace" is a synonym for trail, as in Natchez Trace. Some trails are single use and can be used only for walking, cycling, horse riding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing; others, as in the case of a bridleway in the UK, are multi-use, and can be used by walkers, cyclists and equestrians. There are also unpaved trails used by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles, and in some places, like the Alps, trails are used for moving cattle and other livestock.

Brecon Beacons National Park National park in Wales

The Brecon Beacons National Park is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain in the west, Fforest Fawr and the Brecon Beacons in the centre and the Black Mountains in the east.

Taff Trail

The Taff Trail is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for 55 miles (89 km) between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycle Network Route 8 that continues to Holyhead, and is substantially off-road.

The Mawson Trail is a long-distance cycling and walking trail in South Australia starting just east of Adelaide in the Adelaide Hills and extending almost 900 kilometres (560 mi) to Blinman in the Flinders Ranges. It is suitable for mountain bikes.

Pontrhydyfen Human settlement in Wales

Pontrhydyfen is a small village in the Afan Valley, in Neath Port Talbot county borough in Wales. The village sits at the confluence of the River Afan and the smaller Afon Pelenna, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of the larger village of Cwmafan and not far from the towns of Port Talbot and Neath. The views from the village are dominated by the hills of Foel Fynyddau (370 m) to the west, Moel y Fen (260 m) to the south-east and Mynydd Pen-rhys (280 m) to the north. This former coal mining community is distinguished by two large 19th-century bridges that span the valley: a railway viaduct and a former aqueduct, known in the Welsh language as Y Bont Fawr. The built-up area has a population of around 830. It is in the community of Pelenna.

Coed-y-Brenin Forest near Dogellau in Gwynedd, Wales

Coed y Brenin is a forest in the Snowdonia National Park, North Wales near Dolgellau at grid reference SH7127. It is popular for its mountain bike trails and hiking paths. It has several man-made mountain bike singletrack courses in a woodland setting, varying in length from 12 to 38 km, and one dual slalom course.

A grading system for way-marked off-road cycling trails has been adopted in the UK, and is used by official bodies such as Forestry England and IMBA-UK. It was originally developed by Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC) employee Colin Palmer in June 1999, based on a system widely used for grading cross-country skiing routes.

7stanes

The 7stanes are seven mountain biking centres spanning the south of Scotland, from the heart of the Scottish Borders to Dumfries and Galloway. They are all in Forestry and Land Scotland forests and are known as the 7stanes because each venue features a 'stane', created by artist Gordon Young, somewhere along the forest trails.

Tourism in Wales Economic sector in Wales

Wales is an emerging tourist destination, with 9.39m visitors to Conwy alone in 2018 and 8,078,900 visitors to National Trust and Wales Tourist Board destinations in 2002. As of 2017 the tourism industry in Wales has been estimated to have an annual turnover of £4.8 billion.

Grizedale Forest Natural area in North West England

Grizedale Forest is a 24.47 km2 area of woodland in the Lake District of North West England, located to the east of Coniston Water and to the south of Hawkshead. It is made up of a number of hills, small tarns and the settlements of Grizedale and Satterthwaite. It is owned and managed by Forestry England and is a popular tourist destination with waymarked footpaths, mountain biking, an aerial assault course, a 16-bed hostel, and a visitor centre with a children's playground, education centre, café and shop. The car-parking of Grizedale Forest Visitors Centre is situated on the site of the former Grizedale Hall where its remains can be still seen.

Llandegla Human settlement in Wales

Llandegla or Llandegla-yn-Iâl is a village and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. In the 2011 census, the community had a population of 567.

Swinley Forest Woodland in Southern England

Swinley Forest is a large expanse of Crown Estate woodland managed by Forestry England mainly within the civil parishes of Windlesham in Surrey and Winkfield and Crowthorne in Berkshire, England.

Grizedale Human settlement in England

Grizedale is a hamlet in the Lake District of North West England, in the middle of the Grizedale Forest, located north of Satterthwaite and south of Hawkshead. It is part of the civil parish of Satterthwaite.

Cycling in Cardiff

Cycling in Cardiff, capital of Wales, is facilitated by its easy gradients and large parks. In the mid-2000s between 2.7% and 4.3% of people commuted to work by cycling in the city. In 2017 12.4% of workers cycled to work at least 5 days a week. However, cyclists in the city are deterred from cycling by poor facilities and aggressive traffic, according to research by Cardiff University.

Eastridge Mountain Bike Trail Centre is a free mountain biking venue in Shropshire, UK. The venue is developed and maintained by volunteers, and features a mixture of blue, red and black graded trails. There are also a number of steep, technical off-piste trails. Since 1991 Eastridge Woods have been used to host Downhill and XC mountain biking events since the 90's hosted the British National Mountain biking Championships in 1993,1994,1995,1996 and 1999.

Sherwood Pines Forest Park

Sherwood Pines Forest Park is a forest park located in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. Originally called Clipstone Heath it was acquired by Forestry England in 1925 and planted with trees in response to a wood shortage after World War I. The park offers activities such as walking, bushcraft, mountain biking and there is a visitor centre. It is the largest park in the East Midlands of England. It is also home to the average point between the geographical centers and population centers of Great Britain.

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