Flyup 417 Bike Park is on the way to getting a new visitor’s centre, complete with café, workshop and bike rental, after roadworks to the nearby A417 were revealed. That’s according to Gloucestershire Live, which reported that the bike park was set to lose the use of its own car park and current visitor’s centre to make way for expansion of the A417 road.

These are no small works taking place on the A417, National Highways is putting in a dual carriageway and would need Flyup’s car park for at least the three-year duration of the build. The idea had then been for the Bike Park to get a temporary car park and cafe, but Flyup 417 wants to go further and develop an all-new centre, with planning permission now being considered.

Flyup is still the biggest privately owned bike park in the UK, and sits just outside Gloucester, check out our guide to Guide to UK mountain bike uplift venues to read about the trails there.

FlyUp 417 Bike Park is one of our top locations to take newbie riders and kids, with smooth tracks and easy progression

“Moving into, and operating from, the temporary facilities and then moving back into the original premises would cause substantial disruption and costs to the business,” Flyup said in its planning application. It said this would have a “severe negative impact on visitor experience,” meaning that a new building was essential.

It follows the recent news that the Coed y Brenin trail centre could close this year after a spending squeeze. Without income from the car parks and cafe, we questioned at the time whether the trails themselves would also be closed, without the funding to maintain them. A decision on Coed y Brenin is expected from Natural Resources Wales by the end of March. 

The Flyup barn features a vast pump track that makes a ton of sense in the winter months

Flyup’s new visitor centre details

The Flyup 417 Bike Park application hopes to add a check in point and visitor reception, as well as toilets, a café, bike shop, workshop, and bike rental. 

Flyup 417 Bike Park is sculpted into the hillside on the outskirts of Gloucester, and it’s still the UK’s largest privately owned bike park. It’s a park for all abilities, with everything from blue runs and an indoor pump track, up to downhill black-graded trails. Last summer Flyup reworked its SuperFly DH track, with a road gap and gap jumps that are a labour of love.

The uplift to the top is pretty quick, and you could pack in about 15 runs if you catch every shuttle. There’s also an option to push to the top.