BikePark Wales has confirmed the exciting expansion plans that we revealed earlier this year, thanks to a new 33-year lease signed with Natural Resources Wales. For mountain bikers, this means more trails, more skills areas, a bigger visitor centre, and on-site accommodation in the form of ‘glamping’ pods. Those new trails will break down into nine climbing trails, 27 downhill trails, and seven linking trails, as well as two new skills areas. That’s over 30km of new trails, as revealed in planning documents submitted to the council.

The new BikePark Wales trail map gives some great clues as to what to expect first.

Perhaps the best indication of the new trail developments comes from the map above. Here we can see the new branch for the uplift, turning left off the current uplift road to cut back across the hillside and taking riders passed the quarry, Popty Ping, and Terry’s Belly and dropping them off at the far Southern corner of the park, where the Beast of Burden climb turns right onto its final leg. This will really open up a side of the hill that remains relatively unused by riders on the uplift. It’s likely that you’ll choose which uplift destination you want to travel to, with two different bus routes to the top. It also looks like the quarry area will become one of the two new skills areas to be built, letting riders work on trail features in a more controlled environment.

It also looks like there will be a new top-to-bottom black run in that area, extending the top of Boomslang, as well as a new top-to-bottom red trail next to it.  We can also spot a new blue trail in the lower woods next to Pork Belly (labelled TF). This looks like only phase one of the build though, with much of the further additions remaining under wraps for now.

BikePark Wales already has a stack of great jump trails, so we expect more tech and flow trails to be added in the next phase, with expanding the offering to families and novices being one of the key priorities.

As part of the lease, BikePark Wales will invest revenue into a fund tasked with re-wilding most of the site. The aim being to turn the hillside from a commercial plantation to a biodiverse woodland rich in native species. Martin Astley for BikePark Wales says: “Our mountain is without a doubt a stunning area, and we already have a diverse range of broadleaf trees here on our mountain. But there is also a lot of monoculture pine forest in South Wales, the result of decades of commercial forestry. The new lease changes the entire site of BPW, and aside from the mountain bike trails through the forest, we will be encouraging and assisting the forest to return to a more natural state with our colleagues at NRW.”

The visitor centre is due to expand as part of these latest developments, as well as the opportunity to stay overnight on-site.

Furthermore, BikePark Wales may become a nursery for tree species that can be used across Wales. “Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the new lease is the opportunity to work with NRW in a unique collaboration which includes turning parts of BikePark Wales into a seed bank for other potential sites across the country”, explains Astley. “The Future Forest Vision includes creating an arboretum, where we can let Cathedral trees reach maturity, and we can improve the health and resilience of the forest by having a more diverse mix of woodland. There are flooding and water management advantages, and fire and disease benefits too.” This is particularly important as forests across the UK are blighted by tree diseases such as ash dieback and larch disease – something that forced Revolution Bike Park to close last year.

Work has already begun on some of the new trails, as well as an extension to the car park.