NANT YR ARIAN
It may technically be a trail centre, but Nant yr Arian really gives you a sense of getting away from it all – especially the far-reaching 35km ‘Syfydrin’ black route. Situated in the western reaches of Wales’s Cambrian Mountains, you’ll find no shortage of rocks and roots to contend with, but you’ll also discover sections of the best natural-feeling singletrack anywhere.
The hill you see on arrival may not appear very big, but don’t be deceived, because once you summit this you’ll be dropped into the first of several steep-sided valleys. A highlight shared by both the red and black trails is the ‘Mask of Zorro’ section, which cuts through the mossy terrain in a series of sharp turns and 180-degree switchbacks that’ll put your bike handling to the test. From here, one last big effort takes you back up to where you started and into the final ‘High as a Kite’ descent – named in reference to the bird of prey sanctuary here – which is guaranteed to leave you on cloud nine by the bottom.
The centre has seen quite a bit of trail work in recent years, firstly with the addition of a compact, yet super-fun, skills area by the cafe, and following that the completion of a two-stage blue route last year. Entirely machine-built and full of big sweeping berms and undulating rollers, it resembles a giant gravity-fed pump track. The two loops are only short – 1.85km or 5km – but they’re action-packed so you’ll definitely be pedalling back up for another round or two.