Reviews for Brechfa Trail Centre

Summary:
What a blast of a trail!

Review:
First time at brechfa and was disappointed to find the gorlech trail closed, so with the intention of not having a wasted journey I decided to give this black graded trail a go. Firstly I will say that the signposting isn't the greatest I have encountered, don't get me wrong there was plenty of waymarks but some were on junctions and were not clear enough to make me confident that I was heading in the right direction. I was initially intimidated by the black grading that this trail has been awarded, while it did test my skill it was not a great deal harder than most red graded trails at trail centres. What a blast this trail was though, it really does have a little bit of everything that makes a top notch trail. Tough technical climbs, switchbacks, narrow singletrack, huge berms and super steep descents. Definately was worth the petrol money in the end!

Summary:
My local favourite

Review:
The Raven is my most ridden trail as it's my local and it's where I've cut my teeth over the last couple of years since I took up mountain biking.
There's plenty of variety and can be ridden all year round but obviously it's at it's fastest during the dry Summer months.
There's a couple of very rewarding steep climbs that can really test you if you're not familiar with them and plenty of flowing descents which you can really rail when you learn them well.
As regards facilities, just a couple of portaloos at the car park but during the Summer months there's a really good food stall (The Shed https://www.facebook.com/TheShedBrechfa/ ) with some awesome homemade delights.
If you haven't ridden The Raven then it should definitely be on your "To Do" list, but I would say that as it's my favourite local!

Summary:
Very flowy and fun

Review:
It's got big long hills but is very worth it. The downhills are very flowy and fast and you can get big air so were knee pads are a good idea. It's good for your first red route because everything is rollable but if you are advanced you can go for it and fly off the jumps

Summary:
Better than Gorlech!

Review:
The Derwen trail is wonderful for so many reasons. Firstly, don't assume it is for beginners because it is one of those rare trails which is rewarding for any ability. Great, playful singletrack through stunning woodland with some climbing but nothing too harsh. Secondly, you can branch off and session the 'blue' section which has a small but steep singletrack climb followed by a descent which is totally bonkers. Beginners can chill on this section, better riders can stay off the brakes and send the tabletops and drift through the slate corners. Rejoining the green, you cross a bridge, climb a little more before hitting a fast-as-you-like trail which gradually descends back to the crossroads. I though it was all over then, but the green actually serves up one more bonkers piece of trail back to the carpark. Good riders can get some serious airtime here, beginners will still enjoy the rollercoaster. If I went back to Brechfa I'd probably just do this twice instead of the massive let down of the Gorlech.

Summary:
Harsh and artificial

Review:
After doing everything Afan and Cwmcarn has to offer I was psyched to ride this trail. After taking 2 hours to get around it I was a bit disappointed. It felt like 95% of the time I was climbing steep fireroads. There are about 4 singletrack descents, and they are steep with endless rollers (what is it with Rowan Sorrell and rollers?). Considering there is 1071m of rather dull climbing to get through, the descents are over in the blink of an eye and it just didn't feel like a good payback. They are like BMX tracks on steroids and rather contrived. In constrast, Afan's descents still retain a good 'natural' element, despite being a trail centre. If this was an uplift, fair enough but I felt that for all that climbing, more could of been made of the altitude. Some nice swooping, rooty, rocky trails without the brash 'downhill' gradients would have been a better deal. I'm no novice but I would recommend the green/blue Derwen trails over this - less climbing, longer descending.