Minister Hails economic importance of iconic Mountain Bike Trails

Environment Minister Carwyn Jones yesterday (Thursday, March 15) hailed the economic importance of the iconic mountain bike trails at Coed y Brenin as he officially opened the new £1.6m forest complex. Mr Jones described the new Coed y Brenin visitor centre as a powerhouse for the local economy and singled out the world-class bike trails for special praise, saying they were a magnet for thousands of tourists and mountain bikers from all over the world. Coed y Brenin has a long-established reputation as a mountain biker's Mecca, attracting in excess of 80,000 visitors every year and bringing millions of pounds into the local economy. The old centre at Maesgwm could not cater for the huge increase in numbers as the reputation of Coed y Brenin spread and the new complex took 12 months to complete with the help of European Objective 1 cash. Mr Jones said sophisticated, state-of-the-art centres such as the one at Coed y Brenin and Nant yr Arian, near Aberystwyth, were transforming the way people thought about Wales's forests and bringing great economic benefit to many areas of rural Wales. The ambitious Coed y Brenin project, which was jointly funded by the European Union (Objective One) and Welsh Assembly Government, the former WDA and Wales Tourist Board as well as FC Wales, has broadened the centre's appeal to create the ultimate outdoor recreation complex, with six new exhilarating mountain bike trails at its heart. The new look Coed y Brenin has almost 130km of trails, from the technically, physically and psychologically demanding The Beast - an epic ride of 38.2km - to gentle family trails that meander through the Snowdonia National Park. Mr Jones said, "In recent years mountain biking has provided the catalyst for a huge growth in visitors to the Assembly's woodland estate and Wales is now established as one of the best places in the world to go mountain biking. "But as the reputation of this and our other forest centres throughout Wales has grown, so people’s expectations have risen – and this centre is just one manifestation of the fantastic way in which our forests are rising to that challenge. "We need sophisticated, state-of-the-art centres such as this if we are to fully realise the tourism potential of our woodlands which can bring great economic benefit to many areas of rural Wales. There can be little doubt that Coed y Brenin has become a powerhouse for the local economy." As well as the mountain bike trails, the new centre houses changing rooms and showers for bikers as well as a bike wash and a shop, Beics Brenin. There is also a cafe, Bwyd y Brenin, to cater for bikers' appetites after pitting their wits against the challenging Welsh terrain. Following the official opening, the invited guests were given a brief tour of some of the new trails. The new mountain bike trails at Coed y Brenin are: Yr Afon / Family, 13.1 or 7km long. Low level route for families running along the edge of the River Mawddach Y Temptiwr / Tempter, 8.7km. Initiation trail into what type of riding to expect at Coed y Brenin The MBR, 18.4km. Predominantly open and flowing trail, with a couple of sections of technical singletrack. The Tarw, 20.2km. Uses the old Red Bull route but includes every section of singletrack to the west of the A470. Can be closed off to accommodate large-scale events. The Dragon's Back, 31.1km. Longer distance trail, technically challenging. The Beast, 38.2km. An epic ride. Technically, physically and psychologically demanding. www.forestry.gov.uk