Six new mountain bike trails for Bikepark Wales to open before July

BikePark Wales will be five years old this August and they are planning to make 2018 a to remember with six new mountain bike trails opening before July!

Press Release:

BikePark Wales will be 5 years old this August and it's been an incredible journey so far. Over the last 5 years we've continually invested in the business, predominantly focussing on the trails and we've seen the network grow in size and quality during that period. Now though, it's time for a step change and to spread the development focus so that not only the trails but other aspects of the site see some love too. As part of a major new investment programme BikePark Wales will see improvements throughout 2018 and into 2019 and beyond. Our aim has always been to create an inclusive bike park that is fun for all riders and to create a facility that is world class in all aspects.

First up (excuse the pun!) will be the uplift road. Those of you that have visited the site in the last few weeks will have noticed that there are major works on the road underway right now. We are widening the road so that vehicles can pass without having to stop and wait at the limited number of laybys currently on the road. This is a big project and will take some time but it will allow our uplift to run more efficiently meaning more runs and less waiting time at the bottom. Also keep your eyes peeled mid-summer for a very exciting new uplift vehicle that we will be trialling on site, we can't wait to get our hands on it!

We will also be introducing a trial in the next few weeks to sell uplift tickets in a different way, the aim being that all customers get an equally great experience on the hill. We will be releasing specific information on this trial soon so keep your eyes peeled.

Slightly less glamorous but equally important is the addition of services to the site. BikePark Wales is currently off-grid for water, electricity and phone/internet and at peak times all of these services are stretched to the limit, believe us, we feel your pain when the bike wash conks out! The good news is that we are biting the bullet and pulling out all the stops to bring mains water, electricity and phone line to the park, it's a very complex and hugely expensive project that will take some time but we are committed to making this happen during 2018. This will allow us to offer a much more reliable service and who knows, we may even be able to offer customer Wifi soon.

Next up is the Woodland Café, we've hired an extremely talented and very enthusiastic executive Chef (Nathan) who has joined our existing team to completely redesign our food offering. Armed with your feedback and years of experience Nathan is busy planning and designing as we speak. Expect to see some changes not only to the menu but to the Café itself in the coming months. Judging by the dishes we've sampled so far, we are in for a treat!

What about the trails? We couldn't put in all this work and ignore the trails could we, that's what we all love the most?! The good news is that the trails are getting plenty of focus too, you'll have noticed that many of our classic trails (Terry's Belly, Wibbly Wobbly, Melted Welly to name a few) have had major face lifts over the last few months and A470 Line is currently getting some love ready for the summer.

In addition to this though we've got the biggest trail building project since the park opened underway right now. During June the National Grid are replacing the distribution network cables that cross part of BikePark wales and as a result unfortunately we have to close some trails (lower Terry's Belly, Hot Stepper, Root Manouvres and 50 Shades of Black) during June. However, the National Grid have been fantastic and they have made a significant contribution to a major trail building project that will be complete by the end of May meaning we will have brand new trails to replace those that will be closed in June. Just imagine what the trail map will look like in July once everything is open again!! The new trails this summer will include two new blue trails, three new red trails and a black trail, also look out for a new trail style "BPW Blend"…We will be running a social media competition to name one of the trails during April and I'm sure you'll have plenty of great ideas so send them our way, who knows you might end up riding a trail that you have named this summer.

All of the above is just phase one of a major development project that will be taking place over the next three years, we won't spoil the surprise by telling you everything right now but we will be sure to keep you informed as plans come to fruition. The BikePark Wales team would like to thank each and every one of you that has visited and supported us over the years, you guys make the park what it is today and our aim is to keep on pushing to make it better all the time.

Thanks and bring on the summer!

The BikePark Wales team