Coed-y-Brenin
Coed-y-Brenin is a forest in the midst of Merionethshire, amongst the Cambrian Mountains and within the Snowdonia National Park. The closest town of any size is Dolgellau.
The name of the forest means King's Forest, or "Woodland of the King". It was created as a commercial forest by the Forestry Commission but today is best known as a sport and leisure destination.
The site is owned and operated by Natural Resources Wales, and covers an area of some 9,000 acres around the valleys of the rivers Mawddach, Eden, Gain and Wen. It is a major centre for mountin biking and while there is no charge for using the trails, there is a charge for the car park at Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre.
Mountain biking
The forest is popular for its mountain bike trails and hiking paths. It has several man-made mountain bike singletrack courses in a woodland setting, varying in length from 7 to 23 miles, and one dual slalom course.
The site was identified as a potential mountain bike race course in 1990, and the first races were held there in 1991. The initial course had to be chopped out of an impassable rock-strewn terrain.
Shortly afterwards a Mountain Biking hire shop, together with a visitor centre and café were opened at Maesgwm. Five waymarked trails were developed, and Coed-y-Brenin grew into a major British mountain biking centre.
A new £1.6 million visitor centre opened in the summer of 2006.[1] Since the opening of the centre, the trail offering has grown to eight mountain biking trails, eight walking trails and five running trails. These trails are way marked.
In the late 1980s, Mark Willmore first had talks with the Forestry Commission about bringing mountain biking onto forestry commission land, after seeing the potential of this then fledgling sport in the French ski resorts.
| Trail Name | Grade | Waymarking | Length | Time needed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afon | novice (green) | river | 8 mi | 13 km | 1.3 hours |
| Minotaur (Loop 1) | intermediate (blue) | minotaur | 1.9 mi | 3 km | 20 - 40 min |
| Minotaur (Loop 2) | intermediate (blue) | minotaur | 3.1 mi | 5 km | 0.5 - 1 hour |
| Minotaur (Loop 3) | intermediate (blue) | minotaur | 5.6 mi | 9 km | 1 - 2 hours |
| Temtiwr | difficult (red) | apple | 5 mi | 9 km | 1 hours |
| Cyflym Coch | difficult (red) | red fox | 6.8 mi | 11 km | 1.5 – 3 hours |
| Dragon's Back | difficult (red) | dragon's back | 19 mi | 31 km | 4 hours |
| Tarw | severe (black) | bull | 12 mi | 20 km | 2 hours |
| MBR | severe (black) | MBR logo | 11 mi | 18 km | 2 hours |
| The Beast | severe (black) | beast | 24 mi | 38 km | 4.5 hours |
Location
- Location map: 52°49’30"N, 3°54’57"W
Outside links
- Coed-y-Brenin: Natural Resources Wales
- Mountain Biking in Coed y Brenin – MBWales
- Run Coed y Brenin