Coed-y-Brenin
Encyclopedia
Coed-y-Brenin is a forest
in the Snowdonia National Park, North
Wales
near Dolgellau
at . It is well-known as a mountain bike
resort and for its hiking
trails. It has several man-made mountain bike singletrack courses in a woodland
setting, varying in length from 12 to 38 km (7 to 23 mi), and one dual slalom
course.
The site is owned and operated by Forest Enterprise Wales, part of the Forestry Commission
, and covers an area of some 9,000 acres (36 km²) around the valleys of the rivers Mawddach
, Eden, Gain and Wen.
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 an MTB hire centre, together with a visitor centre and café were opened at Maesgwm. Five waymarked
trails were developed by Dafydd Davis
who was employed by Forest Enterprise as a Forest Sports Development Adviser, grew Coed-y-Brenin into a major UK mountain biking centre. Davis received an MBE
in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours
list for 'services to forestry' relating to his work on this resort.
A new £1.6 million visitor centre opened in summer 2006. There are also a number of waymarked walking trails around the forest.
It was Mark that ran the first trail center at Coed-y-Brenin. Dafyd did take up the baton the following season and has had an influential role in making the center what it is today. It is however, quite wrong for him to be credited with the foundation of the Uk trail center as this is not the case, it was Mark and his then french business partner, Sophie Rebore that brought the french MBK brand of MTB to Wales after seeing the potential of this then fledgling sport in the french ski resorts.
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
in the Snowdonia National Park, North
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
near Dolgellau
Dolgellau
Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...
at . It is well-known as a mountain bike
Mountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
resort and for its hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
trails. It has several man-made mountain bike singletrack courses in a woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
setting, varying in length from 12 to 38 km (7 to 23 mi), and one dual slalom
Dual slalom
Dual slalom is an older mountain bike racing discipline similar to 4X racing.It consists of two racers racing two almost identical tracks next to each other down a slope. The courses are usually short; one run lasting about 30 seconds. It is filled with tabletop jumps, doubles and bermed turns...
course.
The site is owned and operated by Forest Enterprise Wales, part of the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
, and covers an area of some 9,000 acres (36 km²) around the valleys of the rivers Mawddach
River Mawddach
The River Mawddach is a river in North Wales which has its source in a wide area north of Dduallt in Snowdonia. The river is much branched and many of the significant tributaries are of a similar size to the main river...
, Eden, Gain and Wen.
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 an MTB hire centre, together with a visitor centre and café were opened at Maesgwm. Five waymarked
Waymarking
Waymarking is an activity where people locate and log interesting locations around the world, usually with a GPS receiver and a digital camera. Waymarking differs from geocaching in that there is no physical container to locate at the given coordinates. Waymarking identifies points of interest for...
trails were developed by Dafydd Davis
Dafydd Davis
Dafydd Caradog Davis MBE is a Welsh mountain bike trail builder, known for the creation of several major UK mountain biking resorts such as Coed-y-Brenin.Davis received an MBE in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours list for 'services to forestry'....
who was employed by Forest Enterprise as a Forest Sports Development Adviser, grew Coed-y-Brenin into a major UK mountain biking centre. Davis received an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
list for 'services to forestry' relating to his work on this resort.
A new £1.6 million visitor centre opened in summer 2006. There are also a number of waymarked walking trails around the forest.
Mountain bike trails
It was in the late 1980s that Mark Willmore (currently running Brenin Bikes with his business partner Ben Wylie in Market Drayton, North Shropshire www.breninbikes.co.uk)first had talks with the chief forester (then Paul Sherrington) about bringing mountain biking onto forestry commission land.It was Mark that ran the first trail center at Coed-y-Brenin. Dafyd did take up the baton the following season and has had an influential role in making the center what it is today. It is however, quite wrong for him to be credited with the foundation of the Uk trail center as this is not the case, it was Mark and his then french business partner, Sophie Rebore that brought the french MBK brand of MTB to Wales after seeing the potential of this then fledgling sport in the french ski resorts.
| Trail Name | Grade CTC off-road trail grades A grading system for way-marked off-road cycling trails has been adopted in the UK, and is used by official bodies such as the Forestry Commission and IMBA-UK. It was originally developed by Cyclists' Touring Club employee Colin Palmer in June 1999, based on a system widely used for grading... |
Waymarking | Length | Time needed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afon | novice (green) | river | 8 mi | 13 km | 1.3 hours |
| Temptiwr | difficult (red) | apple | 5 mi | 9 km | 1 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 MBR MBR may refer to:* Minerações Brasileiras Reunidas, a division of Caemi* Malaysian Book of Records* Master boot record, the first sector of a partitioned data storage device, used for booting* Membrane bioreactor* Memory buffer register... |
severe (black) | MBR logo | 11 mi | 18 km | 2 hours |
| The Beast | severe (black) | beast | 24 mi | 38 km | 4.5 hours |