Twrch Trail
Words and Pics by Eddie Allen and Phil Ingham
Posted: 20 March 2008
The Twrch trail, named after the fearsome wild boar of Mabinogian legends, is situated in a steep valley close to Newport, South Wales. 15.5km of singletrack await visitors, carved out of the hillsides of a formerly industrialised valley. The Twrch was joined by the downhill course in 2005, which is has already hosted a number of NPS downhill events. The Twrch utilises the valley's steep sides skilfully to create challenging yet sustainable trails. Driving into the valley, the steepness of the terrain was immediately apparent - a factor which has allowed the trail-builders to create ripping descents which traverse the hillsides yet will stand the test of time and many thousands of knobbly tyres.
It was an uncommonly tepid day that we chose to visit Cwm Carn. The previous two weeks had seen temperatures of -7 Celsius in the night and not much warmer in the day. However, on the day we visited, it was a full 13 degrees and rainy, making the mixed woodland of the Cwm Carn hillsides feel almost subtropical! We decamped from the van and checked out the newly built visitor centre, which sits snugly at the bottom of the steep sided Cwm, next to a gurgling river which runs down to the main valley which houses the village. The centre opened in December 2007 and is absolutely pristine, with a shop, café and toilets.
Above: The pristine new visitor centre nestling in the bottom of the valley
Without further ado we were off onto the Twrch trail, which heads straight out of the car park and intersects the downhill course, running under a bridge and following the line of the stream, heading east up the valley. Immediately the Twrch asserted what was to become its dominant character trait, that is, relentless, demanding singletrack. The surface is natural looking but well armoured with local stone, rough and rooty through the deciduous woodland that dominates the lower reaches of the valley. There are some technically challenging sections on the uphill, which is an absolute breath of fresh air to riders who are used to the usual trail centre offering of 'fireroad up, singletrack down'. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing scary on the ups or indeed the downs, but there's plenty to keep you entertained. There were a few sections that defeated me on the way up ? rooty, rocky step ups where you had to apply your power with much discretion. But the challenge was never fraught with peril and gave you that, 'if at first you don't succeed' feeling, the trail encouraging you to go back and attempt to clean the tricky sections, trials style.
Above: The exposed section at the top of the main climb - from here it's pretty much level or downhill all the way
This 'no dabs' technical climbing continued all the way to the top of the climb, which began to switchback as it entered pine plantation on the upper slopes of the hillside. The only section of fireroad on the whole trail came near the top of the climb and, in context, was a bit of welcome relief, as my concentration tank was running dry and my mediocre winter fitness levels were at a low ebb in the unnaturally warm 13 degree heat. Soon we crested the hilltop and arrived at the freeride area, with North Shore constructions of various sizes to test your skills. Being essentially cowardly by nature, I opted out and continued on the xc trail, which began to descend first through a twisty, fast heathland section which culminated in a jumpy, bermy section. There followed a great and very tight rocky chute section that tracked the side of the Forest Drive for a few hundred metres before diving off into dense pine forest and nice, contour hugging singletrack.
Above: the descent begins with a twisting berms and rollers section just after the North Shore area
Then the trail came out into the open once more and rewarded our morning's efforts with a truly awesome vista. We were at the head of the Cwm looking down a steep sided valley with the sinuous rocky trail dropping away dramatically before us. We followed it as it began to rollercoaster wonderfully, traversing the hillside, twisting, dipping and diving and allowing you to carry bucketfuls of speed through the turns. The look of concentrations on our faces had by this time turned to wide grins as we sliced through the singletrack.
But the grins were to get even wider and sillier as we approached the last descent back to the café. The gradient steepened and the trail got grippier, harder and rockier. Great rollers and big berms punctuated its final few hundred metres, the latter of which I managed to overcook spectacularly, riding right off the lip of the berm and losing the front wheel. Even more spectacular was my cat-like dismount - landing on my feet on the backslope of the berm (those who know me will vouch for my usually very un-cat-like reactions). Completely unscathed, both in bike and body I rode the last section of rollers down the valley side and back to the car park grinning like a loon all the way.
Above: The constantly changing environment, vegetation and surface kept mind and body totally entertained
We quickly surrendered to our growing hunger and grabbed ourselves some baked potatoes at the visitor centre and began our usual post-ride analysis. One big plus point that we both agreed on was that the trail's singletrack focus, especially on the ups. Looking up at the 1200ft ridge above us, it was hard to believe that we'd traversed it without really noticing, such was the level of distraction to be had from the trail itself.
Another thing that we agreed on was the Twrch's adoption of that theatrical adage, 'leave 'em wanting more.' At only 15 kms, the Twrch is certainly short - fit riders will blast around it in about 1 ½ hrs. This is certainly a consideration if you are making a long journey. We could have easily finished lunch and taken a second loop of the trails before the February light started to dwindle. Or you could combine your trip to Cwm Carn with a visit to Afan Argoed 24 miles away, and make it a full day of South Wales trail centre action. However, we had photography to do - the Great Britain cross country riders were being taught the fine art of descending on the downhill course, with some spectacular results so we trudged up the hill just in time to see a few thousand pounds worth of carbon Trek MTBs being launched off the 4 foot drop-off near the bottom of the screaming 2km descent. 'Wow', 'blimey' and 'rather them than me' were words that sprang to mind, watching the cream of GB's young riders taking the DH line in their stride.
Above: the visual highlight of the route - the contour hugging trail perched on the valley side
All too soon it was time to sort out our muddy gear, clean the bikes at the excellent jetwash and hit the road. To sum up, the Twrch is a short, sharp technical treat; a great ingredient to add into a longer weekend of MTBing in South Wales, or a great place for a quick half day dose of rocky, rooty fun.
How to get there
Take J28 off the M4 (signposted Risca) and drive north for approximately 7 miles on the A467. Directions to Cwmcarn Forest Drive are well signposted (look for the brown tourism signs).
Further information: Click Here
Second Opinion: Age Man Brushes off the Winter rust and give us his verdict on the Twrch Trail
Iron Age Man, a rider who cut his teeth in the nascent world of eighties mountain biking, and who has a fondness for all things natural along with a deep suspicion of the Trail Centre concept once again came along for the ride.
It's been a poor winter for away fixtures - most of my mountain biking has been of the out of the backdoor, close to home variety, so it was a pleasant change to travel down to Cwmcarn and sample something fresh.
First impressions are that the carpark and facilities are excellent. There was plenty of room and the new visitor centre boasted the usual range of facilities, with showers and a couple of other extras due to come on stream any day now.
The Twrch Trail itself was a fine experience - not Michelin star stuff, but an excellent pub meal of a ride. My initial reaction, upon completing its ten miles of so of trails, was that I couldn't remember much about it. That's not a criticism. On the contrary, the majority of it was true, narrow singletrack, requiring constant concentration and blocking the kind of attention wandering which allows you to lay down a memory track of views on less involving routes. Over the hours and days which followed our visit, more and more of the trail came back to mind.
It's an oversimplification to call it one big climb and one big descent, but that's the essence. The climb benefits from the almost total absence of the dreaded fireroad sections, so often the killer opening punch of badly designed trails. Instead, you've got sinuous, tricky, but not overly technical singletrack. You climb, but the occasional more severe technical challenge, along with the odd lateral or downward swoop, breaks it up nicely.
I love technical climbing and can never understand why it's so often ignored by trailbuilders. It's relatively easy to construct (no need for sweeping turns and berms to smooth out corners and scrub off speed); it's relatively safe to ride (you stall and occasionally keel over, but never bounce down the hillside, as you often do if you crash descending); it also requires and builds skill like no other terrain ? slow speed and the need to maintain traction add balancing and finessing skills that descending never tests. I suspect that the absence of technical uphill is a sad reflection on the fast-food junkie mentality which wants to get to the top as fast as possible before "ripping" down a great descent.
Anyway, rant over: the Twrch Trail's technical uphill is a lovely balance of the testing, the occasionally tricky and broad rideability for the majority of trail riders. A superb uplift service at the venue obviously satisfies the cravings of the "I'm only here for the downhill" brigade.
Once at the top of the hill, there's a pleasant change of atmosphere. The dark pines of the lower slopes give way to open views and open hillsides: we were there on a misty day, but having visited the venue on a brilliant sunny spring day a couple of years ago, I can recommend the dramatic and unique landscapes of the local valleys. Berms and fast, twisting trails alternate with occasional dips back into the woods and one or two truly inspirational traverses high on the very edge of the steep hills' shoulders.
The final feature of the trail is the descent into the carpark. It's fun, can be fast if you fancy an adrenaline download before your café visit, but not a classic.
However, the trail as a whole is a minor classic of the genre. I will always prefer my own trail concoctions, recipe supplied by Ordnance Survey, but the Twrch Trail has charm, character and will encourage you to ride well. For the average rider, have a bad day in the saddle and you'll probably find it gets the better of you, but find your rhythm early and you'll have a lot of fun!