Wales Mountain Biking: Beicio Mynydd Cymru

I bought this book having bought 2 others in the series and found them very useful and informative. This one had promise but disappointingly only had a few routes near where we were staying in North Wales.We tried 2. One was in the Clowydian Range. This was made longer by chucking in a few extra loops along the Clowydian Way.. This route is a very muddy one, we rode it in winter. Nice enough though but certainly not massively technical.The next one we tried started in Capel Curig. It was a black route and we expected some great technical riding. It required compass and good map reading skills and shouldn't be done in poor weather. I think this route is particularly over-used. I suspect because of the lack of trails listed. There was lots of erosion, very boggy to the point of being unrideable long before Lake Cowlyd just over the stone footbridge. Eventually you can ride up this moorland when your tyres stop sinking after roughly 2/3 of the way up. As we descended to the lake, the trail became totally eroded. The descent was treacherous and unless you are an expert in trials biking, I mean this as no joke, I would not attempt to ride. We carried our bikes down and even that was tricky. Do not attempt to ride this section as you are in the middle of no-where and it'll be a long wait for the helicopter if you break a bone - which you will.The trail along the lake was again tricky and raised some smiles. The cafe on the return journey, just before the off-road section, only takes cash so be prepared. The cakes are lovely looking but we could only scrape enough for half a sandwich each.The off-road return was again particularly eroded and unless you can continuously pull wheelies and bunny-hops of at least 2ft high then you'll be walking every 30 seconds. It really was quicker to walk.I really think this route should be left alone to recover. It's a shame because it could be very good otherwise.

We have a number of books in this series, but the first for Wales. The books are well written and easy to follow with clear directions and maps. We chose this book over others as it covers several areas in Wales and we will be visiting most. There are a good mix of long and short rides that will suit all riders from beginner to advanced.

I love this series of guides and have ridden rides from them in the Lakes, Peaks, Dales and Wales. They are reasonably easy to follow and do all the research for you so that you can enjoy the best of a region.My only complaint about this book in particular is that Wales is too big to have just a single book devoted to it. Surely North Wales deserves a guide all to itself for a start?

Useful, but limited. Also the descriptions of severity are a little confusing. I'm not the greatest rider in the world but 'moderate' hill climbs that are over very old tracks with fallen trees and largely overgrown and on occasions 1 in 3, are I feel far from moderate! Also the maps are too small to be of any practical use. Need to use the guide together with an OS map

Great

Excellent

great little book, u can take it with you on trips out. a bit outdated with pictures ect and instructions are VERY brief. but there are maps too which are very helpful.

Excellent informative