# 3 day epic - Coed Brenin, BPW, Snowdon and Antur



## Jody (6 Jul 2016)

Me and a friend are planning a 3 day tour of Wales and looking to cram in as much as possible, so hoping some people here have done any of the places we are heading. It started as a "lets do Snowdon" conversation and has spiralled from there. Reckon we can fit a reasonable amount in if scheduled correctly. It won't be this side of October due to the voluntary ban on Snowdon

The itinerary initiall looks like being:
Wednesday - Early departure from Sheffield to Coed Brenin, what ever we can fit in before the drive down to a hotel near BPW for early evening. 
Thursday - BPW (uplift) all day then travel to a hotel near Snowdon for early evening
Friday - Snowdon early in the morning and then hoping to hit Antur for a couple of single uplifts if we are lucky enough to find it not fully booked.

If you were doing it would you choose anything different and are we over stretched for time. Is there anything at any of the destinations which are a 'must do trail'. Neither of us are into big gap type jumps but are OK with general bike handling. There is no point going round a 30km+ trail and finding out its a bit to gnar.


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## Levo-Lon (6 Jul 2016)

Id probabley skip Snowdon and do Llandegla?


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## Jody (6 Jul 2016)

Snowdon is one of the bucket list things and probably the only time I will ever get to take my mountain bike up a mountain. Although I might look into making it a 4 day epic (missus permitting) is Degla is worth an extra day.


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## Levo-Lon (6 Jul 2016)

My mate broke his frame on both vists to Snowdon ,but he is very much above average on the talanted rider stakes..
should be an Epic trip @Jody ,Wales is special when you get to go, i love it


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## PeteXXX (7 Jul 2016)

A mate and I had a couple of days in Wales last October. We did Coed y Brenin Black trail and Harlech on Day 1, drove to Caernarvon then Snowdon on Day 2.







We rode up the Llanberis Path. The initial mile on tramac is ridiculously steep! It's all rideable though, they say... Some parts are quite smooth, but lots of it are like this. ^






Our route down was the Snowdon Ranger Path (that's the 'path' in the pic above) as far as a bridleway that took us across a coll for a cracking descent back to Llanberis.

Here's my Strava of Snowdon if you want to check the ride profile.
https://www.strava.com/activities/418063470

It'll be a great couple of days if you get the weather right. We had a bit of rain on day one, but nothing too bad, then good weather for Snowdon until the summit, where it was 40 mph winds 2 or 3 degrees C and fog. 

I'm thinking of doing it again sometime soon if I get the chance.


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## Jody (7 Jul 2016)

Thanks @PeteXXX Your post (and the Strava link) has settled my nerves slightly. Althought it looks steep, it doesn't look too much harder than a few local peaks loops in terms of gradient and distance of the climbs, although they are normally split into 3 climbs rather than 1. Terrain looks fairly similar also. Its booked for early Oct so fingers crossed we are really lucky and have a little bit of an Indian summer left over. Knowing our luck it will be wash out coupled with low cloud and howling winds. 

I really can't wait. Missus is expecting so it might be while before we get another opportunity after this one.


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## Jody (7 Jul 2016)

meta lon said:


> My mate broke his frame on both vists to Snowdon ,but he is very much above average on the talanted rider stakes..



How on earth did he snap 2 frames?


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## dan_bo (7 Jul 2016)

meta lon said:


> Id probabley skip Snowdon and do Llandegla?



I'd be chucking in either Afan or deggers on that myself but still sounds ace. Enjoy.


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## Jody (7 Jul 2016)

dan_bo said:


> I'd be chucking in either Afan or deggers on that myself but still sounds ace. Enjoy.



Just been looking at the location and Llandegla looks like it might fit in with the logistics but Afan won't. Would you pick Llandegla or Brenin for the first days riding, or are both good enough to warrant an extra day (and the wrath of her indoors)


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## dan_bo (7 Jul 2016)

Jody said:


> Just been looking at the location and Llandegla looks like it might fit in with the logistics but Afan won't. Would you pick Llandegla or Brenin for the first days riding, or are both good enough to warrant an extra day (and the wrath of her indoors)


They're both well worth a visit IMO. I included Afan 'cos it's close to BPW and it's chuffing awesome.


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## PeteXXX (7 Jul 2016)

Have you thought about the Marina Trail? It's one of the original MTB rides, near Betws y Coed. Last time I tried it, we got snowed off! Too dodgy to continue to the end, sadly.


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## Levo-Lon (7 Jul 2016)

Jody said:


> How on earth did he snap 2 frames?



456C and a commencal. He broke 2 commi frames as he had the early ones ,if you ever see him go down hill you would understand..
he makes me go cold..to be fair he wrecks just about everything.
id love to have 20% of his bottle ...mind you he has a very well paid office job so a broken bone ot 2 dont stop him earning unlike me ..self employed makes you take more care ...or something like that


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## Jody (8 Jul 2016)

dan_bo said:


> They're both well worth a visit IMO. I included Afan 'cos it's close to BPW and it's chuffing awesome.



We may now have extended for an extra day


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## Crackle (8 Jul 2016)

The Marin trail is not far away from Snowdon nor is Penmachno. There is also a natural route around the two lakes near Capel Curing, google mtn bike routes Capel Curig and you should find a few pages describing it. It's still high and remote but perhaps an alternative if Snowdon is out due to the weather and it could be in October. We moved our annual North Wales meet to September precisely because October can be nasty.


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## Jody (8 Jul 2016)

Its certainly a worry @Crackle . We are only going in October due to the ban but have both said we won't risk going up Snowdon in bad weather. Its just not worth it.

We're fairly flexible other than the holtel bookings and the day at BPW, so I will look into the trails you mentioned. Heard good things about the Marin trail.


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## Hacienda71 (8 Jul 2016)

Another vote for the Marin and if you are fit enough add in Penmachno which is a short ride away.


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## aj101 (5 Aug 2016)

If you go up Snowdon the Llanberris is so much fun to come back down, you can really let it go on some sections of it. It's still the longest down hill I've ever done.


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## Cubist (6 Aug 2016)

Marin. Iconic old skool fun,


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## BADGER.BRAD (10 Aug 2016)

if you are looking for a more adventurous cheap place to stay Penrhos isaf Mountain bothy is a good/ Free place to stay and is on the Coed Brenin trail fairly near to a small road and if your looking for a nice easy day you could always do the Mawddach trail again close By.


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## User16625 (17 Aug 2016)

Jody said:


> How on earth did he snap 2 frames?



Because he ran out of said talent.


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## Jody (10 Oct 2016)

Thought I would revive this thread for a quick update.

Arrived back from Wales on Saturday evening. It was a great trip and couldn’t really have asked for any more. Got some great footage on the Go Pro but haven’t had time to edit or upload any yet.

We decided on doing Degla on the way down because of time constraints. Enjoyed the loop round the forest, the red and black options were spot on and not too adventurous. We pretty much had the place to ourselves due to it being mid week. I thought the trails flowed really well and they have made a good use of the space. Only downside was coming off on the thin board section at the bottom of the jump/drops area, resulting in a sprained wrist. Foolish fall as I was thinking about the next drops section rather than what I was doing. I thought the trip might be over as I couldn’t even lift the door handle on my car, never mind ride.



[/URL

http://s538.photobucket.com/user/mk...d Plants/20161005_140738_zpsx1lwgmhh.jpg.html




Thursday was Bike Park Wales. We absolutely loved this place for a day out. The uplift, trails and weather were great. Only let down was not being able to do the harder trails due to the pain in my wrist. The reds would have been OK but couldn’t hold on well going off drops. That said the blue trails were fast and still good fun.





Friday was Snowdon. Stopped in a local B&B and made an early start due to the threat of worse weather coming in after dinner. Completely under estimated the scale of the climb and how much the weather can change when you are nearing the top. It was almost exactly like @PeteXXX below. Thought I had over dressed but luckily had just enough on to stay warm at the summit. The climb took 2 hours 40 and 25 minutes on the descent. It smashed my wrists about on the way down so decided to give Stinog a miss.




PeteXXX said:


> ........then good weather for Snowdon until the summit, where it was 40 mph winds 2 or 3 degrees C and fog.







Saturday we decided to go back to Degla as we enjoyed the ride. All was going well until I went off a drop near the end that blew a hole in the sidewall. Sealant wouldn't sort it so threw a tube in, patched it up to get back to the car and decided to call it a day and head home.

Its well worth a trip if anyone hasn’t done Wales before.


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## Hacienda71 (10 Oct 2016)

Cracking photos!


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## PeteXXX (10 Oct 2016)

Great report, hope the wrists get better soon. 
On our trip last year, we had two days to ride. We checked the mountai forecast and decided which day to do Coed y Brenin, preferring a dry Snowdon and a drizzly Coed. 
I'm jealous now so will have to plan another jolly there in the Spring


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## Motozulu (10 Oct 2016)

Snowdon was the best and hardest thing I have ever done in my life - well done.


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## Jody (11 Oct 2016)

Motozulu said:


> Snowdon was the best and hardest thing I have ever done in my life - well done.



Would agree with that @Motozulu I was OK with it until I reached the under pass about 4/5 of the way up. I really lost motivation but kept trudging on staring at the floor knowing there was only half an hour left. The pie and the cuppa tasted fantastic though when we made it to the cafe.


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## PeteXXX (11 Oct 2016)

We never found the cafe, it was too foggy 

Did you wave at the trains, and get a wave back from people looking at eejits riding up the rocks?


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## Jody (11 Oct 2016)

PeteXXX said:


> Did you wave at the trains, and get a wave back from people looking at eejits riding up the rocks?



Yes, there were lots of smug people waving from the train as they went past. I would like to think they were smiling at us but am fairly sure they were laughing.

One thing I did notice was the amount of encouragement coming from the peds walking up and down. Really helped keep the motivation going with a bit of banter.


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## Motozulu (11 Oct 2016)

Feckin cafe was closed when we did it - I was gutted - what I'd have given for a hot drink and some cake . Agree about the peds though, they were ace.


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## djb1971 (11 Oct 2016)

Next time you're over have a ride of the Rhyd Ddu track. It's a nice climb with great summit views when it's not foggy. The top is bit rocky and you'll walk a few bits unless you're a bit nuts. The descent is great but over in no time at all. When I do it, I wonder why it takes so long to get up there!

It's one of the quietest paths too.


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## Ciar (12 Oct 2016)

dan_bo said:


> I'd be chucking in either Afan or deggers on that myself but still sounds ace. Enjoy.



Loved Afan did three days there and a quick trip to BPW, much preferred Afan though.


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## Jody (12 Oct 2016)

Ciar said:


> Loved Afan did three days there and a quick trip to BPW, much preferred Afan though.



Will probably do Afan if we have another trip down Wales but its at least 12-18 months away yet.


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## Ciar (13 Oct 2016)

Jody said:


> Will probably do Afan if we have another trip down Wales but its at least 12-18 months away yet.



I have only been once, but we spent friday to sunday riding most of Afan and the weather was amazing, then the monday hit BPW and it pissed down ;-) which was nice as we rode the beast hah, lets just say i made it up did a blue down on my HT and called it a day, my legs were battered.

defo want to revisit Wales again loved riding there.


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## Jody (13 Oct 2016)

Ciar said:


> I have only been once, but we spent friday to sunday riding most of Afan and the weather was amazing, then the monday hit BPW and it pissed down ;-) which was nice as we rode the beast hah, lets just say i made it up did a blue down on my HT and called it a day, my legs were battered.
> 
> defo want to revisit Wales again loved riding there.



We dropped really lucky on the weather, especially being in Wales. Not a drop of rain apart from a quick shower overnight Friday before we went to Degla again. The trails at BPW and Degla were bone dry and running fast. We pre booked the uplift so managed to get about 8 or 9 runs in the day at BPW. Well worth it if you are driving a long way to get there or want to make the most of the day. 8000ft of climbing and not out of breath 

My partner asked me if it lived up to expectations and i can safely say it exceeded them. Wales is very much like the peak district but on steroids.


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## Ciar (13 Oct 2016)

Jody said:


> We dropped really lucky on the weather, especially being in Wales. Not a drop of rain apart from a quick shower overnight Friday before we went to Degla again. The trails at BPW and Degla were bone dry and running fast. We pre booked the uplift so managed to get about 8 or 9 runs in the day at BPW. Well worth it if you are driving a long way to get there or want to make the most of the day. 8000ft of climbing and not out of breath
> 
> My partner asked me if it lived up to expectations and i can safely say it exceeded them. Wales is very much like the peak district but on steroids.



Yes i need to revisit my problem is i ride mostly with one friend, we both have young kids so finding the time is hard, as we have Epping up the road we generally hit that most weekends, but it's not the same  i am no working on holidaying in places i can MTB as long as the wife doesn't mind! 

definitely going to go back though, as i rode it all last time on my XC HT and want to take the new baby up there.


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## Jody (13 Oct 2016)

Same here. We have a 3 year old and her indoors is expecting in January, so wont be having any more major rides for at least another year or so. Wales is definitely on the hit list after the next baby gets settled in.

Our rides tend to be sub 3 hours and local whenever they can be fitted in. Luckily I have a good choice of local trails less then 15 mins ride away, with more adventurous stuff within a half an hour drive (wharncliffe, grenoside, parkwood springs, bolehills) as well as some good local pump/BMX tracks.


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## Ciar (13 Oct 2016)

Jody said:


> Same here. We have a 3 year old and her indoors is expecting in January, so wont be having any more major rides for at least another year or so. Wales is definitely on the hit list after the next baby gets settled in.
> 
> Our rides tend to be sub 3 hours and local whenever they can be fitted in. Luckily I have a good choice of local trails less then 15 mins ride away, with more adventurous stuff within a half an hour drive (wharncliffe, grenoside, parkwood springs, bolehills) as well as some good local pump/BMX tracks.



that's very nice, i don' have that much mostly XC type stuff but it breaks up the monotony of commuting 

i have a 4yr old and another about to turn 1 so busy, i wish my wife could ride and as much as i try to convince it's not worked yet! just need to get her on the bike once and i reckon i will be laughing, already have my 4 yr old riding and hoping she keeps it up.


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