Having failed miserably to find any decent riding in Narberth I am planning to stop off at Afan on my way back home following a week in lovely Pembrokeshire. Looking online the wall looks like my cup of tea but not having been there before and being a bit delicate in the shoulder area post surgery I am seeking a guide/s to show me the ropes whilst my wife sits in the car for a few hours as punishment for having made me move to Hampshire where mtb sucks. Sorry about big text but I am getting old and my eyes hurt and the beers are kicking in… reckon I will get to Visitors centre around 12 pm Saturday. ..any help appreciated.

Whaaat MTB sucks in Hampshire?! No it doesnt, theres some great trails in East Hants/WSussex. QECP, Rogate, Stoughton, plus SDW. Anyway, if you are going to Afan, you dont need a guide. Just follow the signs on the Wall or Whites and you’ll have a good time, nothing too techy or tricky.
Mate of mine (ScottFitz) just returned from a week in Pembrokeshire too, Hants/WSussex. He was struggling to find trails as well, should have joined him 🙂

Double post

It’s true. If you get lost on The Wall then you’ll get lost anywhere.

Personally, I’d park at Bryn Bettws Lodge and head up the fireroad to 373, then Graveyard, then a few laps of the bike park and the new loop of the wall. The final descent is legendary, but in pretty bad condition currently. If you do fancy Zigzags, however, you could get your wife to drop you off at Bryn Bettws lodge, have herself a coffee and a bacon roll, then head down to the carpark at Rhyslyn to catch you at the bottom 😉

Sorry superfli but I based my assessment on previously having Surrey hills on my doorstep and now I am stuck in a village without a puddle or a berm in sight. Swinley is my nearest I think but I will investigate your suggestions, cheers. Thanks for the advice too chimp.

As superfli Said I have just got back from Pembroke, I also failed miserably to find any decent (offroad) riding. But I did go on lots of good rides with Castle, beaches, bridges. And one or two ok bridleways.

Where do you live there are is more riding in north Hampshire than swinley. Tunnel hill, porridge pot, minley, etc…

http://www.afanvalleybikeshed.co.uk/
Ben at Afan Valley Bike shed does some guiding, top bloke too.

I don’t remember any serious drops or anything on the wall (can’t really remember as I was racing my mate down).

Skyline has a lot of drops (up to 1ft max ish) near the end but if you do that one then you may find your wife has got fed up and driven back home without you by the time you finish.

The wall is good fun, climbs are not that steep so quite long and best done with friends so you can chat and mess about but the decents are nice and fast and fun but safe.