So general opinions please…

cheers

Scott

It's very good, a nice 'In the middle of nowhere' feeling about it. It can be one of the most miserable places on earth when the weather is horrible, I love it.

Quality trail shame its not a bit longer even with the new loop.

Best trail centre we've done:
Not scary but very exciting (especially the last bit), drains well, long enough & well maintained.

Never heard a bad word said about the place TBH.

Don't forget to put a few quid in the honesty box.

I like it very much.
It's a bit wilder than other trail centres and you actually feel like you're in the 'mountains'.

The 3 last downhill sections are grrreeaaat!

Absolutely ACE

mind you we did have the weather.

We did it on Saturday in glorious sunshine – it's great and so much nicer than CYB

Yes!

Makes a nice weekend with either Llandegla or Marin trail

Yes,

As above lovely place. Just don't forget there's no facilities, so make sure you've got everything with you.

I was there on Saturday too. Great ride. Loved the new loop 2 after the fire road section. The trail just goes on and on. Not very technical, but a really good XC type ride.

Remember to drop some cash into the box.

Did it last week- Penmachno in the morning, Llandegla in the arvo, Penmachno is really nice, saw noone else mid week, and as others say, it feels a bit like riding back country.
Marin trail seems to get bad press.
I enjoyed Llandegla, (never seen trails quite like it) but it apparently is packed at weekends, and while fun to ride isn't really satisfyiung

Marin was good on Sunday! Not sure why it gets such a bad press, perhaps because it's one of the oldest?

I did the first half of the Marin on Monday; having not done it for years I was worried it would turn out to be a bit tired and worn, but it was superb!

Pen: I agree with the above comments
Marin: I love ripping the final descents. The rest is OK but the fun/effort ratio is quite low
Llandegla: Ideal beginner centre. The "black" is a fun red. Smooth so suits HTs

Brilliant, simply brilliant!

I have never ridden somewhere before and seen 12 men giggling like kids when hitting the firetrack after yet another fantastic bit of singletrack!!

Just remember a few quid in the donation box as the boys over there are struggling to raise enough money for trail maintainence each year. 🙂

Ace, is there any maps or is it well signed posted? had a look on mbwales but no map route guide?

Ps hope we get the weather

It's well signposted once on the track, just look for the red sign posts.

Main carpark is on the right about half a mile past the main village of Penmachno. In middle of village there is asharp left hand bend with some bike signs but go round the corner and follow the main road. Car park on right up a firetrack.
You'll maps and donation box up there.

Sweet, I will be up there this Sunday then..

Cheers

Scott

It's the best trail centre that I've rode. The Marin is good,it's the lardy,lazy gimmers that can't climb ,that moan about it.

The Marin is good,it's the lardy,lazy gimmers that can't climb ,that moan about it.

Agreed! 😆

I really didn't enjoy Penmachno. No "flow" to the trails in my opinion. Loop one was OK, but the second/extra loop was poor in my opinion.

LYNCH HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, no flow?

I'm interested, Flashy, compared to what?

I really just didn't enjoy it. By comparison, NYA offers so much more flow, with a lovely feel to every trail. Brechfa gives me that "away from it all" sensation, with a lovely flow to it all.

I just didn't like it.

it's the lardy, lazy gimmers that can't climb, that moan about it.

Oi! I like climbing, but very little of it is interesting. And there's some downhill fireroad on it.

No worries, haven't tried Afant or NYA , but preferred it to Llandegla, CYB, or the Marin.

I dont like penmachno much either seems a lot of peddaling for little reward think cyb and afan are far better

One mans meat another mans poison and all that.

Personally, its my favorite man made I have ever ridden.

At Penmachno you do a long climb up, then stay at pretty much the same level for ages, then there's a brilliant descent to finish.

If you don't like pedally riding, you might not enjoy it.

I like it a lot, but on my 6in bike some of it was harder work than it should have been.

It's good to do if you're in the area, and have the time, but given the choice between Penmachno and the Marin, I'd do Marin everytime

Love it. We did Penmachno in the morning, Marin in the afternoon. Both good but Penmachno was our preference as it seemed a bit more engaging and remote feeling. That said, they both had great final descents, but here Marin just about wins out.

More dull climbing on the Marin,Pen is harder and more fun!

personally i hated it, from the fire road climbs, to the bowl that seams to blow into your face no matter what parts your at. All that climbing for little reward IMO.

no flow for me either, CYB and Afan offer a better days ride for me.. happy to do the white/wall/phynrill (SP?) trails.

not everyone is going to like a place. hell i like CL!! i got shot down for that.

It's like anything … .. … GO RIDE IT AND MAKE UP YOUR OWN OPINION 🙂 😀 😉

I think Penmachno is like an MC Escher drawing. You spend 3 hours riding uphill and get back to where you started.

I keep meaning to give Penmachno a try. It's not that far from me really. Ish.

This trail was epic. The best trail centre I've ridden. None of this lets add in loads of "features" just a simple straight to the point good trail.

No flow? yeah right! it flowed amazingly well.

Highly recommended.

Trail centre?
centre of what? nothing, poor trail signage, parking for car's that's it how is that a centre?

only thing "epic" about it is the fireroad climbs. Like i said go make up your own mind clearly marmite!

I think one of the reasons I like Penmachno a lot is precisely because it doesn't all have that 'flow' people keep banging on about. It's like proper old school 'natural' riding where you have to work hard for your pleasures and keep the effort going for long long sections (like the exposed 'bowl' bit). Maybe it's just me, but that's an enormously rewarding kind of riding when compared to the instant-o-matic likes of Llandegla. And then there are those moments when it all opens up and you manage to get your speed up and sections do start to come together. Even then, however, there's still enough surprises to keep you honest.

I like Penmachno. Like ^^^^it seems to me to be proper old school riding. It's as close to XC as you can get on a man made trail. So there are no toilets, cafes, bike wash, nappy changing facilities etc. So what? The new loop two is super, it just goes on and on. There's no more fireroad than Llandegla, Marin, Grizedale, Whinlatter, Gisburn or anywhere else.