Thinking I might try and get a few after work rides in. Won't be able to get there until around 6 so just wondered if the gates there are locked and if so what time?

We left at 6 the other week and a couple were turning up to ride the XC loop. Why not park down in "town" and ride up to the trail start?

Pretty certain the car park gate shuts at 9 in the summer,but times are posted at the gate, so if you think you're going to be later you could park at the visitor centre or in the street opposite the car park.

A mate of mine found out the hard way that the gates shut @ 2100.

We usually park on Nantcarn Road, the quiet residential street that runs parallel to the Forest Drive.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Cwmcarn,+Crosskeys,+Newport,+Gwent,+United+Kingdom&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=11.74868,28.256836&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FXDxEwMdmDjQ_w&split=0&hq=&hnear=Cwmcarn,+Crosskeys,+Newport,+Gwent,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.637251,-3.119516&spn=0.012039,0.027595&z=15

park in the small car park up by the visitor centre