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BikePark Wales to reopen on Friday 13th, unlucky for some

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This might seem like a ray of sunshine at the start of a long lockdown tunnel, but this great news isn’t so great for everyone.

Lockdown, in England, kicks in tomorrow and already bike parks across England are taking to social media to confirm that, Yes they will have to close for at least the next 4 weeks, but just over the border it’s a different story.

Earlier today BikePark Wales advised us that they would actually be open to the public on November 13th. This is due to the different lockdown rules in Wales and it means that riders will be able to flock to the mountain biking mecca in just a few week.

bikepark wales
PIC © Andy Lloyd www.andylloyd.photography

But before you get in touch with your mates and arrange a day of uplift fun you might want to take a look at the fine print. I’m hoping that you all already know this but England isn’t Wales or vice versa, and the lockdown restrictions and Covid-19 measurements put in place do sometimes differ and this is one of those cases.

So on Friday 13th November, if you are a resident of Wales then you’re golden, hop on your bike and enjoy the facilities that BikePark Wales has become famous for. If you reside in England though, you’re going to be in for a longer wait. The official line from BikePark Wales is that if you have a booking that was suspended due to the restrictions and you live in England you should book a new spot on a date after 2nd December.

“We would suggest you move your booking to a date after the 2nd December, the English lockdown may last a little longer so it may be prudent to book a little later in the month.”

Here’s the official blurb from BikePark Wales along with details of what will be running as usual and what won’t be.

Hello!

We are delighted to announce that BikePark Wales will be opening to riders on Friday 13th November 2020 (yes, we did say Friday 13th!!)

The park will be open every week Friday through to Sunday and all of our services will be open and available each day. Our team have been busy during the latest period of shut down so we have plenty of exciting developments which we will share on social media in the coming days. 

With so many rules and regulations and a constantly changing landscape we thought it would be useful to put together some FAQ’s to help you navigate your way through the next few weeks and arrange your booking.  What is very important to note though is that all uplift and pedal passes (with the exception of season pass holders) must be pre-booked via our website so we can control numbers in the park every day to maintain safety.

Customers who have a suspended booking will be given an exclusive window up to 6PM on Saturday 7th November in which they can have first access to available booking dates.  At 6PM on Saturday 7th November all other customers will be able to book through our website as per usual. Pedal passes are available to book on our website now.

We will be operating on reduced numbers with safety measures in place across the business as we did in July and August, masks will be mandatory on the uplift and in the centre, for more info click here.

FAQ’s

I have received an e-mail stating my booking is suspended, what do I do?

It’s nice and simple.  Simply login to your account on the BPW website and you will see your booking as “suspended”.  Click on that booking and you will be able to move it to a date of your choice.  Please note, weekend bookings can only be moved to weekend days and week days to week days.

I hold a booking for a date between now and 2nd December that hasn’t been suspended but I live in England, what should I do?

You can e-mail us on reception@bikeparkwales.com and we will be able to move your booking to another date.

I have a suspended booking but I live in England, what should I do?

We would suggest you move your booking to a date after the 2nd December, the English lockdown may last a little longer so it may be prudent to book a little later in the month.

I had a booking on a Monday or  Thursday but the park isn’t open on those days?

We have changed the logic on the website so it will now allow you a free upgrade to move your booking to a Friday of your choice.

What should I do with my suspended coaching course?

All of our services can be moved via the “members area” on our website as described above. Any issues, contact us on coaching@bikeparkwales.com

Will the café and bike shop be open?

Yes, all of our services including Café (takeaway only), bike shop, rental, uplift and coaching will be open

Will pay as you go uplift be running?

Unfortunately we cannot open PAYG yet.  With social distancing regulations we need to be able to control the number of people using the uplift exactly and PAYG doesn’t allow us to do this unfortunately.  As soon as it is safe to do so we will bring PAYG back.

What about season passes?

All full year season passes will get an extension of 4 months this year, half season passes will get an extra 6 weeks.  You don’t need to pre-book your pedal pass if you hold a season pass, please visit reception to collect your band on arrival.

Thanks and see you soon!

The BPW team

Andi is a gadget guru and mountain biker who has lived and ridden bikes in China and Spain before settling down in the Peak District to become Singletrack's social media expert. He is definitely more big travel fun than XC sufferer but his bike collection does include some rare hardtails - He's a collector and curator as well as a rider. Theory and practice in perfect balance with his inner chi, or something. As well as living life based on what he last read in a fortune cookie Andi likes nothing better than riding big travel bikes.

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Comments (1)

    Unlucky for some?
    According to the beeb, Merthyr currently has the highest case rate in the UK for covid, and nearly a third of those tested are positive.
    I know things must be tough for bpw, but is reopening really sensible?

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