Going near there soon and obviously BPW is a place to ride, just it's probably too gnar for the beginner missus.
I don't know of any tamer off-piste local TBH.
There is a green trail at BPW, it snakes through the car park. I think it's called 'Badger', but it might as well be called 'Token Gesture'Â I think the younger kids class uses it to establish a base skill level before sodding off to the easier Blue an hour later.
Blaengarw isn't far from Merthyr. The blue is a piece of piss, but fun. The black is significantly harder - also rather good.
Castell Coch and surrounding area (Coed Wenallt, Ridgeway etc.) has some nice riding, just down the A470 on the outskirts of Cardiff. Using the forestry carpark (Forest Fawr) a bit further up the road from the Castle entrance gets you straight onto the trails (and into the dogging late in the evening, probably best avoided ).
