I’ve never ridden up Darran Road but I’ve heard it’s brutal. I’ve ridden up another way that’s just along a bit from there and it’s about 300metres of climb give or take. It’s not fun.

I normally park at Cwmcarn in the car park there and ride up the tarmac road to the top of the Twrch red route (airstream 2) and then along that trail until I get to a steep concrete ramp. You then peel off up the tarmac road and it takes you to the top of the off piste. Trailforks is your friend for the official ‘off piste’ trails.

Busy Lizzie is the easiest, then wacko into lower mayhem. You could do some shuttling of the top half of the off piste down to the middle firetosd and then back up. Makes it less of a brutal long climb each time.

I’d say Mayhem upper is then the next most difficult, followed by Conda. The latter has steep bits and quite a few roots.

If you want steeper you can follow the middle fire road round (away from Cwmcarn) and you come to Ronduro and then a bit further ‘Network R’. The latter is meant to be very steep and sounds like it has quite a few big chutes.

I really like Risca but I’ve not ridden even close to all the trails round there. The off piste is great.

Cheers @joebristol
Is there a charge for parking at the Cwmcarn car park? It sounds like doing some laps of the trails to the middle fire road would work in the time I have.

gawton. not too far off route.
grogley/hustyns if you want something nearer to bodmin.

"Is there a charge for parking at the Cwmcarn car park?"

£2 for 4 hours, £3 all day - I was there last week.

I can't think of anything near Taunton unless you mean Quantocks

Haldon cafe side is still closed & is getting badly overgrown.

Car park is £2 for 2 hours isn’t it? I normally pay £3 whatever as it’s cheap. Sessioning the top half or wacko / busy / Conda / mayhem could work well. There’s a push up track to the wacko end - out of a clearing on the fire road. You could finish either with a full run of wacko then cycle back round the canal path to the trail centre or you could go up and so the black graded DH run that ends in the car park on the Cwmcarn side. It’s not very black though unless you’re sending the big features - I’d say the off piste is harder for steep / tight tech.

I don’t know if this link will work - if you need to follow me I’ll accept it.

https://strava.app.link/N5DsyS6loub

It’s an uplift day at Cwmcarn a month or 2 back. We rode all the tracks I’ve mentioned pretty much plus a couple of other part trails. We didn’t go up the push-up as we uplifted but it shows you where the trails are.

Nice one thanks!

Just some bits on the below map

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Blue is Conda (hardest)

Yellow is Busy Lizzie (easiest)

Purple is Mayhem upper

Red is Wacko

Green is about where I think the push up track starts

Pale blue are a number of lower runs - I think Jonjuro / Mayhem lower / deaf and dumb (maybe)

Orange is Darran Road I believe - but never been up it

Where it says start point is where the uplift bus drops off - over the other side is the DH run.

Thank you!

Haldon cafe side remains closed but the off piste stuff in the main area has similar gradients etc. Less built, no built jumps (cafe side was fairly big on the jumps) but plentiful and good gradients. It's obviously not Golfie steep but it's good riding and convenient. Sounds like it's a weekday daytime - feel free to PM me if it is and you want someone to ride with, I might be about.

For day 2 head to Triscombe stone car park and ride the trails at Triscombe, the "enduro" side has just been reinstated after felling. Let me know if you'd like something to follow when there, I could DM something over.

+1 for Triscombe, you'll enjoy the trails there Rik

Message me if you want any further Risca tips, I was there last month.

Agree the Quantocks in general are always worth a visit. There are very few footpaths so most tracks whether along the main ridge or down the Combes are fair game.

Nearer to Cardiff, slight detour is Forest of Dean. Either the newly extended Freeminers or session the downhill trails.

There are trails in the woods near Bodmin Cardinham Woods, mainly a good blue trail but locals may know more.

If you had more time Dartmoor is worth a visit. Eastern side near Manaton and Water.

Personally at the Forest of Dean the best bits are the off piste and downhill / enduro runs. The blue xc route is ok, the red is a lot of pedalling for not enough fun.

But none of it is on Trailforks anymore and some of it isn’t widely publicised so I wouldn’t post anything on the forum really. All the Risca stuff on the map above has been made official off piste with some small signs.

To get the best of fod you need to go with someone who knows where the good stuff is.

The woods around Castell Coch are also full of trails. It's much more small-time, it's a small woodland and not very steep, but it's right outside Cardiff.

Grogley/hustyns/bishops woods by Bodmin are excellent.
Grogley is steeper but easier to find trails.
Hustyns a bit less steep.
Trailforks is your friend