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I have c3 hours on Sunday afternoon to go for a ride starting from Llanbedr DC, can anyone point me in the direction of a decent loop, old school XC, at a guess 25-30miles. (no idea how hilly/flat/muddy/rocky/fast/slow/etc the tracks are)
From where the car will be abandoned Lon Cae Glas is the starting point if that helps with the advice.
certainly a starting point, From comparing to Bing OS maps, some of that looks like it is on footpath, are landowners likely to welcome you with a shotgun or not care????
There's a bridleway that has recently been created/cleared running on the West side of the Clwydian Range, pretty much down to Llanbedr DC. It's still marked as footpath on the OS maps, but is waymarked as a bridleway.
Get on the bridleway up to Bwlch Pen Barras (ca. 800ft climb), then up and along the Clwydian range as far as you like, before taking one of the descents on the West side and returning along said bridleway. If you want to go further, then there's plenty of loops you can do.
Will have a look at the map when I get home and try and give you more specific directions if you want.
ETA: At the moment, the trails are bone dry and very fast. Few rocks, unless you go looking for them.
any info would be a help. One other detail, the forecast is looking good and has been for a while?, so I am guessing the valleys won't be too muddy???????
Some places never dry out, but things will probably be as dry as they ever get if this weather holds. (It's worth getting up on the tops, honest!)
It's been surprisingly difficult to find anything about that bridleway I was on about, but it is the left hand half of this loop:
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You could head up to Hirwaen and take the bridleway on the right which will definitely take you to it. (It may be possible to reach it up the track on the right by Pant Y Waen about 3/4 mile from Llanbedr DC (GR 139 603), but I'm not sure.)
That would put you somewhere around the 7 mile marker on this route:
http://flattyres-mtb.co.uk/route-guides/north-wales-mtb-routes/the-moel-famau-circuit/
If you turned right onto the BW, it would put you at point 8 in the notes (where it says turn left if you were coming down). You could follow the route all the way around to the point where you joined it, or there is a descent down a BW to Gellifor as an alternative finish.
If you wanted a longer route, follow that one to its start/finish point in the lower Moel Famau car park, then swap to step 5 of this one (which is similar to the one ninfan posted above):
http://flattyres-mtb.co.uk/route-guides/north-wales-mtb-routes/the-ruthin-and-moel-famau-round/
This actually brings you down the Hirwaen BW, so you could make your way back from there.
Personal thoughts:
I wouldn't bother with the loop south of the A494 for an afternoon - it's a long slog up through the woods with no views, and often muddy.
Having gained the car park at Bwlch Pen Barras, I'd probably head up the forestry track in the corner of the north car park, near the entrance, and skirt around Moel Famau but I hesitate to recommend it as I'm not sure of the status of the tracks from there on (they seem to be ridden very regularly though, and I'm pretty sure there are bridleway markers on some of them). first route is 3 miles of fire road, otherwise (with views).
I think the second route is the nicer one, but I would be worried about trying to complete it in 3 hours.
Sorry the above is a bit messy! I'm not sure what I'm doing this weekend yet, or I'd volunteer to come with you. (Oh, and which ever way you go, there'll be at least one beast of a climb.)
thanks, well aware of the climb, friend i am sort of visiting lives half way up bwlch pen barras, which is always fun driving up! let alone riding.