Was thinking of hiring bikes for a few days, what sort of trails should we expect, looking for scenic XC type trails really, but i have a feeling it is probably rocky gnar or 4x4 tracks, any pointers muchly appreciated.
There's lots of great road riding. That's what I do when I'm over there. Without a guide finding the good trails could be difficult. For what it's worth when I've been out and about all the mtb riders I've seen have been lycra clad x/c types on nice x/c race bikes.
I sneaked in a day ride about five years ago guided by Gary from mananamountainbikingspain.com
It was brilliant. I remember the trails fairly technical but that's the riding I prefer, I'm sure there would be plenty of XC riding to go at. They're mainly based inland at Castell de Castells but we rode from their coastal apartment which I think was in Denia.
I was in Alicante on business this week and happened to mention to one of the guys that we'd flown over what looked like some great mountain bike trails and he put me onto this website:
http://en.comunitatvalenciana.com/what-to-do/centres-btt
In essence there are loads of signposted trails accessible from hub villages called BTTs. Each has 100km+ of varied trails. It looks great and I'll definitely try one out next time I'm over there.