The car has thrown a shoe, tthe nuts are seized and it's tyre spanner is made of cheese thus it's immobile until I aquire
the tools and inclination to fix it. This I figured had rendered me immobile, or had it? I forgot! I could actually RIDE my bike! After remembering what it looked like, then finding it, imagine my surprise to find that I can not only make it go forward but also around corners!

So off my lazy arse and to those famous forgotten Indian burial grounds otherwise known as "the woods behind nationwide" but properly known as the Croft Trail (personally I think "The Croft Singletrack" to be more fitting but anyways) and NICE ONE! The new first section is fun and the rest is enjoyable, wish I had a singlespeed as I only seem to use two gears at the best of times and that trail could be made for it!

Keep up the good work folks it's coming along nice and the muddy bits were a real treat 🙂

The long and short of it is, well done on the improvements to the Swindon croft trail, I was a fan of the original first section but you've not disappointed 🙂 keep up the good work!

alright, I need to add an amendment, I figured it best to go and have a second look, just to be sure. the last section is a right blast if taken faster than feels safe! you can really pin it around there, saddle down, forks wound down to 140 pedaling like a headcase and literally knitting the bars between the trees, ducking under branches and all together ragging it 😀 I've not had that much fun on my own since I fell into an industrial vat of breast implants! (and it took them three days and a tazer to get me out of there).

If any of you are fans of fast n twisty single track then its worth a visit, they really are making the best of the land they have there 🙂

Yep was out there last week for an evening ride. The trail is much improved from the last time I rode it about a year ago. Great fun for a quick blast, then on up to the top of Ladder Lane, blast back down & another spin around Croft.

The Woods Behind Nationwide in Swindon???? I thought this was a place that existed solely in myths and legends, and the imaginations of the insane? It really exists????

Magical….

Randomly I saw some pics of the trailbuilders doing their stuff. Will have to venture down there.

What sort of length is it?

hmm probably about 25 minutes I'd say

i rode this with my brother on the way back from wales. Thought it was quite interesting how much they have jammed into a small area. Some of the rokc gardens i didnt really understand as they were placed right after corners, i guess if you know the trail better then mayeb they make more sense. I liked the prolonged one about 2/3rds of the way through.

Also the first bit is excellent, very nice berms.

25 minutes? It felt a little less to me tbh.

yeah its about 25mins as there's the optional loop bit, its the kind of trail that once it becomes familiar it becomes better, its suprising the speed you can carry in some sections if you ride with the saddle dropped and flick it around the little berms and trees, still there are a few tight ones that I've yet to master as they rob me of all speed and then its a little climb, but I'll get there and I think if you can nail that type of riding you'll be able to fly though switchbacks and such like 🙂 (at least thats my plan)

Is it a loop – ie could you ride it a few times?

Yup!

Nice!

indeed, thats when the fun kicks in 🙂

When I lived closer I helped on a couple of build days there and it makes you smile to know the section of track you're riding you helped mark out 😀

I do find it a really fun trail but there's something about it that just doesn't quite do it. Fast straights into flat corners and berms just slightly out of place. Don't get me wrong – tom, phil and co have done a superb job but because they've done a good job on a fun little loop I end up comparing it to professionally built trail centres.

oh its got better, the berms are getting bigger and the trails certianly developing more "flow" it'd be nice to see:

Section 5, east side of pitch actually have 4 or 5 separate routes (with a top loop back?) so when looping the trail you could hit a different section each time 🙂

Pleased to hear people like the trail. We're starting to get there.

Fast straights into flat corners and berms just slightly out of place.

When was the last time you were there? There were a lot of things that annoyed us, but we've tried to fix most of them. Come and identify the worst flat corners and if we agree with you we'll fix them too.

We ride the trail every Friday night (7:30pm, just turn up and join in) and after six months of doing so I'm not bored yet.

Oh yes, if you ride it a lot you learn to like some things that don't make a lot of sense first time. A lot more speed can be carried round some of the corners than you might believe. You learn to really lean on the front wheel. Knowledge is everything, so on some of the tight bits you have to get into gear ready to pound along the next straight bit. Some of the little rock things turn into tidy jumps.

The fastest lap times are somewhere around 17-18 minutes including the optional loop.

I used to hate the little slab jump thing about 3/4 of the way round until one day I found you can carry a lot of speed over it as long as you go in on the right and turn about 15degrees left. It then chucks you out on the following corner in the right place.

There are still some things that we know need changing. As always, it's a matter of time. We've had a list of things to do ever since we got involved. We have a lot of debate about changing things and what needs improving.

This year we've pretty much rebuilt the first third of the trail. We do need to adjust some berms a bit, but it works well enough for now.

We've got a few videos on youtube.
This shows the latest bit (finished about 3 weeks ago).

It's a great trail and massive hats off to those that have put the effort in. I ride it on my lightweight hardtail and also the cross bike, just as much fun on each. If only access would allow building of a set of zig zags up Ladder Lane and that could become part of the loop! It all becomes even more enjoyable if you do the cheeky stuff in the "woods behind Nationwide" then cross the road into Croft trail. All in all I find it reminds me of the RATZ course in Checkendon.

Finally, it is totally kid friendly as well.

I wonder if chicken wire on some of the woodwork might be a good idea? Whilst it's a bit of a laugh in the wet for confident riders, I bet the less experienced have come a cropper in spectacular fashion.

I suggested that pedalhead but the bloke who built it originally (Steve?) went on about IMBA guidelines not recommending it. I totally disagree though as Afan pulls it off fine. I think there is grip tape on some sections now.

yeah I noticed some grippy stuff here & there, but for the most part it is still pretty lethal for the inexperienced. I wonder why the IMBA don't recomend it. As you say, works just fine at Afan.

I have a tendency to come off the first drop off on the new section (after the berms) too fast to make any adjustments lining up with the boardwalk section which has led to a couple of wooah moments as I've struggled to stay on it, thats probably just me though 😀 I wonder if it would be possible to have some boardwalk over the pond? 😀

We are not allowed to use chicken wire.
It's considered too much of a risk when people fall onto it. See this for an example: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=174&t=652823&mid=0&i=20&nmt=Afan%2021%20Feb&mid=0

We've spent a lot of time looking into this and thought we had an ideal low-cost solution with the 3mm thick bituminous roofing felt tiles.

We did consider removing wood section due to the problems and long term maintenance, but we want to keep them.

We're going to do something will all the existing woodwork before winter sets in.

Yes I really hope you don't have to remove them, they're a great part of the trail. Perhaps just some more grippy strips might do the job?

When was the last time you were there? There were a lot of things that annoyed us, but we've tried to fix most of them. Come and identify the worst flat corners and if we agree with you we'll fix them too.

I got told off a little last night when talking to a friend about the trail and apparently since I was last over a lot more has been changed. I suppose the last time I went was maybe month and a half ago?
I'll prob visit again in the next few weeks. Bit more of a trip coming from cheltenham though.