Everything there is doable*, with sufficient skill on a hardtail, but it depends how good you are and how modern the hardtail is. An XC hardtail is not going to be much fun on the black runs (or the reds for that matter).
*Callum, who works there, regularly rides the pro line on a dj bike, but you’d have to be insane to do that – the vertical drop off the boner log to where you land is 25ft!
I ride there every week on my Nukeproof and used to ride there on a hardtail (quite an old Kinesis). The blacks are massively easier on something with modern geometry and a bit of travel – mainly because you can hit the jumps/drops/roots much harder.
It’s nothing like Swinley reds, though – the nearest thing to a Swinley red is the sole blue. Everything else is much bigger – jumps, drops, roots, etc. In terms of difficulty, the gradings are more similar to Bike Park Wales (although the trails are much shorter).
I’d start with Bluetopia, which is fast and flowy with a few jumps, then move up to Emperu, which is a red trail that adds much bigger jumps and berms. Once you’ve got used to those, move on to Pass the Duchy, which is a natural feeling red with some roots drops and a couple of jumps at the end (and a big road gap jump if you take the new trail extension. This is more like a black at most trail centres.
Of the three blacks, Rootiful South is the easiest – just beware of the stepdowns halfway down and the log jump at the end (not particularly high, but the track drops away steeply at this point so you’ll be off the ground for a long time if you hit it at speed.
Feed Em is similar, but has a tricky section where the track just drops away right before a berm. It’s much worse than it looks in videos, but it is just about rollable.
Ark at Ee is fast and steep with some sizeable unrollable drops (although you can ride round them) and a decent sized gap jump near the end.
The Pro Line is mental – you’re talking massive gap jumps, 25 ft drops. It’s the only one I don’t yet ride and don’t know if I ever will manage to do the whole thing.
I work pretty nearby, so if you fancy meeting up there, let me know.
JP
