Revolution Bike Park - Wales

Wales is well established as one of the top riding destinations in the UK, with an abundance of both natural and man made riding spots. Gravity orientated bike parks have seen a big growth over the last few years, with Antur Stiniog and most recently Bike Park Wales, both demonstrating their success hosting rounds of the BDS last year. However, a more humble bike park has been providing some of the best natural tracks in the UK since 2011 and established itself as one of the best uplift spots in Wales (if not the UK).


Revolution Bike Park is situated in the quiet village of Llangynog not far from Oswestry, with the surrounding valleys having a pedigree for good downhill riding, being the original birthplace and training ground to success of the Atherton's and wealth of other riding close by. You could be forgiven for missing the bike park driving through, well hidden down a country lane until you see the quarry made famous for Dan Atherton's monster jump line and the Revolution hut to let you know you've made it.


The hut is well equipped with a woodburning stove to keep you warm on those days when it isn't quite as sunny

The park is owned by two brothers, James and Tim who wanted to bring the experience of park riding in North America and Europe to the riders in the UK. Having acquired the land in 2011 and started off building the access road and finishing area, they have now created a diverse number of trails in their 100 acre forest hillside. With 300 metres of vertical hillside to play with, there are now 5 trails (from intermediate to expert) that offer a great variety of man made flow to natural and steep DH tracks that Wales is famous for. Uplift is provided by 3 (soon to be 4) Land Rover Defender's with bike specific trailers to ensure easy loading and protection of your pride and joy. This also makes for a very quick turnaround time with each lift up only taking 10-15 minutes, maximising your time to get laps in on the hill. (We have managed 16 laps = 4500mm of descent in a day!).

Efficient and bike-safe uplift

Dr. Dre on uplift duty

Starting on the Eastern side of the hill, you can find the intermediate 'Freeride' trail. Man made and fast rolling, from the start ramp this flows down the hill with plenty of jumps and drops to keep you entertained. After crossing the fireroad, it gets a little steeper and faster with some optional gap jumps. As with all the trails at Revo, they are all really well thought out and flow nicely. Although this is still a work in progress, as it takes you down to the lower half of 'Ghetto Track', the lower section opening should be on the horizon soon.


Flowing on 'Freeride'

Next up is 'Ghetto Track'. A little steeper and more direct to the bottom, it's fast and open with ample line choice and an abundance of roots to double up, meaning you can find a different line almost every time you head down it!

Gapping roots on 'Ghetto Track'

In the middle of the mix of trails down is 'Main Line'. Probably one of the most ridden, it starts out as some tight, twisty and typically rooty singletrack before getting a little more open and faster. Once you reach the fireroad things start to get a little steeper, and you can either head left traversing across a large slate boulder and into some fast singletrack. Alternatively, you can drop into D1 (Or 'Little Wayne' as its been called) that takes in one of the steepest parts of the hill down loose slate switchbacks. These then converge and go into more roots and gullies to the finishing field. These expert trails are definitely ones to keep you on your toes!

The furthest across is the pro-line 'Ffar side' trail. One of the challenging but no less fun trails on the mountain, it starts off with some tabletops (Of similar quality to A-line) before a drops sends you into warp speed through a couple of corners that spit you out into the open, giving you a glimpse of the surrounding valley, before you drop back into the woods and into some of the steepest stuff in the bike park. You have the option of either snaking your way down or straightening down the drops, before a pedally traverse puts you back to join with the other trails. The trail also features as the Red Bull "Personal Best" track, where you can time your run and see it put up at the hut at the bottom to see how your run compares with your fellow uplifters and some of the professionals that have ridden here.

See how your Ffar side time stacks up against the very best and mere mortals on one of the most challenging tracks on the mountain.

All of the trails converge to finish in an open field, taking in fast berms, jumps and drops to the finish. You can hardly catch your breath before the next trailer is down and it's time to head up again! There is a burger van to keep you fuelled up over the course of the day (also does the best complimentary flapjack), with uplift running from 10am til 4pm.

Keeping fed and watered

Treated to some rare dusty park conditions!

Revolution Bike Park is definitely a place to put in the diary for an uplift day, with all the trails giving you something different and getting better the more you ride them. They are super busy at the moment, so it is best to try and book in advance as much as possible, check out their website for more details. Big thanks to all at the park for making it such a killer day out!

#AlwaysSunnyInTheNog (well, mostly)

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