Post by adrian on Jun 26, 2011 17:21:16 GMT 1
Castle Ward MTB
Kyle Irvine, Colin Roy, David Young and I headed off to check out the new MTB facilities in Castle Ward (east of Downpatrick), to avail of the National Trust opening their doors for free today. The centre is just what NI needs right now and while we got there early the place was soon filling up.
Overlooking Strangford Lough, the trails start along the Lough lookout point with scenic views of the boats and soon wind their way up through the fields and up towards the forestry. Hope you enjoy your cow patties as the path up to the forest is littered with poo and the head wind was really dragging us back. There is also a crazy amount of gates to cross through but in the end it’s worth it and if you cycle on they spring back to close – no hanging around.
The trails are typical trail centre-grade with compact gravel and large rocks lining the path and the place would drain well when the winter comes. It always seemed that with the amount of descending we were doing the climbing wasn’t proportionate so it would be ideal for families and small children.
The trails were very greasy in parts and we found it hard to keep traction but we all agreed that it would be an excellent place to hold night runs – if it wasn’t for all the gates – and when we got back to base a lady from CAAN told us that Club runs during the week was something they were considering and it would be offered at a discounted rate – cool!
There were sign posts showing you the trail direction but it was very hard to see them and we overshot the turn twice – I only remember seeing the Red run marked, but it was enjoyable and mixed with long fast flowy sections, mixed with tight braking turns and protruding rocks to keep you on your toes. Davy kept reminding me that he was “all up my a$$” like Louie Walsh in a London club (allegedly) but you couldn’t help but slam the anchors in some of the bends. On our second run, Kyle got a little over-anxious and washed out. He was quickly up and only a minor cut to the leg.
Back to the start again, we decided to check out the main facilities. Chain Reaction had set up an area where you could rent bikes for £10 for the day. They had an impressive range of Vitus bikes on display, with music playing in the background and many people sitting around the picnic benches in the court yard.
Adjacent to this there were restroom facilities provided in addition to several extra port loos and stalls to pick up information about the area. I can confirm that my “Hot Chocolate with marshmallows, sprinkles and free bag of mixup” was delicious and the old men with their coffees said they were great too.
Ready to set off again, Kyle noticed he had a puncture and unfortunately there were many people littered around the trails with their wheels off doing similar maintenance. Bring plenty of spares if you decide to venture up – I got one right at the end of our second loop too which was a shame and thanks to Davy we got her back on and sorted quick enough.
A great day out and as I say, good to see facilities like these finally popping up in Northern Ireland. We were there early but by lunch time we could see Phoenix, XMTB and Banbridge riders turning up and the car park was jammed with families and ramblers heading towards the trails. Check it out, especially while the weather is good.
Admission is ~£6 and yearly membership to the National Trust is ~£55.
Here is a link to my Garmin with some stats....we all love stats:
connect.garmin.com/activity/94969318
Adrian
