Watchmoor Bike Park and Moors Valley Mountain Biking

Dave Marsh:

This trail does not compare to other MTB parks in the UK and it's blue status is questionable. It does not have berms or technical sections. That being said I like to go early before any families get there and go around as fast as my ability allows. There are rocks on the inside and outside of every turn, which seriously limits your ability to maintain speed. But I enjoy the all weather track, the fact it is 30 minutes away and it reminds me of being a kid in the 70's and riding through tracks in the local woods. I have given trail quality a 3 because the trail is well maintained not because it is technical or comprises berms and DH sections

All weather Fun to ride fast Can ride at night Good Cafe that caters for wet an muddy cyclists

Jim McWibb:

I'm going to review this track based on my experience of riding other "blue" trails at other centres. This, simply put, bares no resemblance to other blue trails. There are no berms. There are no rollers. There are no technical sections. There's nothing even close to resembling a jump or drop-off, and no options for more technical features. These are all features I've come to expect from blue trails at other trail centres, like Haldon Forest, Plymbridge Woods, Cardinham woods, Forest of Dean, etc. Instead, what you have is a narrow ribbon of blue hardcore laid out through the forest, marked with little rocks on either side of the trail, and there is absolutely no variety to this (apart from a few wooden walkway sections to get you over boggy sections). This is a pootle through the forest, nothing more. Your granny could do it with ease. One other review mentioned that the trail comes alive when trying to do it as fast as possible. This is true to an extent, but this trail is not designed for such shenanigans, and indeed it seems the design purposefully discourages you from trying to do this. Every (and I mean EVERY) corner has rocks placed on the outside bend on the exit of the corner, right where your front wheel wants to be to take the corner even a little bit aggressively. This means that every corner becomes an exercise in managing your speed in order to avoid wiping out on these rocks. If that floats your boat, fine, but to me it destroys any flow the trail has (remember all corners are flat, there are no berms), and it becomes tedious and mundane after just a few minutes. Just thinking about comparing this trail to the blue at FoD or Cardinham woods is laughable. It's black and white. There is no question in my mind that this should be a green. The thing is, people will travel to this trail centre with the blue trails at other 1SW trail centres in mind, and they'll be severely disappointed. That's why I'm writing this. The "bike park" in the SE corner of the forest is OK if you like jumping, but this review is for the blue trail only.

It's well maintained and the surface is good for the most part. That's about it for good.

TelSTFC:

The best thing about the blue route is its pretty tight single-track and left as tight as can be with lots of trees each side. I went last week and the whole route was dry and running well. Worth a spin if you are in the area but don't expect anything technical

Lovely all weather snaking single-track that if ridden fast around 11 -12mph average speed can be great fun. Can blast around 2 laps and proves a decent work out at around 9.5 miles after work. In the week not busy and you have the trail to yourself more or less. Very well maintained and old bridges/north shore have been replaced with new gripper wood. Worth a spin if you are in the area.