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Swinley Forest Mountain Bike Centre
Avg 3.92
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup
Number of Reviews (64)

*You can claim this trail if you are the trail owner

  • Information:
  • Type: Purpose Built Centre
  • Grades: Green,Blue,Red,Black,Ungraded,Forest Road
  • Riding: Cross Country,Downhill,Wild Trails,Skills Area,Bike Park
  • Facilities: Car Park,Toilets,Visitors Centre,Cafe,Bike Wash,Bike Hire,Bike Shop
  • Distance(s): Under 5km, 5-10km, 11-20km, 21- 30km
  • Country: England
  • County: Berkshire
  • Website: Swinley Forest
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Trail Network & Rider Segments

Trail network status from Trailforks and recent rider segments from Strava (see full mapped routes and details in the Tracks tab).

Trail Status

status via Trailforks.com

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Description

Swinley Forest Mountain Bike Centre is in Bracknell, England and consists of red, blue and green XC trails, a skills area, and a few Downhill tracks. Swinley Forest is quite sandy so holds dry well in the winter and rainy months. All trail maintenance, design and construction at Swinley is Managed by Earthworx Trail Co in conjunction with The Crown Estate 

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Blue Loop

  • The Blue moderately graded route is 10.1km long. The Blue is built for novices and its aim is to inspire confidence. You leave the Lookout past the trig point on Gravel Hill. You then descend to a bermed, single-track section then through a pine forest and finish through Windsor Ride to New England Hill. Incorporates "Full Nine Yards", "Devils Highway" and "Stickler". Around The Stickler point, you have the choice of continuing the blue back or taking on the Red. 

Red Loop

  • The Red graded loop is 13km long and connects sections such as Seagull, Tank Traps, Whole Nine Yards, Deerstalker and Labyrinth into a loop.
  • The route continues from the Blue as described above. You enter Tank Traps and then on to Crowthorne Reservoir. On to Satan's Grotto with its tight twisty single track and then crossing Devils Highway onto Seagull. Follows the forest road to Surrey Hill Reservoir down the "F1" descent into the forest then up the tough Boardwalk climb. Down to Deerstalker, through the Labyrinth out onto the forest ride. Some more Forest Road sections till you hit Cobblers before returning on the blue trail back. 
  • For clarity, the Red starts at pretty much the midpoint of the Blue and returns at its end again along the Blue.
  • Along the red route you can diverge onto a neat jump line (splits into two options to step it up a gear). This line(s) can be sessioned over and over to improve those skills.

Green Loop 

  • The Green graded Loop is for families and beginners and is 1.2km long. It has gentle dips and rises on a wide track. 

Downhill Area’s 

  • There are a few short downhill runs dotted along the way off the red route at the mid way point.
  • In the downhill area (around Red Route marker 10) you will find the rebuilt red graded line that replaces the old Bikini Line, running straight from top to bottom with features all the way down and no mid trail pull outs or cut ins.
  • Babymaker is a separate red graded jump line with berms and tabletops that can be sessioned from the same push up.
  • The same small hillside also includes a handful of other short red descents and jump lines, including, Berminator and Deer Stalker, giving a compact cluster of gravity focused options beside the main red route.

The Summit - Skills Area 

  • The Summit is a purpose-built skills area with trails and features ranging from green to black. It’s designed for riders of all abilities to build confidence, work on technique, and progress at their own pace. The Summit is run by Swinley Bike Hub (shop found on trail centre) 
  • Day access is available through single-session passes (£10 adult / £7 under 18), along with 5-credit passes and monthly memberships for regular riders
  • The area is open via bookable sessions, with online registration and a signed waiver required. Sessions are staffed by first-aid-trained managers, and riders are responsible for choosing features within their ability level. Includes:
    • Berms and rollers
    • Tabletops and gap jumps
    • Wooden drops
    • Flow trails
    • Tech trails
    • Graded progression from green to black

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  • If you have ridden the mountain bike trails at Swinley Forest then please share your experiences and post your reviews, pictures and videos to this listing. 
guest:
Avg 3.10
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Safe, fun and exciting

Love it here, I'm learning and great place for me. My other half more advanced and we can ride the blue and red trails together

What do you like?

Mix of blue and red excellent. Never feels busy, even if carpark is. Car park opens late so can easily fit in rides in the evening and it's still light.

What could be improved?

Need more food options, away from all the kids and families

Would you recommend?

yes

Date written:

28/05/2023 - over 2 years ago

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2
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Londoner :
Avg 3.50
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Great workout and decent bits to session

This is my go to place when weather is bad and Surrey Hills is a mud fest as drains well. There are some nice flow descents on the red and the blue has a fun penultimate descent but otherwise the red needs some tech upgrade. Still lots of fun to be had and there are a few off piste short downhill lines to session and I do like the new jump line.

What do you like?

- facilities not bad - good workout - some really fun descents and downhill off piste sections

What could be improved?

- red needs bit more gnar - def needs a black - some of new build lacks flow - swinley bike hub should offer a day pass entry as site looks ace

Would you recommend?

yes

Date written:

28/05/2023 - over 2 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

1
^
guest:
Avg 3.70
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

Really enjoy it here.

Still quite new to MTB world. However love going over here having some fun out on the trails.

What do you like?

Nice variety of hill climb, decents, trail surface. Some nice techy bits. New bit on blue is good too.

What could be improved?

Some signage could be clearer for less experienced or less regular users

Would you recommend?

yes

Date written:

28/05/2023 - over 2 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

0
^
Clayton0903:
Avg 3.79
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

I went here a few weeks back to ride with my mate who's new to MTB. We decided this would be a good start point as the blue trail looked fun, but was easy enough for him to enjoy. It's about 2 hours from me and I was suprised at how accessible it is-immediately off a main road with connections to the motorway. That said, you can end up encountering traffic as it's so close to London and other surrounding towns. The riding itself is really, really good-well maintained trails mean that there's minimal distruption when you're hammering the well placed downhill sections complete with high berms and a few rollable jumps. We only did the blue on our first time there, but from what others told us the red is much the same, only more exciting. If you can get down on a weekday, it will be much better. We went on a saturday and even with the 12 degrees temperature, I had to wait for a parking space. I've booked a day off work to go again as it's too much hassle driving all the way there to pray there's a space for you. Ultimately, this is an excellent trail centre and is up there with the best England has to offer. I'd even place it higher than Cannock, which is my local, purely because of the trail quality and how well the sections are stitched together.

What do you like?

Trails sections blend together really well for seamless flow Blue is great fun and easy to get used to-even for beginners Very well maintained Great downhill sections well spaced out along the trail network

What could be improved?

Can be a little confusing to figure out where to go once you reach the forest roads (handy to have Trailforks installed on your phone) Car park is VERY busy on a weekend so finding spaces can be difficult Maybe a little flat for some riders

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

07/11/2017 - about 8 years ago

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1
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TelSTFC:
Avg 4.16
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

My local trail centre as straight up the M27 & M3 for me and ride here about 3 times per month Have to say this is a great trail centre seeing as there are no big hills around here and they have designed the trails very well to get lots of flowing XC sections. Great for fitness and can average around 9.5 mph or more on a light hard tail taking it pretty fast. Blue & Red combined make a great 15 mile route and if you know the area you can add on another 2-3 miles by doing some of Crowthorn Woods. Best Sections on here for me are the Deerstalker & Labyrinth and also some great fast bermy and jumpy sections on the red & blue. This and Peaslake (Surrey Hills) are my fav Southern places to ride. By the way the flow of Swinley is much better than Cannock Chase as completed that twice this year also.

What do you like?

Great use of area as no real big hills All weather trails red and blue and there is some very good natural bits such as 'The Deerstalker & Labyrinth and first part of the red. Good parking facilities and only £2 for 4 hours although gets packed at weekends Some great fast downhills only short but great bermy fun. 50 mins from where i live Blue & Red Route total 15 miles so a good workout

What could be improved?

Gets very busy at weekends after 10.30am as close to London No long downhills but that's due to height around here

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

15/10/2017 - over 8 years ago

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1
^
Mihkel:
Avg 4.07
Grin Factor
Trail Variety
Skills
Trail Quality
General Setup

One of the best trail centres in the SE

One of the best trail centres in the SE. I am lucky enough to live only 30 minutes from there. Most runs are in a good conditions all year. Also good place to spend a weekend with your family.

Would you recommend?

Date written:

26/03/2017 - almost 9 years ago

Was this review helpful to you?

1
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