Forestry England has confirmed that Phase 2 of the Squirrel Chaser Cycle Trail is planned at Hamsterley Forest, County Durham, with the next section named Potato Hill scheduled for completion by Easter 2026.
Tarland Trails at Pittenderich in Aberdeenshire has a run of confirmed events listed, covering trail maintenance days through January and February, alongside a larger demo weekend later in the year.
State of the Nation 2025: iBikeRide UK MTB Trail Report is now live. It summarises what riders wrote in Trail of the Year reviews during the 2025 campaign period, mapped across the rider day from Plan through to Leave, plus a trail-type lens covering bike parks, trail centres, and local trail networks.
Two headline patterns stand out in the rider text: riders most often praise trail variety, maintenance and build quality, progression, and the community vibe. When riders ask for improvements, the most common notes sit around the riding, not only in the riding itself, things like toilets and shelter, food, parking and access, and clearer progression for newer riders.
An overview of cyclocross and how it sits between road, gravel, and mountain biking through shared skills and rider pathways.
Photo: Tim Rademacher (Wikimedia Commons), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source.
The Welsh Enduro Series has confirmed that it will not run beyond 2025, adding to a growing list of long-running UK enduro organisers stepping back from event delivery.
We have added new trail type filters (think search by pump track, bike park, downhill etc) to the MTB Trail Map. Enjoy!
A new iBikeRide article looks at how pump tracks and jump lines across the UK end up with very different layouts, and why those differences exist. Drawing on commissioning context, the piece explains how factors such as budget, space, maintenance expectations, risk acceptance and intended users shape what is built on the ground. Using examples from pump tracks across the UK, the article sets out the range of facility types riders encounter and how progression and jump features can be delivered in different ways within those constraints
The iBikeRide UK MTB Trail Index is a live rider-driven ranking of mountain biking spots across the UK, spanning trail centres, bike parks, pump tracks, community networks and urban bike parks. It is updated automatically as riders leave ratings and reviews, giving a current picture of how venues stack up based on the community’s feedback.
This Index runs all year and uses a Bayesian average rating system, which helps ensure the scores are balanced even when some venues have fewer reviews. A spot needs at least five reviews to appear on the Index, letting newer or smaller venues get on the boards as riders share their experiences.
Why this matters to UK riders
📊 Because the Index updates live with every review, your voice really counts. The trails and parks you rate today shape how others see them tomorrow.
📍 The Index now includes new categories so riders can compare like with like: bike parks, trail centres, community trail networks, urban bike parks and pump tracks. This change helps you find spots that suit your style of riding.
🔄 Unlike the Trail of the Year campaign, which is a snapshot at a set time with higher review thresholds, the Trail Index runs continuously throughout the year. Importantly Any trails reviewed now still count towards Trail of the Year 2026, even though the campaign launches later in the year.
We need your help to fill the index so invite you to ✍️ Rate and review every trail you ride to help it appear or climb in the Index.
