TRAILCREW WHITE'S LEVEL

One of the original Welsh MTB trails and a classic of Noughties mountain biking, we see if this Afan Forest Park red route has stood the test of time

- James Costley-White

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE 

Locals do...

Support the cafe and bike shop at Glyncorrwg

Mix things up by riding the White's climb followed by the Skyline descent 

Locals don't...

Head out into the hills without tools and spares

Drop litter

I'm not sure how this section is 66 black-graded," I remark to Sam, our snapper, looking disparagingly at the mild gravelly berms we've just descended through. "It wouldn't even classify as a red somewhere like BikePark Wales." Some North Shore boardwalk follows, but it's wide enough that it's not too technical and I remain bemused. Then we reach a marker post with a skull-and-crossbones on it and before I know it we're pinballing down a steep hillside path over sharp rocks and into a series of raised stepping stones. OK, fair enough, this is pretty challenging for a cross-country trail.

Rainbow connections 

It's been years since I've ridden White's Level. Back in the day, these wooded valleys north of Port Talbot were a regular venue for MBUK photoshoots and BikeRadar demo days, and were even used for one of the UK's first enduro races, the Kona Mashup. Almost all singletrack, in an era when fireroad climbs were common, this red route (with black options) was a real favourite. Then, an outbreak of phytophthora ramorum (a destructive, algae-like organism) meant many of the trees had to be felled and the main climb rerouted, and the trail just didn't feel the same. It didn't help that around the same time, Afan Forest Park began to be eclipsed as a riding venue by the newer trail centres and bike parks springing up, many of them closer to the Anglo-Welsh border.