Trail Rides Wales is accredited by
the Wales Tourist Board.
Trail riding is motorcycling on roads and byways which never received a tarmac surface or where the tarmac was not repaired and the surface has reverted to grass or natural stone. That makes it sound as if trail riding is easy, but some of these "roads" go up and down steep hills, across and along rivers and bogs, with boulders, rocks and rolling stones. Trail riding is fun, challenging, exciting, improves your skills and takes you into the most scenic areas of Wales.
Whilst trail riding you encounter stream crossings, deep puddles, loose surfaces and sometimes big stones and rock steps. Most of our information is aimed at riders who are trail riding for the first time and who don’t have their own trail or enduro bike. If you can’t find the information you require, please email or phone 01686 430522.
If you have your own road legal trail or enduro bike, quad or sidecar, we provide guided trail riding. Enduro tuition for solo riders can be included if you wish. Please see the Trail Riding on Your Own Bike page.
For riders who are not road legal, we do have access to two farms. One is excellent for novices with wide open fields, and the other is good for the improving rider as it has steep hills, a bog and some woodland. For more information, please see the Riding Off Road page.
For road riders without any previous offroad or trail riding experience, we offer two choices: a day which is challenging and strenuous with hills, boulders and rocks, or a more scenic route with lanes which avoid the steeper hills and roughest bits. The challenging day is near Aberystwyth and the scenic day goes from near Machynlleth.
In winter we often trail ride near Aberystwyth as there are lots of lanes without more than a couple of miles of tarmac lane linking them. In summer, we use a larger variety of routes when time for trail riding is not limited by daylight. All our routes have a good variety, with plenty of hills and other scary bits (not so scary on the easy beginner’ route!)
"I just wanted to say thanks from all of us for a brilliant day on Saturday. We weren’t too sure what to expect and I have to say that everything from the standard of the equipment, the level of tuition and the variety of terrain was so much better than we imagined. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable day and were still laughing about it the following day! We had a great time and I would (and have already) wholeheartedly recommend it to absolutely anyone who is thinking about this kind of day. We will all be back!"
John from Redditch
We organise special trail riding days for riders of big trail bikes, enduro and long distance trials sidecars and quads and women trail riders, both for people with their own bikes and people who want to use ours (including our enduro sidecar).
We also do "adventure riding days" which are not as strenuous as trail riding. The tours include some gravel and grassed over roads, and are ideal for new motorcycle riders who wish to improve their riding skills, for people with bikes on road tyres and with pillions, and for riders who enjoy the scenic and wildlife aspects of the countryside of Wales. They are also cheaper! See Ride Adventure for more information.
We have trail and enduro bikes available, from 125cc to 510cc. Usually people who are new to trail riding are best using one of our trail bikes. These are two Honda CRF230s (one lowered), two CCM CXR230s and a Suzuki DRZ400. Our enduro bikes are Husqvarna TE250s and a TE510. We have a Suzuki DR125 for riders on L plates.
We also have an enduro sidecar - not for the faint hearted! It has a tuned Honda XR650 engine, with electric start, in a custom built Kevin Hollister Racing chassis.
Not much - only a drink or two, spare socks, and a little cash for your lunch at a cafe. If you are riding in winter, thermal underwear (if you own some!) All protective clothing is provided.
For people who want to experience trail riding but don’t have a licence, we offer riding on farm and private land. The two farms we go to are very different: one is great for complete beginners and the other is mountainous and challenging. For more details, please see Riding Off Road page. Please note that we do not usually teach beginners from November to February as conditions are often too difficult (either wet or frozen) and we are restricted in use during March and April due to lambing.
Visit our Things To Do in Wales page for some ideas of activities and places to visit for people who don't want to ride motorbikes.