Boneyard descent at the Forest of Dean

The Freeminers trail at the Forest of Dean has a completely new descent to tick off, over 1km long and graded red, it’s now the last hurrah before dropping you back into the trail centre.

Called the Boneyard descent, it’s been handbuilt by the FOD custodians Dean Trail Volunteers, and starts out pretty mellow, with flowy corners through the trees. Lower down you get faster, bigger berms to slew you around the forest like a roller coaster, and we reckon that makes it one of the best new trails to ride mountain bikes in 2025. Check out World Cup rider Will Haines shredding it…

That’s not all that’s been happening at the FOD though, a mountain bike destination that’s notoriously modest when it comes to shouting about its achievements. So while commercial venues like BikePark Wales are forever splashing their new trails on social media (and with good reason), you have to dig a little deeper to find what’s new in the Forest.

The Freeminers trail itself has had some volunteer spades in it recently, there’s a new skills area you can session as you make your way round, including a new jumps line and a drops line. Recent work also means you can ride the revamped Freeminers as a complete loop 15km loop, or sessioned sections of it. That makes it super useful if you’re riding with kids, or less experienced or less fit riders.

The Adit and now the Boneyard descent catapults the Forest of Dean right up our 2025 trail hitlist

It’s also hard to believe the the red-graded Adit is only three years old, built in 2022 it comprises six miles of deliciously sculpted berms, all shaped by the Dean Trail Volunteers (them again) with Forestry England.

I love riding in the Forest because it’s a wicked mix of smooth sculpted trails, and wild, off-piste jank. It’s not a commercial bike park and as such both can exist side-by-side, making it my number one destination this summer. It’s also free to ride, which makes a difference when you’re towing four kids around, like I am.

BikePark Wales’ new A470 trail is now way more consistent in its jump size, letting you get progression and confidence

The A470 at BikePark Wales

Yup, you can’t go far without hearing a BikePark Wales fanboy shouting about how great the trails here are. And full disclosure, I’m one of those fanboys, something that’s fuelled by the venue’s prolific trail count.

This summer BikePark Wales has revamped the popular A470 jump trail, and essentially made it safer, and less scary for mountain bikers who can jump a bit, but not well (if you know what I mean?!). I’ve ridden this trail since its first incarnation some 10 years back, and while the first row of jumps were pretty manageable, the end got progressively bigger and scarier, and beyond my pay grade.

Well, it seems BPW Wales recognised that too, because the new ending now features a more consistent jump size, which really helps progression. Last year BikePark Wales extended its longest jump trail all the way to the summit start point – 48 jumps in a row, if I remember correctly – and together with the new ending it has genuinely helped improve my jumping. I implore you to go and check this line out.

Jaws, Abercarn

As far as I can work out, every valley in South Wales has some spectacular piece of riding that has me wanting to come back for more, and the newest hotspot (that I’ve ridden, anyway) is Abercarn. Aside from the usual steep, tech gnar, when mbr editor Danny and I visited we found picture-perfect berms made from sieved dirt, the leftover rocks lovingly embedded on top of the berms. This place has to be seen to be believed, check out the edit from Salt_n_shred

Mile Down, Kielder Forest

I’ve not been to ride this yet, but from the pictures it looks like a wicked new trail to tap up. Kielder’s opened two new bike park-style trails: a brand new 650-metre red trail called Mile Down (as eventually it will be that long), while there’s some 565 metres of upgraded black graded trails to ride too.

There are berms, there are high speed sections, and there are drops and rock gardens, all of which look really well made. And you know why? Phil Saxena’s had a hand in the design though his Architrail Velosolutions trail building brand – he’s the guy who built Cwmcarn’s Pwca Blue trail, plus tracks in Whinlatter, Clayton Vale, Ashton Court, and Dalby Forest, to name but a few. He’s also shaped about three dozen UK pump tracks, including the new one at Walkerburn near Innerleithen I rode last summer.

Carron Valley, Glasgow

The Runway and Cannonball trails are back open in the Carron Valley in Scotland, after major works forced a temporary closure. There’s one more to follow too, called Eas Dubh, and when fully open, the three red trails create a single 5 mile loop packed with stone drops, table top jumps and berms.

Squirrel Chaser, Hamsterley Forest

Hamsterley Forest has unveiled a new trail called Squirrel Chaser, it’s a family friendly blue track so should be perfect for the school holidays.

It’s about 5 miles long and includes 1.25 miles of newly built singletrack called ‘The Oakey Cokey’ also included in the route, for the more adventurous riders.

The new 5 mile route has switchback climbs, flowy descents and rock gardens that are specifically designed to build confidence and progress on. It’s also designed to be part of Hamsterley Forest’s progressive trail network, which means it caters to all experience levels, and Squirrel Chaser can also be used by adapted mountain bikes and trikes. The project was funded by £100,000 given by the Rural England Prosperity Fund which is part of the UK government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund as well as extra money from Forestry England.