Video: Stunning New Trails in Northern Ireland

Mar 24, 2014

by Chris Armstrong

Northern Ireland has literally burst onto the mountain biking map over the last twelve months with over 100km of trails opened across four trail centres including Ireland’s first official DH Trails and a unique urban Dirt Jumps park in Belfast. This stunning video from MountainBikeNI.com features some of Northern Ireland’s top riders soaking up the country’s fabulous new trail centres in Rostrevor, Castlewellan and Davagh Forest.

MountainBikeNI.com - MTB Trails Northern Ireland

by MountainBikeNI

Views: 5,363 Faves: 50 Comments: 3

Rostrevor Mountain Bike Trails powered by Chain Reaction Cycles:
On the shores of Carlingford Lough, Rostrevor offers some of the most challenging mountain biking in all of Ireland where efforts are rewarded with incredible coastal views and lightning quick singletrack descents. When you add not just one but two purpose-built downhill trails to the mix, there’s no denying it… Rostrevor is a mountain biker’s haven. Check out #KodakCorner

Rostrevor Mountain Bike Trails Northern Ireland Photo Laurence Crossman-Emms

Castlewellan Mountain Bike Trails powered by Chain Reaction Cycles:
The Castlewellan Mountain Bike Trails consist of a range of green, blue and red grade (including black options) singletrack routes just minutes from the lively village of Castlewellan. As well as delivering their fair share of adrenaline, these trails offer unparalleled ‘mountainscape’ views of the Mourne Mountains. The Castlewellan Mountain Bike Trails are also hosting the unique Single Speed European Championships on 25th - 27th April 2014. Check out #CastleWheelin

Castlewellan Mountain Bike Trails Northern Ireland Photo Laurence Crossman-Emms

Davagh Forest Trails powered by Chain Reaction Cycles:
Davagh Forest is tucked away in the untouched rural landscape of the Sperrin Mountains and offers exhilarating XC trails that’ll tick everyone’s boxes. There is a family-friendly green trail and an easy going blue trail with some sections of more technical singletrack. There is a pump track and short skills course located at the trailhead however if you’re after a fast trail that’ll keep you on your toes then the Red Trail at Davagh Forest will be sure to hit the spot. Check out #DavaghRocks

Boundary Rock Davagh Forest Trails Northern Ireland Photo Laurence Crossman-Emms

Visit MountainBikeNI.com for up-to-date trail conditions, interactive maps, upcoming events, ferry offers and MTB-Friendly places to stay, eat and drink near the trails.

Video: Andyyoong.com
Photos: Laurence Crossman-Emms

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MountainBikeNI
Member since Mar 20, 2014
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38 Comments

10 2

digthehills (Mar 24, 2014 at 14:42)

Amazing, i rode at davagh on saturday then went and did an afternoons uplift on the downhill bike down at rostrevor on sunday. Great weekends riding, both places are about an hour in either direction for me so cant complain. I was also at davagh the day some of this was filmed, the snow made it very interesting but as these guys said its still a lot of fun to ride no matter what the weather conditions. Rostrevor has amazing scenery and apparently has plans to do a lot more trails in the future. Hopefully the NEAR future. So many fun little sections of trail down there, but in my personal opinion the Bin runs are still the best. GO THERE

mretard (Mar 25, 2014 at 7:59)

Is Rostrevor worth a trip from Enniskillen? Got my dh sled with me and dieing to get on something proper!!

jackdevlin (Mar 25, 2014 at 9:37)

yeah defiantly best spot about worth traveling form England never mind Enniskillen, you can camp there for the weekend too

digthehills (Mar 25, 2014 at 9:42)

Yes mate id def say it would be worth a trip if you have never been. Im guessing its a couple of hours drive for you maybe? Ride the 2 new purpose built courses when you get there and then ask a couple of riders where the other trails are. The bin runs, The champs, dh3 are all better than the new trails if you are lookin for some loose technical fun. Thats just my opinion, but im sure if you went there for a full day and paid for the uplift service ( 25pounds =full day/ 15 for a half day) you will def enjoy yourself. There is enough tracks to keep you occupied all day mate. Uplift service runs during the week too.

sewer-rat FL (Mar 24, 2014 at 14:19)

Uks lookin good now, think of the tour you could do from Wales and then on to NI , great to see the investment and development going in. Plus if you go in summer you get to ride in warm rain

moltryn (Mar 25, 2014 at 9:49)

Great to see this article here on PB and this video is a great showcasing of the newly established trail centres here in Northern Ireland. We all have our personal favourite centres and specific trails too, but there's definitely something for everyone.. beginners and experts and young and old! These trails were long overdue but have been worth the wait.. can't wait for the next stages in development!!

betsie (Mar 24, 2014 at 14:50)

Whilst the fc in the north of scotland insist on greens and the odd blie, the rest move the sport forward with some awesome liiking trails. We need some of the trail designers frlm wales and ireland to render for buildkng up here. Make what the riders want and not what they sell to the fc. Trails looks nice boys,

mattmuk961 (Mar 24, 2014 at 16:14)

But all the natural trails!!! You can you ride what you want.

shuffle (Mar 25, 2014 at 0:03)

Moved to Aberdeen area about a year ago, it has great natural trails. But as soon as you build something fun like a jump the fc knock it down, and the new trail centre that is miles from anywhere at glenlivet I could of rode on my BMX. What did they do with all the rocks and roots!!!!!!!!!!!!

betsie (Mar 25, 2014 at 0:28)

There are tracks, over Elgin way, and soon dhfarm

shuffle (Mar 25, 2014 at 1:18)

How hard are they to find at Elgin? Heading to Golspie and Learnie Red Rock Thursday, might find somewhere cheap to stop over and ride Elgin if they are easy to find.

thomwhyte (Mar 25, 2014 at 1:43)

Golspie is glorious, fair climb but definitely worth it. You could always hit up Laggan!

jimo746 (Mar 26, 2014 at 1:37)

Try the Strathpefer/ strathpuffer route! Moray Monster trails between Elgin and Fochabers are pretty tame really, you should definitely check out Laggan Wolftrax! Pitfichie near Aberdeen has a decent downhill and a couple of trails. You should check these places out on YouTube before you go ;-)

betsie (Mar 26, 2014 at 14:12)

I did a lot of building up strath back in the day. Much of the original xc was built by the trail goblins, Ross, Alex and me. Many other bits by Steve from square wheels, who built most of the puffer course.
Then there is pg, gi around here, who knkws who built them

Pitfichie has a couple of good sections, the rest needs seripus work.

belfastbiker (Mar 25, 2014 at 6:06)

This is so cool - we have a lot to be thankful in Northern Ireland. Chain Reaction is an amazing success story which has helped build the MTB community and facilities in NI to an amazing level so quickly. Vitus, Nukeproof and so many other major brands are owned and promoted here and it's just unbelievable. Haters gonna hate but Rostrevor is fantastic, Davagh too and Castlewellan is perfect for the right people. Lots of other natural choices too. Love it. Not to say I don't fancy a trip to Whistler or the Alps but it's definitely a big reason to get over to NI...

Goldieno1 (Mar 24, 2014 at 23:47)

I've been mountain biking over 20 years in Northern Ireland and it's a dream come true to see purpose built trails here. They are all amazing places to ride.

jimo746 (Mar 25, 2014 at 0:43)

Yeah, about time NI got some purpose built trails, ok so perhaps they're not gnarly enough for some of the more experienced guys, but for promoting the sport in the region and appealing to the majority of riders it looks like they have done a pretty good job. I've ridden Rostrevor a few years ago and there were some great trails there, proper stuff that left your brakes smoking at the end, also Tardree Forest near Antrim, and the hills North of Belfast have some quality trails. It'll take time and investment but the region has the potential to be up there with some of the best trails in the UK, only downer is that it takes a ferry or flight to get over to NI, which may put some people off.

robinjones (Mar 27, 2014 at 13:42)

Ride rostrever few weeks back red& black. Iv ridden seven stains & for bill & all over north Wales. And I can say this place rocks! Truly

fingerbangextreme (Mar 25, 2014 at 5:45)

how has it 'literally' burst? sorry to be a pedant but I hate misuse of that word - all the girls at work say it every other word and it makes me rage. Neg prop away

kieranbeesley (Mar 25, 2014 at 10:22)

Good to see some decent UK trails getting produced, need more in the north west of England though!

kernan1 (Mar 25, 2014 at 13:35)

rostrevor is my local riding spot and it is amazing. Soo excited to hear about these new trails! The natural trails up there are amazing but dont get the recognition unfortunately.

tinkerhil (Mar 25, 2014 at 20:32)

Amazing to have all this on my doorstep that i can go ride every day. The unofficial stuff still rocks my boat tho :-)

simooo (Mar 24, 2014 at 14:18)

Woo! Definitely some fantastic scenery to be had. Proper mountain biking, out enjoying nature.

smashy (Mar 26, 2014 at 5:34)

Great edit, great trails.

Jakeeers (Mar 28, 2014 at 9:56)

yee haa love that this made pinkbike!

inabiff68 (Mar 25, 2014 at 11:37)

I always assumed the irish only cycled uphill.

its-sam (Mar 24, 2014 at 16:52)

Represent.

NAPALMJEFF (Mar 24, 2014 at 23:49)

fantastic trails there .

zer0c00l44 (Mar 24, 2014 at 14:46)

I think them are some grand trails so they are.

sewer-rat FL (Mar 24, 2014 at 14:56) (Below Threshold)

Indeed dey are paddy , shortest I've ever seen but all the feckin widest by a mile

sicmoto (Mar 25, 2014 at 2:36)

You are both idiots of the highest order.

Below threshold threads are hidden

bat-fastard (Mar 24, 2014 at 15:37)

You'd think we have trails like one planet adventure at llandegla or bike park wales but we haven't. We have got flat featureless slow trails that are terrible when compared to them and Ae Glentress Inners etc.
The 2 DH specific trails are the worst I have ever ridden and in fact I don't ride them anymore. I ride the unofficial trails which are soo good. I'm booked again to go to the Portes du Soleil (Morzine) again this summer as the last number of years since 1999... Hope to get over to Scotland and wales a few times this year again too and fairymount farm in Ireland.
I have no plans to ride any of the Northern Ireland trail centres at any point this year.
Don't believe what you read in the magazines..

elscotto FL (Mar 24, 2014 at 15:44)

You're like a bad rash Rob.

bat-fastard (Mar 24, 2014 at 15:58)

just tellin it as it is, if you ride the places I mentioned then don't come here thinking you'll find the same, you'll be badly disappointed. we don't have anything like this that's for sure.. now let me here you say we have...
www.pinkbike.com/video/227553

spunion (Mar 24, 2014 at 17:40)

@bat-fasturd - Having lived for half my life in Scotland i can honestly say that you are wrong about the riding in N Ireland. The trail riding in N Ireland is just as good as Scotland. Ok we do not have the same amount of trails and they may not be as long but the quality is just as good especially if you know where to look. Tollymore, Donnard, The unofficial trails at Rosi; all amazing! The Redbull Foxhunt was one of the best events i have ever taken part in.. You have also got to remember that people have been building trails at Ae, Glentress and Inners for 20+ years. Of course they are brilliant! They have had time to evolve. I bet they did not get everything right first time.
I think that aside from Mega Mission, (Which can be fixed if enough people demand it!) the new trails in N Ireland live up to the hype. And what you have got to remember is that this is just the start! Things can only get better. Talks are already happening regarding phase 2 at each location and with chat of new trail centres at Garvagh and Tardree mountain biking in Northern Ireland is really taking hold. I just really hope that some budget is set aside to get Rowan Sorrell to come and rebuild Mega mission so that it will someday be as awesome as we all know it can be. (I am thinking A-line in Whistler if they rebuild a lot of it..) You just need to believe!
But it really pisses me off when you say that people should not believe what they read about it being a great place to ride. You are right, they should not listen to idiots like you! You piss and moan that we have nothing to ride and then when its built you moan that its sh@t and you wont ride it. Have you even ridden all of the trails on offer yet? If people like you showed more enthusiasm then more would be built! Get behind your local trails, Dig, help make things better and create! Help move things forward.. It is people like you that hold MTB back in N Ireland!

digthehills (Mar 24, 2014 at 23:50)

Im with bat fasturd on this one to be honest, the old trais around rostrevor or the trails that the riders themselves have made are still the best ones down in rostrevor. The jumps are poorly made and its only a matter of time till they have to do something about it, someone is goin to get hurt all because of poor design. The on the pulse trail is not really what it could have been either. Pretty feature list and just snakes down the hill. Get the guys ( Rowan Sorrell ) that are building fairymount farms tracks to come and fix rostrevor.

bat-fastard (Mar 25, 2014 at 1:04)

@spunion Totally agree the natural unofficial trails we have are magic, like you said. The official trails are crap again as you said and need redone as you said.. The foxhunt course was great too but it was rider built and has been blocked up again after the event...
If people have been building trails in glentrees etc as 20 odd years then you think they could build them correctly here first time wouldn't you like LLandegla and Bike Park Wales which are also new..

I have ridden the trails even tried sessionind the best bits of the loops but just no grin factor to them at all..
I ride the unofficial trails all the time in places you mentioned and in others.
You tried to disagree with me but you actually backed me up saying the trails are substandard and need changed,
I do dig and build plenty around my local and have done so as nearly 20 years..

bat-fastard (Mar 25, 2014 at 1:21)

@digthehills Its too late lots of peope have been badly hurnt and carried / airlifted of the mountain and had serious life changing injuries simple because the trails in my opinion are poorly designed / built. Both on the red loops and the downhills. I believe there is an ongoing court case to do with this and that is one of the reasons the trails cant be changed as it would admit guilt.