White's Level. Afan

Rating:     4/5

Length:    15km

Climbing: 525m

Time:       2-3 hours

Difficulty:   Red/Black options

'Technical climbing followed by flowing, fast and hard descending. Rewards the effort you put in'.

Afan and Glyncorrwg are separated by a couple of miles, and as a result you can join both the White's Level and Wall trails via linking sections to make one uber long day out. However, the White's Level trail is by far my favourite full trail of this little community. With exception of the skyline descent.

I have often parked at the Afan car park as it's simply the first I come too on my commute, however there are larger facilities at the Glyncorrwg site. Both have cafe, toilets and bike shop. The later also has a well maintained camping area for making a weekend of it.

The trail itself begins at the Glyncorrwg site, however, an easy ride along the old railway line (from the Afan site) does help to warm up the muscles for the killer climb that greats you immediately upon crossing the start gate. It is not easy going either.

Regular switch backs help to reduce the pain and provide glimpses of the ever emerging landscape. The initial climb takes approximately half an hour to 45 minutes. This is mainly due to its length but also the technicality of the trail surface. This is singletrack with a twist. Numerous rocky outcrops and slab sections break up the naturally loose surface of the trail providing plenty of technical challanges on your journey. It is a balance of power, skill and endurance to make the entire climb in one without the odd dab of the foot or fall in some instances. Don't get me wrong, if you concentrate it can be done, and made to look easy.

It is certainly satisfying when you finally reach the top and emerge above the tree line to the vast views that greet you at 'Windy Point'. Plus there's always someone cheering you up the last few yards. Cycling is definately a sport filled with cameraderie - everyone is always really chearful.

From here you have the option of takling the black rated downhill section, which starts off much like the rest of the trail, with some added boardwalk sections creating good flow and speed, before you emerge on the rocky outrcop. Littered with large boulders and very loose stones, the key is finding your chosen line early and commiting to it. Following a quick climb up a fire track back to the start, you rejoin the trail.

The next section, 'Goodwood', is a fun twisting section of singletrack that is designed to be ridden hard. You'd best hope you have energy left after the climb as the trail does not relent from start to finish. All the climbing is rewarded, however, with some very good, very fast descending. Littered with plenty rock drops and jumps, the final descent is a warp speed affair.

White's level never fails to put a smile on my face. It does certainly help if you are fit and prepared for the trail. A good breakfast is a must. If you have the energy to power round the loop without feeling like your dragging your heels the trail really comes alive.

A nice detail worth mentioning, which makes a huge difference to the maintenance and longevity of the trail is the drainage channels that are worked in to rocky climb sections. They direct the vast amounts of water that emerges from the hill directly down the hill and not along the trail. This in turn ensures that erosion is a much smaller problem than I have noticed at other venues. The channels themselves are little more than well placed stones to form a chute. They do not foul the trail and are pretty much inconspicouos to a bike.

It is worth noting, you will need to apply insect repellent to any areas of bare skin or suffer being eaten alive. Midges are found throughout the trail and stopping for any length of time is like jumping in to piranha infested waters.