Storm Darragh – What’s the Damage?

Last weekend’s Storm Darragh brought with it a rare red wind warning. While the damage wasn’t as widespread as Storm Arwen in 2021, it has caused a fair amount of damage in some locations. Particularly in Wales, there are still people without power or whose access to their homes has been blocked by fallen trees. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that the focus of tree clearing and infrastructure efforts is on restoring power and access, rather than clearing trails. Nevertheless, trail teams have been out assessing the situation and clearing brash where they can.

On top of the significant impact that Storm Bert had just over two weeks ago, Storm Darragh hit our trails pretty hard. Bike parks, trail associations and informal trail groups all over the UK have a lot of work in front of them to get trails back open again, with debris, windblown trees, water damage and drainage to repair.

They need your help. You could help out with trail clearance sessions and dig days, or donating a bit of cash to help cover the cost of tools, or for the bike parks, just making a booking would help, even if that’s for some time in the new year. If you don’t know who your local trail group is, then get in touch and we’ll connect you.

Robin Grant, UK MTB Trail Alliance

Gwydir Forest has been badly hit in patches. The main Gwydir Mawr and Bach (Marin trail) in the north facing area around the trailhead particularly bad with multiple huge trees down over a wide area. Locals say that at least two of the wild trails are probably lost forever thanks to damage, while two of the most popular wild trails in Gwydir Forest have electric power lines down tangled in trees on the exits. In short, it’s not the time to visit the area and go exploring. The Betws area however escaped damage, and locals say trails there are fine and are open.

Llandegla has been badly hit by both storms Bert and Darragh and the trails are closed at least until the end of today. Blocked fire roads mean emergency services can’t get into the forest, and power lines are down or have trees resting on them, which need to be cleared. They’re hopeful they’ll be able to open at the weekend, keep an eye on their Instagram feed for updates.

Revolution Bike Park had to cancel Sunday’s bookings, largely because so much of the area was still without power. They’re back taking bookings for this weekend (They’re open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) and right through Christmas. £50 for a day of uplift, shedding a few Christmas calories and blowing off the polite family discussions claustrophobia? Sounds very tempting…

Bike Park Wales was also hit, but their trail crews have been out and they’ll be back open on Thursday 12th. They’re currently showing good availability for uplift bookings from 27th December to 5th January (though they are closed on New Year’s Day), with prices from £51. Again, a very tempting prospect…

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) told us:

The recent storms have taken a significant toll on our sites. We’re continuing to assess the damage, but this will take some time. Decisions are being taken day by day as and when we’re able to get out onto the sites. Coed y Brenin is open. We may close the car park and other facilities at short notice whilst we undertake maintenance work or other operations due to the risk of injury to visitors and staff.

NRW spokesperson

NRW is continuing to gather information from land managers as repairs are carried out and access restored. Check their website for updates, particularly their location specific pages like Coed y Brenin.

If you are out riding, please respect trail closures – they’re there for your safety, or the sustainability of the trails. Ride Sheffield recently had to redo a whole pile of repair work just because a few riders chose to ignore the ‘trail closed’ signs, damaging the freshly packed surface. Don’t be those people, and don’t let your buddies be those people! And stay safe – don’t head out into the woods with your chainsaw in hand. Doing so puts you at risk, and could also endanger any efforts your local trails group are making to engage with landowners.