A grading system for way-marked off-road cycling

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

s has been adopted in the UK, and is used by official bodies such as

Forestry England Forestry England is a division of the Forestry Commission, responsible for managing and promoting publicly owned forests in England. It was formed as Forest Enterprise in 1996, before devolving to Forest Enterprise England on 31 March 2003 and ...

and

IMBA IMBA can refer to: * Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Vienna, Austria * International Masters of Business Administration * International Mountain Bicycling Association * Imba, a full-stack web programming language * Gaming slang for game imbal ...

-UK. It was originally developed by

Cyclists' Touring Club Cycling UK is a trading name of the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), which is a charitable membership organisation supporting cyclists and promoting bicycle use. Cycling UK is registered at Companies House as "Cyclists’ Touring Club", and is co ...

(CTC) employee Colin Palmer in June 1999, based on a system widely used for grading cross-country skiing routes. A solitary major hazard (e.g. one steep hill or a difficult junction) will not necessarily raise an otherwise 'Easy' route into a 'Difficult' one.

UK trails by grade

Severe

* The Forest of Ae: Ae Downhill Course (part of 7stanes project) * Afan Forest Park: Skyline Trail * Ampthill Forest:

Dual slalom Dual slalom is a mountain bike racing discipline similar to 4X racing. It consists of two racers racing two almost identical tracks next to each other down a slope. The courses are usually short; one run lasting about 30 seconds. It is filled w ...

Downhill Course * Coed-y-Brenin: Red Bull Trail and

Karrimor Karrimor is a British brand of backpacks, outdoor and sports equipment, and clothing. The company was founded as the Karrimor Bag Company in 1946. Financial difficulties beginning in the late 1990s led to the company entering receivership in ...

Trail * Cwmcarn: Y Mynydd Mojo * Dalby Forest * Glentress Forest: V-Trail * Guisborough Forest * Hamsterley Forest * Hopton Wood * Innerleithen Forest: Forestry England/Red Bull Project Downhill *

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a pop ...

: Cli-Mach-X *

Thetford Forest Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain and is located in a region straddling the north of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk in England. It covers over in the form of a Site of Special Scientific Interest. History The ...

Difficult

* The Forest of Ae: Ae Line (part of 7stanes project) * Afan: White's Level, Penhydd Trail, & The Wall *

Argyll Forest Park Argyll Forest Park is a forest park located on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Established in 1935, it was the first forest park to be created in the United Kingdom. The park is managed by Forestry and Land Scotland, a ...

: Glenbranter Cycle Splash & Ardgartan Peninsula Circuit * Ben Aigan: Blue Cycle Trail * Brechfa: Abergorlech Red Trail *

Coed-y-Brenin Coed y Brenin (Welsh for ''King's Forest'') is a forest in the Snowdonia National Park, North Wales near Dolgellau at . It is popular for its mountain bike trails and hiking paths. It has several man-made mountain bike singletrack courses in ...

: MBR Trail & Sport Trail *

Cwmcarn Cwmcarn is a village situated in the Ebbw valley in south Wales, in the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It grew with 19th-century coal mining, but is now known for its extensive mature forestry and greenery, that attract thousands of visi ...

: Twrch Trail *

Dalby Forest Dalby Forest is a forest located on the southern slopes of the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England. It is maintained by Forestry England. Dalby Forest, along with Langdale Forest and Cropton Forest, forms part of the No ...

: Red Cycle Trail * Durris Forest: Cairn Spur * Fetteresso Forest: Drumtochty Through Route Forest Trail & Bervie Loop Forest Trail *

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

: FODCA Trail * Gartly Moor Forest: Red Trail & Blue Trail *

Glentress Forest Glentress Forest is located near Peebles in the Scottish Borders, about 30 miles south of Edinburgh. Part of the Tweed Valley Forest Park along with Traquair Forest in Innerleithen, it is the home of a mountain biking centre which is one of ...

: Red Grade Freeride Area & Red Grade Trail * Great Glen Forest: Great Glen Mountain Bike Trail *

Grizedale Forest Grizedale Forest is a 24.47 km2 area of woodland in the Lake District of North West England, located to the east of Coniston Water and to the south of Hawkshead. It is made up of a number of hills, small tarns and the settlements of Grizeda ...

: Hawkshead Moor & Silurian Way Cycle Trail * Gwydyr Forest:

Marin Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...

Trail *

Hamsterley Forest Hamsterley Forest is a commercial forest in County Durham owned and managed by Forestry England. It is the largest forest in County Durham and covers more than . Recreational activities within the forest are focused at the eastern end, around th ...

: Neighbour Moor Tour Cycle Route & Red Cycle Trail * Hopton Wood *

Kielder Forest Kielder Forest is a large forestry plantation in Northumberland, England, surrounding Kielder village and the Kielder Water reservoir. It is the largest man-made woodland in England with three-quarters of its covered by forest. The majority o ...

: The Swinburne Collection * Kirkhill Forest: South Spur Cycle Trail *

Llanwrtyd Wells Llanwrtyd Wells ( cy, Llanwrtyd "church of St Gwrtud") is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire) on the Afon Irfon. The town is on the A483 between Llandovery and Builth Wells and is ...

: Esgair Dafydd Trail, Irfon Forest Route & Mynydd Trawsnant Route *

: Mach 3 Trail * Bwlch Nant yr Arian: Summit Trail & Syfydrin Trail * Pitfichie Forest * Tay Forest * Whiteash Forest: Whiteash Loopie {{DEFAULTSORT:Ctc Off-Road Trail Grades Mountain biking venues in the United Kingdom