Video: Davagh Forest mountain bike trails hit the big time

Mountain Biking UK (MBUK), has this month released its annual Top 50 Trail Centres with Mid Ulsters own Davagh Forest Trails chosen as cover feature

With a circulation of 40,000 and a monthly online readership of 10 million page views, MBUK and its associated BikeRadar.com website is one of the UK’s flagship mountain biking media houses with its audience using this annual trail centre destination guide to plan future mountain bike trips in the UK.

Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Linda Dillon, explains “Davagh Forest is continuing to grow from strength to strength and we are absolutely delighted to see our mountain bike trails receiving such fantastic recognition from MBUK in their latest trail centre guide.”

Since the Davagh Forest Trails opened in April 2013, Mid Ulster District Council has developed an additional pump track and skills course as well as a rider-designed section of trail known as the ‘Stream Trail’, toilets, changing facilities and a family-friendly play park beside the main car park.

Electronic visitor counter data for 2014 reveals that the trails were ridden over 18,000 times which also continues to surpass initial projections outlined during the development stage of this National Trail Centre near Cookstown, County Tyrone.

Continuing Councillor Dillon said: “The Council is extremely proud of the wide range of recreation facilities now on offer within Davagh Forest for both locals and visitors alike.

“The visitor numbers on the trails continue to exceed their independent forecasts and we are pleased that we have been able to combine together with other members of the MountainBikeNI.com Consortium to elevate Davagh Forest onto the national mountain biking stage.”

The MountainBikeNI.com Consortium is facilitated by Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland and Mountain Biking Marketing Officer, Chris Armstrong, believes this ‘joined up’ approach has played a key role in the successful delivery and ongoing promotion of Northern Ireland’s national mountain bike trail centres.

Mr Armstrong explains, “The last two years have been an incredible success for Northern Ireland’s mountain bike trails which have all hugely exceeded expectations in terms of visitor numbers and critical acclaim.

“Whilst understanding we are in our infancy as a mountain bike destination, the MountainBikeNI.com Consortium has worked hard to host specialist magazines such as MBUK on trips to Northern Ireland to showcase the fantastic new mountain bike trails we have to offer.”

He added: “Having the Davagh Forest Trails on the front cover and the Rostrevor Mountain Bike Trails scooping the coveted Editor’s Choice award in this renowned trail centre guide illustrates the benefits of building solid relationships with specialist media and utilising the combined strength of Northern Ireland’s consortium approach.”

Visit MountainBikeNI.com for more information on the Davagh Forest Trails including upcoming events, bike hire information and latest trail conditions.

Hundreds of videos recorded by bikers in Davagh have attracted thousands of views on Youtube.