The Hard Rock trail is around 16 miles long and not too physically demanding. It’s not overly hilly, but hilly enough to be satisfying giving a few good climbs and descents. It’s a very rocky course, and thankfully your tyres stick to the rocks in the wet making a safe trail in all weather conditions (except ice – obviously). There are a few black sections you can choose to do throughout - The highlight for many is ‘The Slab’. It’s a big steep rock that people like to cycle down. ‘The Qualifier’ - a scary rock garden descent, precedes this and also there’s the ‘Terrible Twins’, a very steep slab, followed by another in quick succession. Over time this trail has become very eroded and rocky, but for me this just adds to the fun and technical challenge. It’s technically more difficult than your average red trail, probably nearing the difficulty of the Kirroughtree Black trail. There’s also a taster loop you can choose to do at the beginning which very good, and tests your technical ability.
Rating 9/10
Here's a clip of some of the fun to be had on the trail.
