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Blessingbourne Trails, Tyrone

Badger Rating 4.2/5
Circa 8km of cross-country MTB trails, including a pump track and skills area. The trails cater for all abilities, with snaking single-track, lots of trail features including jumps, table-tops, berms, rock-gardens and drops; and chicken-runs for the kids and the faint-hearted, of course! Work is underway on the Phase II trails to double the length available, and there may be some disruption to the current trails through September 2013.

Getting There

Park at Blessingbourne Estate, Fivemiletown, County Tyrone.  The estate is on your right hand side just as you come into Fivemiletown from the east, along the A4.  There is a big sign up saying "Bike at Blessingbourne". Turn right at the wee roundabout, then immediately right again.

Trail Description

Remember to bring £4 in coins - that covers you for parking all day, but you need to feed the meter to open the barrier.

The Biking

The trails genuinely cater for all abilities, with snaking single-track, lots of trail features including jumps, table-tops, berms, rock-gardens and drops; and chicken-runs for the kids and the faint-hearted, of course!

The trail designer was Architrail's Phil Saxena, who has designed trails for the Beijing Olympics and the Downhill World Cup, and they were built by Dinsdale Moorland Services (www.dinsdale.co.uk).

Pump-Track

If you’ve never been on a pump-track before, then you won’t know how it exposes your “opportunities for improvement”!  The criss-crossing track contains bumps, jumps, dips and berms, and you need to really use your body-weight to get round it with your dignity intact.  A great place to hone a few handling skills, it is located right at the trail-head, so it’s a good place to warm up before you hit the trails proper.

Blue Loop

The whole trail hangs off a blue route of about 6km of primarily snaking singletrack.  You will be able to really hammer along on it, and you need to keep your wits about you.  It’s perfect whatever your skill level.

Red Loops

There are three red loops where the trails are a bit faster and more challenging.  A couple of big table-tops in the middle will keep you honest, and there’s a great section of berms and a few short rock-gardens.

Skills Loop

The skills loop has a selection of berms, jumps and drops, as well as log-rides to start, and is great crack.  It’s a short loop, and so it’s dead easy to loop round to the start again, and we see it being a great spot for a few photos and laughs with your mates.

The Verdict

We think these trails are a real hit, and we’d encourage everyone who can to make an effort to get down.

Accommodation

If you need accommodation, the estate has a number of top-class self catering apartments on site, and the Lowry's who own the estate are very welcoming - visit their website below. The Valley Hotel www.thevalleyhotel.com is also close by, and if you fancy camping, there's a campsite just outside the estate - call the council for more info on camping, at Tel: 028 8772 8690.

Location

trail head marker Trail Head
 

Movies of Blessingbourne Trails, Tyrone

 

Reviews for this trail

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4.2



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1= Rubbish      5= Badgertastic!
  • Fantastic fun for all the family. My 3 year old loved doing the pump track on his balance bike and could have spent all day on it alone. The red routes are great for practising all skills and the blue route is great for anyone who can ride a bike. Nice picnic area at the trail head and the Lowrys are very friendly. Trails is a bit short, but I'd be happy to spend all day going around and around - it is that good.
    Ed Lenox: about 13 years ago 
    Rating:4.5 badgers
  • Been down 4 times since it opened (would be there alot more if i had time) just gets better each time!

    would recommend this place to beginners to seasoned bikers!
    BADGE IT!! lol
    Scott: about 13 years ago 
    Rating:4 badgers
  • Great day out to be had here. Ok I'm not a pro or even a regular biker, in fact this is the first time I've been on a bike in years - but it was great fun.

    The main loop can be taken at pace if it's not too busy. The short technical sections that hang off the main loop are there for the more skillfull rider.

    If you find it a bit too short for your liking, just keep going round! you can go round and round all day.

    There's a nice wee playground/picnic area to keep the family entertained while you're out riding.

    All in all a great spot and a great introduction to mountain bike riding for me.

    It's a great purpose built facility, and it's only by supporting these trails that Northern Ireland can hope to get more of them. So get out there and, find it, ride it... BADGE IT!
    Tim: about 14 years ago 
    Rating:4 badgers

NOTE: The trails on this site have been ridden before, but you should not interpret their inclusion as an indication that mountain-biking is officially sanctioned on them. Seeking permission from landowners is your own responsibility, as is conducting yourself in a manner that is courteous, respectful to the environment, and conscious of the safety of others.