Is it me or is it always raining in Wales? I suppose those rolling hillsides and lush green landscapes wouldn’t be so prevalent if it weren’t.

But frankly, torrential downpours during the vast majority of my holidays there just isn’t cricket.

As we turned up to the Cwmcarn mountain bike centre, the heavens not only opened, they collapsed...

Not great news for going fast (and more importantly, accurately), plus I had no idea what the cross country route would be like after such heavy rain.

But first, a little about Cwmcarn.

It’s a legendary downhill and gravity track mountain biking trail. Its purpose-built and it’s the fastest way for southern bikers to get their fix as it’s just two hours down the motorway from Oxford.

There is also a year-round uplift service which consists of a man, a van and a big trailer for all the bikes so you’ve no need to slug back up to the top after your ride down.

Which is genius since that means you can get more riding in as there is less time spent climbing (and wheezing) back up.

You can either ride the seriously fast Y Mynydd downhill track which drops 250 metres through hillside or the cross-country Twrch trail, which is nine-and-a-half miles of rollercoaster single track.

I chose the cross-country route of course; the easier of the two routes but still rated a red route which means ‘difficult’ in trail guides.

The downhill route is for serious adrenaline junkies armed with body armour and full face helmets and seriously good bikes since it’s rated a Black Run, which according to the guide means ‘severe’. Nice.

I got an uplift to the drop off point, secured my helmet and got cycling. I was on a borrowed Orange Five, and at 17in it was too big for me really, but it rode well. It took the rocks and jumps with ease thanks to its dual suspension system and the gears and brakes were perfect for such a technical off road descent.

And yeah, I felt a bit smug. I was the only girl and I had a good bike and contrary to my usual performances at such centres, I was actually faster than some of the guys.

But the smugness quickly got wiped from my face as I ended up on my bum in the bracken with the prized Orange Five on top of me.

After a great day’s riding, Cwmcarn village doesn’t offer much, so head to the cafe in the visitor centre if you do decide to visit.

Great, reasonably-priced food will warm you up after a cold rainy day on the trails and if you fancy some walking as well, they have guides and various maps to help you follow the trails.

I did just that and treated the dog to a good walk after, and would you believe it, the rain stopped for her.