Specifically near Bramley ? I’m looking for a local blast which I can do without needing the car.
Happy to ride a few miles on road to get there.

Road bike would be better. I don’t know Pamber Forest, other alternatives are crossing the A33 to Bramshill Forest where they used to be singletrack or crossing the M3 for XC rides.

Edit: have you been to Silchester before? Well worth a walk around.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/silchester-roman-city-walls-and-amphitheatre/

Might be worth popping into PedalOn and asking there. I’d assume there’s a fair few off road as there’s lots of common land round there.

I ride the lanes etc all the time just to get the miles in. Usually drive to Wales, Swinley etc but just wish I could find a little loop outside the door.
Silchester is ace, a fav dog walk.

Are you looking for road, gravel or MTB? Lots of the first two, not so much of the latter. I have ridden in Pamber Forest on the gravel bike and it’s great fun on that, but I’d imagine it is a bit tame on a mountain bike. Some old jumps and berms if that is your thing. Bramshill is similar, but quite a ride from Bramley on a MTB, and you are most of the way to Swinley by the time you drive there.

I live just the other side of the A33 – by Mole Country Stores – if you ever fancy a ride out. I tend to ride from here on the gravel bike, and drive somewhere to use the MTB.

I’m just down the road. Not far from the Jekyll and Hyde pub. We (son and I) are looking for mtb type trails but to be realistic I know we won’t find much round here, gravel type trails are much better than the boring lanes.
I’m considering dumping the car for good and part of this is finding some routes which don’t need a drive.

Might also try ordanance survey, bike GPS etc for trails uploaded by locals.

There a few decent loops through Pamber Forest if you know where to go. Nothing extreme but enough for an hour or so XC type blast. Gets a bit sloppy in the winter, but in the summer I’m in there a fair bit as its 5mins from my front door. I don’t know how old your son is, I take my boy over there and it’s tame enough for him, but tough enough to make it hard for me if I want..

Looks like fairly road, but cycle route 23 goes Reading to Basingstoke by the look of it.

http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=12/51.3588/-1.0880&layers=C

Off road, don’t know the names properly but I’d be heading for that green patch by Burghfield (there’s a marked “cycle” trail in there supposedly), through Benyon’s, Silchester and Pamber, then not sure but head for Morgaston and down through Basing Wood.

Or something like that. I’ve never done it and don’t know the area other than a bit of Basingstoke, but on OSM alone I’d be exploring that route. Though when I map things out like that I tend to discover it’s a nightmare of impassable woods on a bike with bogs/swamps or horse trashed bridleways.