I lived 500 yards away for a good ten years (mostly before i biked though) and now live a massive 3 miles away which means i have to ride up a big hill to get there. 🙁 But i get to ride down it again on the way home 🙂
It’s good for a bit of a blast but does not cover a massive area so you have to criss cross over your tracks a lot. Very hilly really as well so you are always doing ups and downs with not a lot of flowy flatish singletrack. Certainly gives the lungs a workout though.
Local knowledge helps (there are 3 different areas there to ride if you cross over the roads) but beware the many dog walkers and families there on a nice day – you only ever meet them on the downhill fun bits!
Lickey Hills, up from Lickey End, a couple of miles away from Bell End. Priceless.