I don't think there is anything within an hour of London by bike that has the variety of riding
within 20-30 mins bike ride of my house (and easily an hour from SW London) I could make an all day route that took in Wisley jumps, miles of heathland trails, endless wooded singletrack, sandy lakeside, sharp rooty hills as techy as you like, bit of urban radness, and some cheeky woodwork.
Pretty much the only thing 'we' don't have is rocks – thing I personally don't like about the northern trails usually posted here is the big loooong, almost straight, treeless sections like Buzz's first picture.
I prefer not to be able to see further ahead than the next bend, have lots of gradient/surface changes and above all, trees – lots of them.
I ride for the riding not the scenic experience !!
Anyway, it seems like the northerners like their trails and we like ours so it's all good eh 😀