My seven and a half year old son will soon be taking ownership of his forst mtb and I'm looking for good places to take him. I'm in the south east, but interested in anything UK for holidays.
Swinley is very much the obvious answer based upon location.
I found Swinley is great for kids. The green loop is great for a warm up. There are 3 little rollers about 3/4 the way round which my 5 year old learnt to pump on.
Blue 1 ends where the last blue section starts. Shortest loop ever but doing multiple laps with my boy so I didn't wear him out miles from the car park was really useful and really good fun.
All other riders were very patient friendly and accommodating.
Holidays? So willing to travel a bit? My kids love Glentress. Greens, a great blue with some really flowy sections and then lots of trails above that to progress onto. The best thing is that it is really easy to mix it all up to suit the ride too.
Swinley is good too. QECP has a lovely blue too that is mostly surfaced so doesn't clag up.
if your down devon/cornwall way haldon and lanhydrock are pretty family friendly.
bits of dartmoor are good too if the weather is being kind.
By freak chance most of my UK holidays end up being very close to trail centres, Solway coast, North Wales etc.
Swinley is a good shout, I don't want to push him too hard to start with, luckily there are some fun local trails to test him out on.
BPW blue routes.
As well as Swinley and Haldon our children enjoyed both Thetford Forest and Moors valley country park. They all have playgrounds as well which is a bonus.
A Bit of a way to go, but once he's a ready for a more challenging trail the Osprey Blue route at Kielder Forest is really good. Close to being a Red route, but no proper scary jumps or drops to handle. Takes a bit of effort due to the length, and some of the climbing is on tricky side. Nicely though it can be ridden in 2 halves of a figure eight. do one bit one day, go back for bite #2 the next!
Granted my boy is only 4, but I find Thetford brilliant. What makes it potentially dull for adults, ie. being snooker-table flat, is a godsend for a young kid. No hills to slog up and no scary downhills - just pure fun. Also there's plenty of other entertainment - great pump track, playgrounds, archery etc.
and get one of these. (or jury rig one)
dead easy to tow them up the fireroads with very little effort
Forest of Dean: if you start from Parkend, or along Speech House Road you can then ride up/down to Pedalabikeaway/Cannop on the family cycling route. It's a converted light railway, so suitably flat, but has little 'options'Â (berms/rollers. etc) along the side of the trail. When you get to Cannop, there's the new skills loop to play on. We did this when my oldest was about 5 and the youngest was in the trailer- looking forward to going back now they are both riding and can play on the skills loop.
Some great ideas there folks!
That towwhee looks fantastic, I can see that coming in very handy!
Mine is now 9yo, but we've done loads of stuff over the years. Here's a few off the top of my head:
Queen Elizabeth Country Park (somewhere near the South Downs) - loads of fun, quite compact, pretty hilly, nothing too scary!
Haldon Forest - we love this. It's not technical at all, so the trails are perfect for keen kids. We always visit when down that way
Thetford - already mentioned, another favourite with kids (and mums!)
Cannock Chase - absolutely brilliant place. Taking a 7yo around the full red loop needs some serious stamina from them, but they'll get a massive sense of achievement when they do it. Alternatively, the Northern loop (Follow the Dog) is great for younger riders and has some really fun technical sections that they'll enjoy riding
Gisburn - Technically quite tough, and the top half is fairly challenging for this age range. Mine is only really getting to grips with it now he's 9.
Dalby - The red loop is great for younger riders, once they are up to riding the distance. There's a good skills park too, which kids always enjoy riding.
7 stanes - We just came back from a week in Galloway and rode 5 of the trail centres while there. There's some superb riding there, but I'd recommend Kirroughtree for younger riders as it's got some great, swooping descents that kids love!
Kielder - Osprey was mentioned above and I'd agree that this is a cracking loop. Did it in the snow when mine was 7yo and he loved it.
And that's just the trail centre stuff. We spend our lives up in the dales mostly, and there's a boat load of riding up there. Pick your route carefully and you can easily go out for a decent ride even with quite young kids. Don't forget the less technical stuff too - we've done a few longer routes and they offer different challenges to younger riders. Trans-pennine trail is a good one, especially the Stockport to Barnsley section in the middle and we also enjoyed the Cinder Trail from Scarborough to Whitby - ride this in two days, with an overnight at the YHA in Whitby. Great adventure!
You're coming into a great age for cycling - I really hope you enjoy it as much as we have 🙂
A long way to go but Glentress is great because you can van uplift them to the Bird's Nest carpark then let them ride down the blue trails to the cafe, then repeat. Our two did that last summer and they absolutely loved it. They must've done about six or seven descents before they were tired out.
Thanks everyone, some great info there, I will probably get the bike in time for the bank holiday and see what juniors legs are made of with some local stuff.
That bungee cord looks a great idea, just when I think my two bikes are safe from upgraditus for a while I have another to worry about.
My little lad enjoyed sherwood forest