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So last weekend I took Hoppy jr round parts of follow the dog and he really enjoyed it. He liked weaving through the trees and the boardwalk sections (his words). It worked well as it's not too extreme given he's only on 20" wheels so he could ride most stuff and it's fairly flat and I only needed to get the tow out for the one hill. It was however, heaving and we kept having to stop to get out of the way and there were a few too many sweary arseholes (it's not that bad a climb and I've just towed kiddo up, don't be such a drama queen and particularly around a bunch of kids). We've also had bikes nicked from there before so I was trying to think of other places. Can the collective suggest anything similar within a couple of hours of Shrewsbury for a bit of variety?
Sutton Park is surprisingly good, but in nice weather it'll also be busy. The Streetly end less-so.
Forest of Dean, though I guess the not heaving bit might be a bit off.
The family trail at Cannock is quieter and it's pretty nice too. Try that?
Sherwood Pines? Though not sure that's within the 2 hours from Shrews.
You're probably not too much further to Coed Y Brenin from Shrewsbury aren't you?
I've never ridden there personally, but the blues look fun, I saw them on CBBC a couple of years ago.
Hopton Woods
The XC trail might be a bit hard in places but something to bear in mind. My son got round from the age of 8-10, can’t remember exactly
I think there is a blue route too
How about Hicks Lodge, only short trails from what I gather but more likely suited for what you are looking for. Although not sure there is much boardwalk.
Llandegla, blue route there would suit him fine, and the red when he feels up to it. Loads of boardwalk! Probably closer to you than Cannock too. There's also the pump track and skills area for him to play on. I'm Shropshire based too, though a bit further South and I use Hopton a lot. I'd hesitate to recommend it for your lad til he has a bit more experience though. The red XC there is a bit more full on than the Dog or Monkey, steeper climbs and descents and a bit more natural, rooty and "ungroomed". He might be OK with it, but perhaps have a recce yourself first. I wouldn't bother with the blue there, it's mostly fire road boredom.
Cheers everyone, some places I'd not considered. I ride the Welsh centres a fair bit, we've done minotaur and Degla blue but he preferred the windy nature of the Cannock trails, he likes proper single-track 😀. Degla red and Hopton are a bit of a step up at the moment he's getting a 24" soon which should make life easier.
Agree with the llandegla suggestion. Ours loved it on their 20" bikes.
The red should be ok in the main, with a good tow or judicious use of shortcuts
Try going a different time to the weekend warriors??
I was out this morning 8am, no one else on the trails, odd runner out and about, as I got back to the cafe at 10 others just starting off. On a Sunday I go as early as possible, Saturday mid afternoon,
I'll stick my neck out and say that Cannock is far and away the worst place I've ever visited for "sweary arseholes" I don't know why, but in more than 10 years of visiting occasionally I've never known such a place for scene posturing and agro. That's not to say it doesn't happen at other places or that anything more than a small percentage of Cannock riders are like that, but still.
I don't know where you're based, but FOD trail centre is a great shout, it's possibly the friendliest place I ride. The blue is fairly flat for little legs (I've taken my kids there a few times) - the trails are wide enough you'll never bother anyone on the climbs (for the most part) plus there's always loads of kids / families there, thanks I think to their really popular Little Fodders group.
Also, I love Hopton, but the XC is hardcore for little legs. According to my Strava a lap of the Red and Blue is 600m elevation whereas Twrch at Cwmcarn is about 300m. Also the Red is pretty techie and the blue is just a massive figure of 8 farm track, and bloody steep with it.
I would agree that Cannock does seem to attract a higher proportion of nobs than other trail centres. Not really sure why this is, but I suspect it's location and lack of climbing.
Sunday was particularly bad, and I got snarled up in an incident with an idiot that I won't get into.
That being said the vast majority of riders were super supportive, encouraging and accommodating of my 11 and 10 year old sons. The 11 year old is now so quick it's a non-issue but it was my 10 year old's first time on the Monkey Trail and he did struggle in parts.
Coed-y-Brenin, Llandegla Blue or FOD are a good shouts.
I don't mind the odd bit of effin and jeffin but whilst we were at the top of the climb one guy ride up shouting **** repeatedly before throwing his bike down in the middle of the track and then fairly loudly swearing at his friends following.
Most of the riders that passed us were cool and we tried to give space but it just gets a bit tricky keep stopping all the time. Busy isn't a huge problem, bell ends are.
Afan has to be my worst well not mine but my other half, was pushed off her bike on the final wall descent, has barely touched a bike since.
Try the Wyre Forest. The trails will be quiet and some are easy to get around for all ages and the singletrack is great. PM me if you want a bit of info.
FOD Blue is probably worth a look.
As is Llandegla blue and coedy blue, but I find llandegla on a par with cannock for being busy.
How about a bit of a curve ball - the shortest Nant yr Arian trail. Yes, it's probably hillier but the shortest route misses most of the leg burner climb and its fun singletrack. You may need the tow at a couple of points. But you could do a lap see how it goes, watch the Kites and have a go round the pump track, then it's fairly easy to loop back to favourite pieces of singletrack.
Hi, check out Dudmaston Hall mountain bike trails near Bridgnorth Not been yet but sounds ideal
I put the issue of twunts on the Chase down to location. The close proximity to Birmingham, M6, M42 etc mean that it is easily reached by a lot of people. Many of the people you’ll see are not close locals, watching the amount of bikes passing through in cars at the weekend on the local roads makes this evident.
Unfortunately whilst not all people who ride bikes are arseholes, all arseholes who ride bikes are people.
Sunday was particularly bad, and I got snarled up in an incident with an idiot that I won’t get into.
I was there on Saturday with the rest of the hoards. I've never seen it so busy. There were some damn quick riders out though, followed a group of kids on a DJ bikes down the last good descent on FTD and they were proper rapid until they all over shot a berm.
What got on my nerves Saturday was the amount of runners coming down the trails. The place is f-ing massive, theres no need to run on the bike loop.
I think Cannock is the last place I would ride again. Not because the trails are poor, they aren’t. Just the general feel of the place. It’s not welcoming and, without trying to be snobby seems full of twunts. In fact I would prefer to ride at Swinley than Cannock now and that’s saying something.
That said my advice would be to consider timings. The FOD blue gets horrifically busy on a Saturday/Sunday. Maybe go earlier or later in the day. That way you will avoid the majority of the full face Capra squad buzzing and swearing at your kids because they ruined their Strava times.
Might be a bit far, but how about Sherwood pines? Google reckons it's 2 1/4hrs.
Probably easier riding on the whole than Cannock, but plenty to tire out a youngster & keep them entertained!
bombjack, offroad running is getting alot more popular over the Chase, I know the runners think running is great on FTD, nice and smooth and winding. There are now dedicated routes to running but its fireroads, they want singletrack running though.
Regarding Twunts on bikes its the fault of ST up there^ he invented the idea of inviting everyone here to ride bikes, but of course the local glitterati wouldn't dream of riding the tourist trails.
Pines does tend to have a much more chilled vibe than Cannock.
I also find that over the road on Monkey a much nicer vibe than Dog.
of course the local glitterati wouldn’t dream of riding the tourist trails
lol
Have you been up Haughmond Hill OP? Lots of riding up there, all pretty tame up there and rideable from town itself. Might be teaching grandma to suck eggs with this but who knows..