Riding near Longleat centre parcs

Windhill is a proper bike park for enduro, I enjoy it there as there’s loads of runs, but it gets bigger after the bluetopia and a couple of the reds, if you’re after xc, or aren’t a fan of jumps, gaps and drops then it might be a bit much.

Never done Windhill, but on tarmac, there's loads of decent hills on nice quiet lanes within ~13 miles... Was there last week with the road bike.

The windmill website looks very downhill focused
I don't mind jumps and drop offs, but gaps and step ups are above my pay grade. (I don't go above red generally)
Maybe the gravel bike needs some love then

Head for Shearwater lake and follow your nose on the many trails in the woods round there.  Sorry, I've never found a route for the area, I've just gone there and bimbled.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Q6ExujxzTQYddfzh8

Plenty of tables at wind hill. Step ups are actually safer than tables though as your crash speed is reduced 🙂

The woods between Gaer Hill and Maiden Bradley used to have some decent double track, with the occasional sketchy bit for fun but it’s been a while (25+ years - my folks used to live in Gaer Hill) so not sure now, worth a quick trip over the hill from Horningsham.

My jumping is awful and I’m a scared 40 year old but I enjoyed my one visit to Windhill earlier this year. Like you OP I thought it was too much for me and it does cater for braver and more talented riders, but I still enjoyed it much more than expected.

Runs are fairly short but you can session them and felt I’d improved through practice quite significantly after half a day of messing around and scaring myself.

I’d be tempted to take the gravel bike and explore - you are right next to Salisbury plain. I rode the Salisbury plain gravel epic a couple of weeks ago and it was lovely, really nice route. Looking on google maps, if you head east from Center Parcs there appears to be a lot of gravel-ish riding.

I can send you the GPX from the ride I did, the western section is probably not far from where you will be and might provide the basis of a route.

Loads of really good trails south of Centre Parcs. And lots to see on the trails - Shearwater, Longleat House, Heaven's gate, Alfred's Tower, Stourhead. Its typical Wiltsire countryside rolling downs and big skies.

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windhill is a no brainer for a day - its great and something for everyone. both tech and flow. you dont have to ride teh pro line or teh stepup

Shearwater and Longleat are my local trails and there is some good singletrack which when put together make for a good ride. If you start by the cafe by the lake and ride with the lake on your left, keep going past the sailing club hut and follow the sweeping left turn. Go up the track with a barrier on it and go up the hill. You’ll see tracks the go off into the woods on both sides, towards the top on the right is where some of the better ones are.
If you stay on the main track up from the lake there is a short track on the right, still going uphill and another barrier at the end. This leads you to a road and you come out on a bend, effectively at the back end of Centre Parcs. Over the road is another wood, again with singletrack sections that can be strung together.

Hope that helps.

As beaker says, plenty of local trails, check out the strava heatmap if you can, alternatively head out of cparcs and hang a right past the archery field and follow the tyre trails, should still be dry (ish) if its this weekend. I rarely ride windhill despite being very close, I should make more effort

I love Windhill - it is a bike park rather then a trail centre. It’s a fire road pedal or push-up and then bomb downhill. It’s ideal with jump progression and most stuff is rollable.

Obviously avoid the proline for gaps and huge drops. The other black bits in the middle are more tech than anything daft - a few tight corners / lots of roots mostly.

The blue is a roller coaster. The right hand red line is tables and berms. The left hand red is rooty.

Love it there.

Amazing.

Thanks everyone, will YouTube and Strava to explore your suggestions

Hopefully my son won't like centre parcs and we can avoid further trips

I'm not a big jumper at all and can happily spend whole days at Windhill, I actually go about once a month to meet with friends who live down that way. There's stuff there for everyone, from the blue to a full spectrum of reds and then the blacks etc. If you've never been and want to maximise your riding time then it's a no-brainer. Just make sure you register on the b1ke website beforehand and buy a day ticket, I take screenshots of the two QR codes you'll need as the signal at the trailhead is patchy and without them you don't get to ride. Easy to chill out all day on the easier trails or smash out laps if you want to.