Are there any bike parks near Leicester, or Nottingham?

Yes closest to Nottingham is sherwood Pines. You may also want to check your distance to Cannock WS15 2UQ which is a lot better

https://www.moredirt.com/trail/United-Kingdom_East-Midlands/Western-Park-Bike-Trails/229/

Hicks Lodge

Ruddington 4X track

Western Park dirt jumps

Village Jumps (Loughborough)

Sherwood Pines

Cannock

Those are the main ones.

whats cannock like as regards finding the trails etc?

thanks for the link rob hilton

I’d prefer trails with flow and jumps(not massive) and not much uphill

Cannock is very well marked, virtually impossible to get lost. It has tons of flow and a few jumps, nothing you can’t roll, sounds like you’d love it. For first time allow an hour for the dog or 3 hrs for the dog and monkey, which is all the red trails. Honestly. It. Is. Mint.

Honestly. It. Is. Mint.

As long as you have an aversion to climbs more that 30seconds long, like traffic jams and braking bumps, and consider Swinely a big day out in the gnarrly mountains.

I like Cannock but it’s a means to an end not a mecca.

Embrace the idea of climbing as a means to earn descents, learn to read a map and head for the Peak district. It’s probably closer.

I can do easy climbs (or pushups) if its A-line,

I’ll be coming from the south , Peaks may be a bit far, and I’d need a .gpx if headed off piste