Rides in Essex

Right you good folks of the South East, I/we that is myself the wife and our soon to be 8 year old boy are visiting family in the Basildon / Southend area at the weekend. said family members are all proud new owners of mountain bikes.
They suggested we bring our bikes with us so we could have a family ride out. (no thrills and spills then)
So as they are newbies and we don’t know the area and the internet has been little or no help can anyone here suggest a non too taxing place to go.
An hours drive is fine and prefer off road if poss rather than country lanes as locals always scare the sh… bejeezus out of me!
Any help gratefully received 🙂

Saafend seafront to Hadleigh Country Park? Don’t think you can just get on the Olympic course at Hadleigh without a ‘guide’, but the park in itself should be nice.

I believe there is some riding in the Langdon Hills area but not been there myself. One place I have been is Thorndon Country Park which has quite a bit of laid gravel trails but a couple of short, sharp climbs which might have some pushing but they are only quite short.

It’s just South of Brentwood and easy to get to from Southend on the A127.

http://www.visitparks.co.uk/places/thorndon-country-park/

This website may well have some others closer as well like Hadleigh Country Park

Thorndon parks ok, it’s a hard pack loop about 4-5 miles long with loads of cheeky bits dotted round it with a cafe/visitors centre at each end..
About 30 seconds off the A127 on the Brentwood A128 turn off. About 10 mins from Basildon and 1/2 hour from Southend
You’ll drive past it if you’re coming in to Basildon off the M25.

How about starting at Leigh-on-sea station (plenty of parking at weekend) ride thru the country park by going up to Hadleigh castle down on the gravel track and then pick up the all weather track thru the park towards south benfleet. Cross the railway line and come all the way back on the seawall to Leigh again. Nearly 100% off road and about 9 miles for the lad. Just before getting back to the car park you pass a golf driving range where you can get drinks/snacks etc or into old Leigh for a pint/cockles at the Billet/Peter Boat/Smack

Epping Forest is about an hours drive over 50 miles of single track & bridle path. Cafes visitor centre & nature walks. just head to High Beech
plenty for everybody can be as taxing as u want I have taken all my kids riding there ages 6-12

in order of distance from Baz:
Langdon Hills – theres miles of it if you can find it all.
vistors centre here can’t remember if they charge to park http://binged.it/1kJaFrh but you can park for free here
http://binged.it/1kJbn7R outside unit 3 because i wont mind and you can ride completely offroad from there to the park

thorndon south is probably best if your family have ‘mountain’ bikes ahem as mentioned by khani it’s hardpacked and you can’t get lost and there is a cafe halfway round and at the end and loos and everything. they rob you a couple of quid for parking though. There is parking at the other end near the second cafe but it’s a little bit further to drive. if south is full try the north one – but instead of parking where everyone else does carry on past the first carpark for about 1/3 of a miles and there is a huge carpark where the horseboxes park and it is generally empty.

epping – park at the tea hut here now they have sorted the car park out there is always tons of space
http://binged.it/1kJczIs
public toilet across the way in the pub carpark. there is miles and miles of it but also hard packed stuff too and also another tea hut here. http://binged.it/1lVFeg9 which if you follow the track on the map gets you there, nothing scary but there might be some pushing.

I know both Thorndon (the very far north of it starts at the top of my road) and Jobro’s loop …. he defo has your answer for all round family fun rather than “just MTBing”

I and would make the little extra effort(it’s really not much further, 5 mins tops) to go past your car and into Old Leigh at the end…. beer,ice creams and a paddle from the little beach at the far end… what more d’you want ? 🙂

What can I say 🙂 thank you very much for your help folks.
I’m sure we will will choose one from above.

Old leigh sounds nice but then so does Epping forest where my dad used to build dens when he was a kid apparently !!