These are the best places in the UK to go mountain biking with your kids: including bike parks, natural loops, big mountains and gentle new-rider friendly trails
Where to ride this summer hols with your kids? It’s a tough question for me because my nippers are into mountain biking with a small ‘m’, meaning we need somewhere fun and easy enough for six-year-olds, but good enough that I’m going to enjoy it too. So here’s my personal list of the best places to ride in the UK that tick both boxes.
Dare Valley Gravity Bike Park, South Wales
Dare Valley Bike Park is purpose built for kids, there’s an uplift to shuttle you up to the top of a modest hill, and flowy, groomed trails to cruise back down on. A half day is only £13, there’s ice cream at the bottom, and that makes it my number one spot for kids days out.
The tabletop sections are great for riders who want to develop their skills and get air
There’s bike hire on site or you can bring your own – check out our recommendations for the best kids bikes if you’re stuck. Dare starts with a brilliant tarmac pump track right by the carpark that distracts the youth while you get everything ready and log in. Then a short hop up the hill by land rover delivers you to the main attraction, a brilliant blue trail that’s safe enough for new riders and kids to learn on and enjoy, but with doubles and supported berms for more experienced riders too.
Trailcraft built it with two additional pump tracks on the trail – break off from the main loop and hit the fun tables before flowing back down the trail again.
With 100m of vertical and an easy access road kids should be able to manage a couple of laps on this free-to-access trail. But pay £13 for a morning or afternoon session and they can be shuttled up, packing in an average of eight runs. That’s more than enough for my lot.
darevalleygravity.co.uk
Ice cream at Dare: “I’ll sample them all if that’s OK”
Loughrigg Terrace, Lake District
The descent on Loughrigg Terrace is a gem for kids and new riders because it’s mostly pretty smooth and graded for smaller people, while the gentle slope means they won’t get too carried away and be unable to stop.
Yet despite that mellow nature, this is a proper trail, with rough bits here and there to get creative on as your own experience allows. There’s also the potential to go as fast as you dare and gap over the rougher bits to keep more experienced riders entertained.
The views are bonkers too, this is the Lake District without the pain. You get a real feeling of exposure without it ever being dangerous. The only thing holding back little legs is the climb then, or two of them rather – with 350m of ascent over a 9km ride it’s not nothing. Check out my GPS route at bit.ly/LoughriggRide
The Dean Trail Volunteers have crafted a maze of brilliant trails at the Forest of Dean, suitable for total newbies to pro riders
Forest of Dean Cycle Centre, Forest of Dean
Little Fodders is an institution over at the FOD, it’s a kids mountain bike club for 5-14 year olds with BC qualified coaches, and a focus on learning new skills and having fun, run by WyeMTB. The waiting list is as long as your arm, but you can easily head along to the pump track and Skills areas at Forest of Dean Cycle Centre and ride for free.
There are non-member Little Fodder sessions throughout the year too, from monthly girls-only groups to DH Development Camps.
The built trails at Glentress are completely reworked, meaning they’re running smooth and fast this summer
Glentress, Scottish Borders
In 2023 Glentress reworked miles of its trails in what it called the Masterplan, and that means there’s something now for everyone. Start off with the new Blue Taster trail and see how the kids get on, it’s almost like a pump trail that heads downhill, with berms and a beautifully graded surface all the way down.
From the Taster it’s easy to transition onto the Main Blue, which is more of the same but ultimately faster and much longer.
Kermit is a green-graded trail at BPW, it’s expertly built to learn how to corner and pump your mountain bike
BikePark Wales
Had to be in here, didn’t it? I’ve noticed a big change over the last decade at BikePark Wales, what started out as a bike park for shredders has expanded to become one of the best places to ride for newbies and kids.
OK so it’s not cheap if you want to hit up the uplift (and you will, because the climb is too much for my kids aged 6-9), at £51-54 a day. But you the pay as you go service lets you jump on the bus for £4 per run, if you’re under 12, and honestly one or two runs is about all we can manage.
The trail to try is Kermit, it’s 5km long, never steep or rough but jam packed with fun corners to play and learn on.
There’s also a new service operating at BPW called Ticket to Ride.If you’re totally new to the sport then you can arrange for the uplift, safety gear and a bike to be waiting for you on arrival.
Swinley Forest, Berkshire
My kids love Swinley because, aside from the fun and flattish trails, there’s a Go Ape high in the trees above. Below is a labyrinth of easy-going trails that suit young riders perfectly. The blue trail opened in 2013 and the fun berms, rollers and tabletops still make for great progression, and now there’s a new section called Blue 10 that puts the smooth flow back. Swinley also hosts The Summit, a skills club giving its members a dedicated coaching timetable and use of its skills area.
Four of the best natural mountain bike routes for the more adventurous
1. Holford Combe, Quantock Hills
12km (7 miles)
There’s a remote feel to these family-friendly trails with some sweet, easy singletrack and a few stream splashes for good measure.
From the car park (Landranger 181/ST154410), turn L and head up into Hodder’s Combe. Keep ahead where the doubletrack ends and fork R to cross a stream and climb west up Lady’s Edge. At the top head S, then SE then turn L to continue E to a lane at Dead Woman’s Ditch. L onto the road, L at the junction then L after the RH bend. Drop all the way back to Holford.
>>>Download the GPS route here
2. Thames Trails, Chiltern Hills
16km (10 miles)
A gem within an hour of London.
Start at the River Meadow car park (Landranger 175/SU635766) and turn R over bridge then L onto Thames Path Bridleway. Drop down steps for 2km before it turns to concrete and leads to a junction. Hang R and as lane breaks L keep SA on track and lane to B471. Keep SA and then L at the triangle. As it bends L, turn R onto a BW and keep SA across another lane. Drop SE then S to Mapledurham and turn R then R again back to Pangbourne.
>>> Download the GPS route here
3. Moel Dywyll, Clwydian Range
11.5km (7 miles)
A real route, in real mountains that doesn’t climb too high, and never gets too tough.
From the car park (Landranger 116/SJ172647), follow tarmac NE into the village then W out of it to a X-roads with a track. Climb SW for 2.5km to a fingerpost by a tumbledown wall and turn L to drop to a stream. L to pass the reservoir then down the track to a RH turn. Stay on the main track around Ffrith Mountain to a road. L then L to finish.
>>> Download the GPS route here
4. Glen Affric, Highlands
17.1km (10.6 miles)
This route offers a bit of everything that’s great in Scottish mountain biking, except the technical difficulty. It’s remote, incredibly scenic and totally enthralling.
Turn L out of the car park (Landranger 25/NH200233), then immediately L over a bridge. Continue W, along the S shores of Loch Affric until you can turn R at the far end. Cross the bridge and continue to a cairn that marks a R turn. Take this and follow it E, all the way back.
>>> Download the GPS route here
