Free-wheeling fun in the National Forest
Route information
Length 1.2-4.3 miles
Duration varies, depending on age of children and stops
Start/Finish Family Forest Trail, Moira, Ashby de la Zouch
Classification Easy
Terrain mainly flat, off-road
Who's it good for? Beginners; those with young children
Map Pdf download available at bit.ly/1hiCCK9
Riding the Family Forest Trail
Cycling with kids of different ages can be the most difficult aspect of planning family biking excursions: my eldest sons, 11 and nine, are fairly advanced riders, having mountain-biked with me in the French Alps and BMX-ed at a velodrome. My youngest, six, cycles to school daily, but with his little legs and small bike finds longer, hillier rides tiring – and often a bit boring too.
This is where somewhere such as Hicks Lodge, at Moira in the National Forest, comes in. Home to the National Forest Cycle Centre since summer 2011, it's designed with families and beginners in mind, with a couple of easy off-road gravel and mud trails for those with tots and two mountain-biking trails: one easy and one moderate. It also has bike and trailer/seat hire for all ages.
We set off on the Family Forest Trail, which has two loops: we choose the longest, at almost three miles. During our visit, the shorter loop (roughly one mile) is temporarily rebranded as a Gruffalo Activity Trail in honour of the big woolly one's 15th birthday, with an activity leaflet available from the cafe for £2 until September 2014.
The National Forest is very much a forest in the making, with tree-planting ongoing since 1990, so it's not as if you're cycling through ancient woods teeming with mystery, but it is a pleasant and tranquil place to cycle. We meet only a handful of other young families out with kids on bikes and trikes, or in buggies, and the occasional dog-walker or runner. There are a few hilly bits but nothing that gets us out of breath, and enough twists and turns – especially in the latter half, beyond the picnic area and viewing point – to keep everyone engaged.
Rabbits and squirrels occasionally dart out in front of us, birds flap over the small artificial lakes (the site is a former flooded opencast coal mine site), and we stop a few times to scope for mini-beasts (signs indicate prime hunting grounds). As we haven't brought a picnic, it's handy that when hunger strikes we're within easy reach of the cosy cafe at Hicks Lodge, with its wood-burning stove.
Refuelled, the younger two make for the wooden playground while my eldest checks out the mountain-biking tracks: good for a proto-teenager wanting a short break from the family, if not enough to stretch him.
For more information, go to visitnationalforest.co.uk
Useful information
Where to stay
Take a look at the YHA and its National Forest hostel (0800 0191 700, beds from £13 a night), or camping at Beehive Farm Woodland Lakes (01283 763981, from £14 a night).
Where to eat
Hicks Lodge and the Rosliston Forestry Centre have cafes, or Cricketts Inn is at Acresford, (2.5 miles from Hicks Lodge). It has a dining room, outdoor tables and a play area.
How to get there
The nearest train station to Moira is Burton upon Trent (8 miles away, and operated by East Midland Trains). Arriva buses 9 and 9A run between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, and stop at Norris Hill, a 15-minute walk from Hicks Lodge.
For more information on holidays in England, go to VisitEngland.com