Mountain biking in South West

Watchmoor at Moors Valley near Ringwood adds a green-to-red skills and jump session at the region’s eastern end. Bring a suitable bike: Moors Valley rental cycles are prohibited at the bike park. Allow time for the signed approach from the main car park.

The Forest of Dean Cycle Centre at Cannop Valley is the strongest option for a group seeking several kinds of riding from one start. Old Bob’s is a two-kilometre green introduction with practice areas and suitability for adaptive cycles. Verderers is an 11.3 km blue circuit, bringing climbs, berms and the flowing Dragon’s Tail finish. Freeminers is 11.5 km and red, with more natural technical riding, while the 4.5 km red Adit offers a shorter but concentrated challenge. The separate downhill network includes blue Countdown and Launchpad as well as harder grades; choosing downhill is a different session from completing a cross-country loop.

Leigh Woods makes a compact Bristol visit around Yer Tiz, the 3.6 km blue trail beside the Avon Gorge. Its corners, rollers, climbs and drops provide a useful session without demanding a long forest expedition. Red branches such as Keener Loop and Cheers, Drive add optional difficulty; their short lengths do not make the features easier. The coaching area provides a place to settle into the bike before a lap. This is an unstaffed forest without toilets or a visitor centre, so its arrival arrangements differ markedly from a fully serviced riding hub.

Haldon Forest Park offers a clear Devon progression. Discovery is a 2.5 km green shared outing, Spicers a 3.7 km blue, and Kiddens a more demanding 6.4 km blue. Ridge Ride is red and listed at 9.6 km on the current route webpage, while its older map gives nine kilometres. The optional black Freers Loop is similarly listed at 0.9 km on the route page and one kilometre on the map. Those differences are reasons to plan with some margin, not add both figures together. During the parking-system transition, continue paying on arrival and follow Forestry England’s barrier instructions.

Bike Park Kernow gives Cornwall a dedicated descending stop at Trenowth Woods near Grampound Road. The operator’s trail previews name The Rumpolator, Krusty Berms, Hooters and Woodrockery West, with further choices including Wakky Races, Badgers Drift and Treacle Tart. Build the opening session around staff advice and a controlled sighting run. The variety makes repeated practice the attraction; choose lines by the current signs and features, without assigning unpublished colour grades.

Exeter Bike Park adds short push-up riding at Pottles Farm, with clearly differentiated progression lines. Sueblue provides the blue introduction through rollable tabletops and berms. Table Tango and Hydro supply red choices, while Dopamine branches from the blue into committed black features including gaps and a drop. Start with repeated Sueblue laps and make each harder choice deliberately. The park’s separate Kahooners feature is a trick jump with a mulch landing.

Dartmoor brings granite-country routes with clearly published cycling itineraries. Granite & Gears follows the former Princetown railway in 10 km or 30 km versions; a separate 20 km Princetown and Burrator circuit uses permitted bridleways and lanes through harder terrain. The 18 km Granite Way between Okehampton and Lydford offers a gentler railway-path alternative. Choose the start and route together, since these outings cover different parts of the moor and need different return arrangements.

Exmoor adds wooded valleys and bridleway exploration to a South West riding holiday. Horner Wood and the Holnicote Estate provide permitted off-road links beneath the moor, with Webber’s Post giving another approach into that network. Farther west, the Lorna Doone Valley offers bridleway riding around Malmsmead. Build a contained route from the land manager’s mapped cycling lines, keeping the chosen descent and return clear before setting off into the hills.

The Mendip Hills combine Black Down bridleways with landowner-authorised woodland trail sequences at Rowberrow Warren. Twin Brooks and the Limestone Link connect the natural network around Burrington and Charterhouse. Rowberrow’s named choices include Pump Track, Lumps & Bumps and Yeehaw in the North East sequence, with Christmas Trees and Happy Valley in the South West. The Strawberry Line offers a gentler cycling alternative. Select the mapped permitted links before building a longer hill-and-woodland day.