The Forest of Dean is a huge area of woodland that covers an area of over 110 square kilometres and sitting in an area of southern England that borders South Wales to the East and Gloucestershire to the West.
It’s long been a playground for mountain bikers thanks to many miles of singletrack hidden amongst the mixed broadleaf and conifer trees that make it up, but the Pedalabikeaway trail centre near Cannop is a relatively new addition.
The centre makes a great base to explore the wider area from, offering plentiful (paid) parking, bike hire, a shop and cafe. Riding-wise, there’s something for riders of all abilities right from the gate, with meandering family trails on old railway lines, plus surfaced blue and red trail centre loops, jump and skills loops plus a large number of red and black graded downhill trails. An uplift service is run by FlyUp, though not year-round.
For those willing to explore, there are also plenty of ‘wild’ off-piste enduro trails hidden in the woods nearby. These are not surfaced so best avoided in poor weather to prevent erosion and are not formally maintained so may have serious and unmarked trail features.
