Where are the best family rides in the New Forest pls?

rjsdavis

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Hi to all

Have just taken the family away for a break in the New Forest (Sway), and it's just occurred to me that the best info would be hidden in here! Have just been searching but couldn't find any specific threads on great rides in this particular area.

Can anyone recommend some particularly great areas / trails for the family on our MTB's? It's a mixed ability group from 9 years old up, so nothing super technical like the Olympic course pls! I'm am aware that the whole area is perfect MTB country, but didn't want to get home and miss the best trails!

All suggestions gratefully received!
 
My favourites are going along the old railway track towards brockenhurst from burley tea rooms . One of the nicest in the area but out of the forest is the ride along the coast from hordle cliffs ( I used to start from Barton Golf Course) down through the salt marshes and into Lymington. You can push on from there into Beaulieu if you like
 
just go and explore !

can't recommend anything specific but for years we used to head down and base ourselves in Brockenhurst not far from Sway, get some of the good local maps, there are lots of trails which are easy to ride, infact we never managed to find the technically challenging, SWMBO was newly back into cycling so all was pretty easy, we just used to head towards places and see what was there, plenty to see as well as cycling, if not done then Beaulieu worth a visit, even the motor museum if not been, Bucklers Hard (albeit a bit touristy), plenty for all, and lots of nice country pubs for lunch !

let us know how you get on, a friend is getting married down in the forest at the end of Sept and we have just started planning :D
 
ellist":1bxehj2l said:
My favourites are going along the old railway track towards brockenhurst from burley tea rooms . One of the nicest in the area but out of the forest is the ride along the coast from hordle cliffs ( I used to start from Barton Golf Course) down through the salt marshes and into Lymington. You can push on from there into Beaulieu if you like

Many thanks indeed Ellist - sounds great. We'll give the ride from the cliffs a go tomorrow, and the Burley trail during the course of next week sometime. We'll see how long our little 9 year old's legs hold up!
 
daugs":3vik1o1p said:
just go and explore !

can't recommend anything specific but for years we used to head down and base ourselves in Brockenhurst not far from Sway, get some of the good local maps, there are lots of trails which are easy to ride, infact we never managed to find the technically challenging, SWMBO was newly back into cycling so all was pretty easy, we just used to head towards places and see what was there, plenty to see as well as cycling, if not done then Beaulieu worth a visit, even the motor museum if not been, Bucklers Hard (albeit a bit touristy), plenty for all, and lots of nice country pubs for lunch !

let us know how you get on, a friend is getting married down in the forest at the end of Sept and we have just started planning :D

Thanks Daugs. If the forum didn't exist, I'd be doing exactly that... but far better to know where the best bits are from those that know the area better than we do. Would hate to miss a great trail because we just didn't know about it! (and then hear about it when we got home!)

Will post up our experiences as we go along!
 
the new forest is pretty much non technical, i would suggest nipping into brockenhurst to cyclexperience, they have maps of the area which are simple to follow for about £4, they are easy to find as they are right by the train crossing with the a337. from sway it's only about 3-4 miles.

all the trails are suitable for novice/kids etc and it's mostly flat.

my favourite route is from brock to burley via the disused railway, then towards lyndhurst then back to brock, about 20 miles, it's my main training ride.

:)
 
Also worth having a little look on the mapmyride website as locals post routes on there too. My main problem in the forest used to be getting lost and having to find a tourist hiking with a map to find out where I was.
 
jonnyboy666":1bdqr4h6 said:
the new forest is pretty much non technical, i would suggest nipping into brockenhurst to cyclexperience, they have maps of the area which are simple to follow for about £4, they are easy to find as they are right by the train crossing with the a337. from sway it's only about 3-4 miles.

all the trails are suitable for novice/kids etc and it's mostly flat.

my favourite route is from brock to burley via the disused railway, then towards lyndhurst then back to brock, about 20 miles, it's my main training ride.

:)

Thanks for this jonnyboy. What's the starting point for this route? (seems like it's Ellist's first suggestion in reverse?)
 
This PDF Map should help you, it has all the 'legal' off road (some partially on road) cycle routes listed across the entire forest.

http://mediafiles.thedms.co.uk/Publicat ... p-2013.pdf

Nothing in the forest is too technical for a 9 year old (perhaps save the 25% gradient Blissford Hill near Fordingbridge), and there are coffee and cake shops practically everywhere for when the legs get tired. I usually save the forest for my road riding, so if you see a roadie on a white Felt dressed in black and white Rock Racing kit give me a wave! Enjoy.
 
rjsdavis":1nz9n9te said:
jonnyboy666":1nz9n9te said:
the new forest is pretty much non technical, i would suggest nipping into brockenhurst to cyclexperience, they have maps of the area which are simple to follow for about £4, they are easy to find as they are right by the train crossing with the a337. from sway it's only about 3-4 miles.

all the trails are suitable for novice/kids etc and it's mostly flat.

my favourite route is from brock to burley via the disused railway, then towards lyndhurst then back to brock, about 20 miles, it's my main training ride.

:)

Thanks for this jonnyboy. What's the starting point for this route? (seems like it's Ellist's first suggestion in reverse?)


if you buy the maps from cycle x all the routes start from there. ;) the maps also have pub stops on aswel, they use a mix of forest tracks and country lanes, the occasionally cross a main road but generally pretty good for lack of traffic
 
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