Days Out · Staffordshire

Miles of pine, ferns and no traffic: a family ride at Cannock Chase

Some of the best family rides are the ones you can be at in under an hour. Cannock Chase is one of those. It sits just over the border in Staffordshire, an easy run down from most of Shropshire, and it packs a huge amount of gentle, traffic-free riding into one of the prettiest chunks of forest in the Midlands.

If you've never been, the Chase is a big Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, all towering pines, purple heath and bracken taller than the kids. It's proper storybook forest, and the tracks that wind through it are wide, well surfaced and mostly free of cars, which is exactly what you want when little riders are still finding their confidence.

Start at Birches Valley and just roll out

Nearly everything sensible starts from Birches Valley Forest Centre near Rugeley. There's a proper car park, a café for the all-important post-ride hot chocolate, toilets, and Go Ape in the trees above if you fancy stretching the day out. It's the kind of base that makes a day with kids easy, because you're never far from a loo, a snack or the car.

From there you've got three waymarked family cycle trails that head straight out into the forest. They're free, open all year, and they follow the wide gravel forest roads rather than anything technical. We picked one up more or less at random, and within a couple of minutes the car park was gone and it was just us, the pines and the sound of tyres on gravel.

What makes the Chase click for families is the scenery doing half the work. The tracks curve and dip just enough to feel like an adventure, the ferns close in on either side, and every so often the trees open up onto a bit of heath. The kids stopped moaning about pedalling roughly the moment we set off, because there was always another corner to race to and always something worth looking at.

Keep it gentle, or step it up

The lovely thing about Cannock is that it grows with your kids. On the family trails you can keep it as short and flat as you like, turning back whenever the legs give out. There's no pressure and no cars, so beginners can wobble along at their own pace and stronger riders can push on ahead and wait at the next junction.

When they're ready for more, the Chase has some of the best mountain biking in the region waiting for them. Follow the Dog is a genuine singletrack loop of nearly seven miles, built and looked after by local volunteers, and the Monkey Trail tacks on more for the confident and the keen. That's a proper day out for an older child on a capable bike, and it's a brilliant reason to keep coming back as they grow.

Keep half an eye out as you ride, too. The Chase is famous for its fallow deer, and if you're quiet and a bit lucky you'll spot a herd melting away through the trees. It's the sort of thing that stops a seven-year-old dead in their tracks and makes the whole outing.

Why a light bike makes the day

Cannock is undulating rather than mountainous, and that's exactly where bike weight decides how the day goes. Those long, gentle drags between the good bits are effortless on a light bike and a real slog on a heavy one. Our lot were on their Shyres and still had the energy to sprint the last stretch back to the café, which never happens on the clattery supermarket bikes we started out with years ago. Light frames, brakes small hands can actually pull, and gears that help on the rises: get those right and kids ride further and grumble less. That's the whole point of how we build them.

The right bike for the Chase

For the family forest trails, a light hybrid is spot on. If your child is heading for Follow the Dog or the Monkey Trail, a proper kids' mountain bike with grippy tyres and a bit of give is the one you want.

Handy to know before you go

• Where it is. Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, with most rides starting from Birches Valley Forest Centre near Rugeley. Roughly an hour from much of Shropshire, and closer still from Telford.
• Parking. There's a pay-and-display car park at Birches Valley. Take some change or check the payment app, and arrive earlier on sunny weekends when it gets busy.
• Family trails are free. The three waymarked leisure cycle trails follow wide gravel forest roads, are open all year and cost nothing to ride.
• Share the tracks. The trails are shared with walkers, dogs and horses, so ease off and give people plenty of room when you pass.
• More for older riders. Follow the Dog and the Monkey Trail are dedicated mountain bike singletrack, best for confident kids on a capable bike.
• No bike that day? There's bike hire at Birches Valley, though bringing your own light bike is far nicer for young riders.
• Facilities. Café, toilets, Go Ape and the forest centre are all on site, so it works for a full day out with mixed ages.

For opening times, trail maps and parking, check the official Forestry England Cannock Chase Forest page and the volunteer-run Chase Trails for the latest on the trails.

A few common questions