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So the Hooter family is planning our first holiday with little twins, which we'd like to be bike centric. The babies are OK for at least 10 miles at a stretch in a bike trailer, but we've decided to stick to smooth off road trails with them until they are a bit bigger. So we're looking for an area in the UK which fits the following:
1) A nice network of flat-ish pure off road routes (train lines, tow paths, forest routes etc) suitable for a bike trailer, so we don't have to go out and ride up and down the same trail every day. Preferably not just forestry routes. Has to be strictly traffic free and no gnarr whatsoever (except maybe if I manage to nip out on my own in the evenings 🙂 )
2) Reasonably scenic
3) Near the sea would be nice
4) Something to do when it rains - could be national trust type places or just a town with enough shops to keep Mrs H happy (especially craftsy type stuff)
Any ideas or suggestions please?
Not quite the same requirements as yours, but try [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/whats-the-best-flat-trail-in-southern-england ]this[/url] thread for some ideas.
We took the toddlers to Bultlins in Minehead (2 & 3yrs old) and it was a tiny tots week, they loved it and Butlins has really turned a corner, seemingly going after the centre parks crowd.
There is the sea, ace looking trails locally and something to do when it rains. Maybe not what you are after but worth mentioning
it may not be the most obvious or well trodden tourist area but we live in the Derwent Valley in north county durham and it may be worth looking at based on your bike-centric needs:
1) lots of off road NCN cycle routes connecting to Newcastle, Tynemouth (beaches/nice coastal town), Durham, or up up onto the moors via the C2C route [url= http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map?lat=54.861414230112615&lng=-1.8167307194214577&zoom=12&route-type=all-routes&filters= ]see here for Sustrans map[/url] mountain biking on hexhamshire common, chopwell, edmundbuyers/blanchland, hamsterley nearby etc
2) next to north pennines, also derwent valley is an area of high landscape value and a lot of our friends comment on how nice it is so can't be bad...
3) 45mins drive to Tynemouth, 1h and a bit will get you up to the northumberland coast for empty beaches
4) Beamish oldy worldy outdoor museum near Stanley, Hexham and Corbridge good for fancy shops etc, Gibside @ Rowlands Gill, Alnwick castle/gardens, Durham cathedral and lots of castles up in northumberland may 1h or so drive
however the main towns are utter a-hole of places (Consett/Stanley etc) mainly due to being ex-mining areas, but there are plenty of nice villages/pubs and campsites in between! also it's pretty hilly! 🙂
that's a lot tricky, be good if you get lots of answers better than mine
idea #1 Croyde or area, beach, Tarka trail down road, Camel Trail quite a lot down road (1hr + ), Granite Way even further down road (1 hr +), Ilfracobme bit - not that far - you do need to check distances tho and Exeter/exmouth stuff
have a look at the canal network
see also sustrans online mapping page
Aviemore
Furthest you can possibly be from the sea, but south Peak, Matlock/Ashbourne way. High Peak Trail (Middleton Top upwards), Tissington Trail, Monsal Trail, trail round Carsington Water, fairly close to Sherwood Pines.
Plenty of choices for different types of accommodation, lots of other family stuff to do all around
I'd second Aviemore. Lots of smooth trails out to various scenic lochs. Loch Morlich (which although not the sea does have a beach) and Loch an Eilan in Rothiemurchus forest, Speyside way out to Loch Gartan to spot Ospreys and red squirrels. Loads to do when it rains - there's an enormous (but always fairly empty) cinema and swimming pool up at the hotel or take the funicular up Cairngorm. It used to be that they gave free ride to those that cycled up from Aviemore but they may have stopped that this year.
The traffic free cycle trails book is good as a starting point. Cyb is surprisingly good, the minotaur is all trailerable and there's the Mawddach trail, plus plenty around that area to be going at plus beaches at the mouth of the estuary.
sustrans route 5 north wales coast, sea sand and off road trails, great scenery and nice people, wirral route 56,
Will watch to see what this thread comes up with, interested in the answer
Take my kids out in a double trailer and would like to find nice flat trails. Have been exploring the ones near where I live
Summer holiday planned for the Isle of Wight. Not a biking holiday but will take bikes and trailer with us, supposed to be a top 10 cycling destination. Will try the off road flat bits as the dog tends to come with us, the roads are quiet though
I found North Devon to be quite good, in particular the Tarka Trail and other old railway lines
I'd also suggest the South Peak (though there's no sea)... I've been to Hartington twice: great walking in the dales, and fantastic trails which are relatively flat but with impressive scenery... Manifold, Tissington, and High Peaks trails are all suitable for trailers, and they don't feel anything like disused railways.
But be careful of the start of the High Peaks Trail from High Peak Junction as it has some [url= http://www.strava.com/segments/2301895 ]seriously big climbs[/url].
Buxton is worth a visit... and there are some good second hand bookshops. The local cheese in Hartington is also very good!
Last time we stayed at [url= http://www.cotterillfarm.co.uk/ ]Cotterill Farm[/url] which I can recommend... for exercise you can ride into Hartington via Highfield Lane to get your morning paper.
Aviemore sounds like it would be right up your street. There is a fabulous selection of trails for all abilities, some loops, some there-and-back. There are some VERY quiet, long cul-de-sacs into Glen Feshie and Glen Tromie, plus you can get to the foot of the Corrieyairack pass. The Moray Coast is a short drive away and gives you Culbin and Roseisle Forests.
Lots of stuff for kids including a cinema, swimming pool with flumes, beaches at Loch Morlich and Loch Laggan, the Fun House at Coylumbridge (including crazy golf), Landmark at Carrbridge plus the Osprey Centre, Highland Wildlife park and lots of other wildlife viewing available.
There's also the Inshriach Nursery Cake Shop...
If you decide to come here, let me know and I'll try to "grade" the trails into trailer and non-trailer types for you.
Thanks for the ideas everyone. That sustrans map is very useful. Seems like there's a bit of a pay off as the areas with the most traffic free routes are close to urban areas - hence the wider area around Bristol, and the North East / Upper Derwent areas look good. I'm also thinking maybe the Dumfries / Galloway area - some sustrans routes plus maybe there are there some blue runs around the 7 staines trail centres. Would love to persuade Mrs H to go to Aviemore too, might have a go at that 🙂
The Lakes would work too, there's plenty around Grizedale, the path along the NW bank of Windermere, the old railway from Keswick, a couple of options from Whitehaven and the track along Elterwater. Go for a swim in the sea and you can get a healthy glow too.
D+G, nice area, but more remote/less facilities
7 stanes centres nearby
See Glentrool and review map around there (Clatteringshaws loch - nice loop round that), look for 'forest drives' on OS 50 map (*cars allowed but it's a dirt track road)- it's not flat tho - and it's not as well developed as other places