[Closed] Tell me about The Forest of Dean

Hi al
There is nothing on either the red or blue trails which is. It completely rollable. The red has some rooty sections which can get sloppy when wet but otherwise is a sedate affair. The blue is great fun and very fast! They compare to other trail centre headings really...my wife rides both of them and she only rides a handful of times a year. If you have not been before I recommend it. Off piste stuff is not easy to find in FOD unless you know the area fairly well. I would always recommend a ride with a guide, however you can find some stuff off the back of locals Strava records etc...

Thanks russyh.

That's sealed it, will be there Sat a.m.

I assume it's all bone dry there at the mo?

For me the blue is a bit dull and the descent was rough as a badgers last time I did it and not in a good way. The red has some really fun bits and feels like you're riding in the woods if you take the extension - I really quite like it.
I'd look at a bit of riding at Mallards Pike next to GoApe if I were looking for some fun natural stuff. (off to the right behind the lake).

Freeminers is a little bit more technical than Swinley...
(As mentioned a few gnarlier bits slippery when wet...)

Even on the freeride area there is nothing unavoidable my 7yr old couldn't manage on a XC hardtail....

What I would say over Swinley is that the features are better planned/designed for fun. I found that visibility of landings was better and that resulted in both of us doing stuff we wouldn't usually and coming away with a lot of extra confidence.

As an example its like the new triple feature at Swinley... great to stick on a race as it would doubtless provide lots of OTB's and hitting trees for the photo's if someone hadn't expected it... but less fun when you're the one going OTB or hitting the tree. (Both of which I've seen dozens of times on the same feature...)

I live the opposite side of Swinley and 20 minute drive in good traffic so a much longer drive o FOD but I wouldn't drive to FOD and not use the uplift.

To be honest the best bit about FOD is NOT using the uplift...if you are making a drive over and want something other than the waymarked trails you will need to spend some time doing some research. The place is frankly brimming with trails. The OP sounds like he is goign for a second visit with his boys, so the Red and Blue would be a great couple of trails. They only get boring one you have ridden them a few times as they are so short, luckily the red trail changes with the weather to keep it interesting. We barely ride the marked trails now except in the winter at night as everything else starts to become a real mess! There are very, very few if any jumps or drops on the red or blue. The ones which are there have an alternative route but are tiny. Once my little boy is strong enough to survive the climbs I would happily take him on those trails.

I assume it's all bone dry there at the mo?

How do the Verderers (Blue?) and Freeminers (Red?) trails at FOD compare? Are there any (unavoidable) large drops or jumps on the red?

Just back from FoD and I love the place.

If you like Swinley I think The Verderers and Freeminers are pretty comparable on the difficulty front to the red and blue at Swinley and you can get around the lot with your wheels firmly on the ground if you want. The Verderers is way more fun than Swinley blue in my opinion, the grand finale is a load of downhill through berms that both me and my 'rarely rides' other half can enjoy.

For a special day out it has to be the uplift but it is a step up from the cross country routes. There is a well manicured trail I think it was called countdown and launch pad that is fun and gets more hairy the faster you go but the medium graded routes such as Sheepskull, Ski Run, Corkscrew, etc all have parts that are quite steep, loose and/or rooty. Absolutely brilliant fun BUT I wouldn't send my other half down any of them, she'd be terrified and walking, not enjoying it. Make your own assessment of whether they are for you, the Verderers crosses the track you roll down from the uplift drop off so you could take a peek

re off piste, the place is riddled with it but I find it hard to put a ride together without knowing the place so don't really bother

At the moment, yes. On Saturday, maybe not so much

Forecast is for a fair bit of rain on Friday. This is because I'm going camping in the FoD this weekend.

For a special day out it has to be the uplift but it is a step up from the cross country routes.

To be honest the best bit about FOD is NOT using the uplift..

Quite possibly for a local .... but finding all the hidden gems I'd say takes time.

The kid did the lil fodders Enduro sat morning and I had a heck of a time just trying to find a specific part again... same with Swinley for locals... We know it well but if its a first or second visit then I'd say just follow the numbers unless you have a local guide....

I'm sure FOD has loads to offer we didn't even see... but when time is limited I'd rather just maximise time.... I'd love to spend the whole week and explore though 😀

Can you pedal up for those trails or do you have to book the uplift to ride them?

Ride them all you like but maybe stick a donation in the tin in the cafe for the people who make/maintain them.

The uplift is just that, an easy way to the top.

Edit: There is a designated push up track for the shortest way to the top.

Ride them all you like but maybe stick a donation in the tin in the cafe for the people who make/maintain them.

What somebody said about countdown(?)/launch pad - so long as you're prepared to use your brakes they are no harder than the blue/red, they are designed for gnarly high speed offroad wheelchairs (much respect to the riders of these!). You can pedal the 'push up' track if you're fit.

Actually I *think* everything on the official downhills is either rollable or has a chicken run but the downhill trails, while easy as proper downhills go, are certainly harder than the red/blue/launch pad with lots of roots and steep bits so do look before you leap.

I'd say the Mallards Pike off piste is probably a bit steep and loose if you don't like the Cannop downhills e.g. sheepskull so start at Cannop for a taster.

I generally forget there's a trail centre at fod. There most weeks and don't go near it.

It's great for hassle free riding if you don't know where you're going though. Kids will love the Verderers.

Take some money though. The car park is about 60 quid odd now near enough! 😉

I generally forget there's a trail centre at fod. There most weeks and don't go near it.

Ha me too! Then once in a while I go back there and find they've built several new trails (despite receiving none of the exorbitant parking fee which I fortunately don't have to pay). Go have a look - I love the new skills loop with the tabletops and the track gap. Also the old FOD Enduro Trail just south of the centre has a vamped up companion with loads of jumps on now, and there's the new starts to Launch Pad, Sheepskull and Corkscrew.

I park at Cannop as its easy and ensures we get some good mileage in. My MTB OCD's mean I need to do a "loop" and i need mileage. So it suits me. Usually stop at Parkend cafe for some lunch, there is so much stuff in such a small area, you just need to spend the time speaking with people or researching. The Trailforks Ap is a great tool for finding some of the better known off piste stuff.

OP here.

Many thanks all

We shall be there Saturday and do the Verderers, then the Freeminers.

Hopefully not too much rain between now and then