The Buzz RIDES
Five top venues to keep the nippers entertained this summer
DARE VALLEY GRAVITY BIKE PARK, SOUTH WALES
Have you ever taken your kids to an attraction, only for them to find the gift shop/coin-press machine/ dead bird in the car park infinitely more interesting? Of course you have. Take them to Dare Valley Gravity Bike Park this summer, though, and they’ll struggle not to be entertained.
For starters there’s a brilliant tarmac pump track right by the car park that’ll distract them from the rotten bird. The main attraction, though, is a five-minute trail in the finest tradition of blues, that is safe enough for new riders and kids to learn on and enjoy, but with doubles and supported berms for more experienced riders too. Trailcraft built it with two additional pump tracks on the trail – break off from the main loop and hit the fun tables before flowing back down the trail again.
With 100m of elevation and an easy access road, kids should be able to manage a couple of laps on this free-to-access trail. But pay £13 for a morning or afternoon session and they can be shuttled up, packing in an average of eight runs.
There’s also a mechanic on site, a bike shop, bike hire, really decent ice cream, and BikePark Wales and its green-graded Kermit trail is just one valley over if you want to make a weekend of it. Head to the Dare Valley Gravity Bike Park Facebook page (not darevalleygravity.co.uk) for more information.
FOREST OF DEAN CYCLE CENTRE, FOREST OF DEANS
Little Fodders is an institution over at the FO
