Cannop Trail Centre in the Forest of Dean

Found in Gloucestershire, the Forest of Dean is one of the largest areas of woodland in the UK. Although competing to its close neighbour Wales, with its plentiful supply of both natural and man-made riding, the West of England has its own share of quality riding venues. Home to well know 'Pearce Cycles' DH series taking place in Bringewood, Hopton and Kinsham, amongst these is Cannop cycle centre in the Forest of Dean, providing both man-made trail centre XC loops and more natural DH tracks with an uplift service. There is a good local scene for racing here also, with several 'Mini DH' races held from January onwards, as well as hosting the first round of the 'Enduro1' series.




The hub of the trails is the Pedalabikeaway bike shop, that is fully kitted out with a bike shop, workshop, cafe and showers. From here you can find the start of the 4.2km advanced 'Freeminers' trail, 11km Verderers' for intermediates and a 17km family loop. The man made blue loop winds it way round the surrounding forest, the longer climbs broken up with sections of rollers and berms to keep you entertained. The 'Freeminers' trail has a more natural flavour; although the starting climb is similar to the blue loop, the descents are tighter with more jumps and drops thrown in. It gradually becomes more natural, with rooty and fresh loam corners challenging your ability to carry corner speed over rough stuff.




If you are more keen on the gravity side of riding, or want more challenging trails, there is a multitude of marked and unmarked trails on the more eastern side of the trailside. Although fairly short (with the longest trails lasting around 2 minutes), they pack a lot of variety. There are fast and flowy trails with plenty of berms, rollers and jumps like 'GBU' that contrast with more technical trails like 'Mr Rooty' which take in steep rooty corners down to the jump park at the end. 'Corkscrew' provides a nice balance with a fast and open upper section full of jumps before dropping down into a feast of roots and compressions offering you a multitude of lines to choose from. Roots are the definitely the trademark of trails here, littering every corner waiting to catch you out either in the wet or dry.

Mini DH race on 'Corkscrew'

There is also a whole host of unofficial tracks which link up between the demarked trails, which provide the dosage of pine needle loam and also help keep the tracks seeming fresh and exciting when you find a new line into a section that provides a new challenge. Over by the skills loop and start of the XC trails there is also an old slag heap, and if you have a look around here you can find some steep chutes and big jumps on the loose dirt, which can give you a nice break from the roots found in the main area of the trails.


Hitting the road gap on 'Endo'

FlyUp Downhill provides the uplift for the trails, and is well known for efficiency and bike safety, meaning that you can save your legs for the trails if you don't fancy the push up through the trees.

Hip on the slag heap

Once you have had your fill of riding, or fancy a bite to eat to refuel, the cafe is well stocked with good local produce (The PieMinster pies are a must try) and a wood burning stove for those colder months. With its good variety of riding and facilities, Cannop cycle centre is a great place to stick in the diary as a road trip destination, but is also a great day out in its own right both on trail and DH bikes.

John Inman
Ski, Snowboard & Mountain Bike Instructor Courses & Camps
www.peakleaders.com | Tel: +44 (0) 1337 860 079
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