Where to ride

Family cycling – where to ride

If you’re looking for ideas on where to go on a family bike ride, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got lots of thoughts on where to cycle with kids of all ages, from short rides through to multi-day family bike packing trips.

Happy cycling!

komoot routes

Follow us on komoot and find some of our favorite family cycling routes.

You can download the routes and follow them straight from your phone, plan your own routes and see highlights other cyclists recommend!

If you have any favorite routes, please do share them with us in komoot to inspire other families.

Some great places to ride

Family cycling holidays

One of our very favourite things is going on a family cycling holiday – unfortunately life / school / work gets in the way most of the time!  If you’re thinking about cycling on your holidays, you don’t need to make it too complicated – a single day’s riding is how we started.

Over the years we’ve built up to doing trips of up to a month away – but we always drive or take the train somewhere and camp and then ride from the campsite.

Some of our Cycle Sprog contributors prefer to leave the car at home and carry all their kit with them – and thankfully they’ve written up their adventures to help anyone else who wants to do similar.

Enjoy your holiday!

Wetherby Railway Path - family cycling in West Yorkshire

On the right track – family cycling in West Yorkshire

Disused railway lines are a great place for family cycling – they provide a safe traffic free environment for your kids. They don’t usually have any excessive gradients, so can be managed on small bikes with no gears.  In West Yorkshire there are a plethora of disused railway lines so we decided to go for an explore to see…

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Practising front wheel lifts on an Islabikes Creig 24 at The Track Bike Park, Portreath, Redruth, Cornwall

A family day out at The Track Bike Park, Redruth, Cornwall

This autumn half term we were lucky enough to visit Cornwall for a couple of days.  The weather forecast was lovely for the time of year, so we decided to take the bikes and get out and enjoy some family cycling, Cornish style.  A quick google search for “Mountain Biking with kids in Cornwall” brought…

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Family cycling at Kielder Forest

Heady fun during a family cycle ride at Kielder Forest

When my (now) husband Chris and I were much, much younger, we used to love going to Kielder Forest for a long weekend. We’d pack up our tent and the mountain bikes, and spend several days camping and cycling. Depending on how late we’d stayed in the local pub the night before, we’d either ride…

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Topeak Journey trailer

Top Topeak Journey trailer review: how to carry all your kit on a family cycling holiday

If you’re planning a family cycling holiday you need to be able to carry all your kit!

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The start of the Kirroughtree Blue Taster Loop, 7Stanes, Galloway Forest, Scotland

Riding the new MTB trail for kids at 7Stanes Kirroughtree

The mountain bike trails at 7Stanes Mountain Biking Centre at Kirroughtree in the Galloway Forest were improved at the end of August. with a great new kid-friendly loop.   The existing 2km taster mountain biking loop was extended to provide a new section of single track, which introduces the excitement of sweeping berms and camel…

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Enjoying a rest during a family cycle ride at Rainham Marshes RSPB nature reserve

Family cycling at RSPB Rainham Marshes

With great facilities and all ability trails, RSPB Rainham Marshes nature reserve in Purfleet, South Essex provides the perfect setting for a family cycling adventure.  You can explore along the river wall, taking in views over the Thames down to London and across the nature reserve. If you look carefully you may see marsh harriers soaring overhead! The popular…

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