Photo credit: Forestry England.
Meet Old Bob – the new Green MTB trail in the Forest of Dean. The perfect bridge from the Family Cycle Trail to the Blue Verderers Trail and beyond:
The Story
Our motto at Pedalabikeaway has always been ‘Cycling for everyone’ – so we are delighted to finally have the missing piece in the jigsaw, the new Green MTB trail, “Old Bob”.
The original “Old Bob” was the pumping engine at Cannop Colliery, ensuring the mine shafts didn’t get flooded as far back as 1880, and the new Green Trail name is a nod to our Cycle Centre’s industrial heritage.
Since 2011, we have had the blue Verderers trail, green Family cycle trail (now called the “Colliers Trail”), red Freeminers route and several downhill lines.
Old Bobs is the final piece in the puzzle!
We feel it now makes the Forest of Dean the most complete trail centre in the UK!
What to expect?
It is a 2km flowy green trail, with 3 skills areas that you can session and lap. Expect a small climb, lots of berms and flow and a whole heap of fun!
Starting a sort distance from the Cycle Centre along the link trail, Old Bob starts with a gentle gradient climb. After a few hundred metres you’ll find the first of 3 skills areas, this one with a range of different corners to help you build up your confidence…
A little more climbing gets you to the ‘top’ of the trail, where you’ll find the 2nd skills area to practice on! After honing your skills once more, you can start your journey down the hill, and here the real fun begins…
The whole trail is suitable to lap time and time again, building up your confidence and skills, and tiring out little legs as you go.
All of this is no more than a hop, skip and a jump back to the Pedalabikeaway Café, and a much needed hot chocolate and refuel!
Check out all the info on the trail on the Forestry England Website here
Plan your next visit
With half term just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to enjoy the Forest of Dean’s autumnal glory and check out the new trail!
Need to hire a bike? Not a problem. Just head over to our website to book here
See you out on Old Bob soon!
Photo credit: Forestry England
The leaves are turning golden, the temperature has dropped and the nights are closing in. It’s time for hearty and warming comfort foods, and the new Pedalabikeaway Cafe autumn menu has plenty of tasty dishes to keep you satisfied when it’s cold, wet and windy like jacket potatoes, homemade soups and more.
If you’re vegetarian, or just looking to cut down on your meat consumption, there’s no need to compromise on taste at Pedalabikeaway. Our famous Loaded FOD Burger and Loaded fries have had a veggie makeover.
The Veggie Loaded FOD Burger combines a vegetable burger patty with fresh tomato and lettuce, optional cheese, and delicious pulled soya protein in a rich barbecue sauce. Or opt for our loaded fries which are crisp, hot and tasty, and also loaded with pulled soya. The taste and texture is so good, you won’t be missing out on the meaty equivalent.
Get a few steps closer to your five a day – or simply satisfy your desire for something fresh and light – with one of our freshly made salads. Crisp lettuce and tomato combined with shredded cucumber and onion, plus either chicken breast chunks, or pulled soya with a beetroot and orange salad. Whatever you choose, you’ll find it flavoursome and satisfying.
The quintessential winter dish, it’s hard to beat a piping hot jacket potato with lashings of beans, cheese or tuna mayo, with a fresh salad on the side. Perfect for cold days, or when you’ve been out walking or riding in the mud and rain, these will fill you and leave you feeling toasty and warm.
On its own, with a chunk of crusty bread, or with one of our fresh sandwiches, you won’t regret warming yourself up with one of our homemade soups. The menu changes regularly, but expect choices like leek and potato or tomato and red pepper. Fresh, delicious and wholesome.
Looking for a family-friendly activity for the August Bank Holiday weekend? Or just hoping to get away from it all in a Forest wonderland? Whether you’re an active family, or you’ve got mountain-bike mad kids – or you’re just looking for something different and fun to do – we’ve got lots of ways to keep you all entertained and happy this bank holiday weekend!
Imagine a beautiful trail that takes in the best that the Forest of Dean has to offer, with towering trees, lake views, sculptures, and wildlife galore. You might spot deer or one of the famous Forest of Dean boars as you walk or cycle around this traffic-free route. There are plenty of rest stops along the way, and tea and fresh cake (and hot food) are available at both our Mallards Cafe and the Pedalabikeaway cafe at the Cycle Centre.
It’s fun to walk, but we think it’s much more fun to ride, and we’ve got a selection of adult and child leisure bikes available to hire, plus child seats, tagalongs (in case those little legs get tired) and baby trails. We’ve even got dog trailers too!
Yes, you read that right! If you want to do things differently, we guarantee riding a tandem will raise a smile and you’ll be greeted by every person you meet! Our tandem is fun, stable, and actually makes short work of hills because there’s two people working together to get up them.
In fact, the only thing you have to choose is who’s going to be the pilot at the front, and who wants to be the stoker at the back!
The mountain bike trails at the Forest of Dean are famous. We’ve even got Olympians coming to train on them, like cross-country mountain biker Evie Richards who competed at Tokyo 2021!
For a taste of the thrills and skills involved, rent one our fun, stable hard tails, or take things up a notch with our premium full-suspension mountain bikes which are perfect for developing skills and making the most of what’s on offer. We’ve even got electric-mountain bikes which will make short work of the hills!
All the trails are graded too, from easy greens to super-technical blacks and downhill tracks, so there’s something for every rider. And all trails start and finish at the Pedalabikeaway Cafe and the cycle centre car park, so you’re never too far from a cuppa and slice of cake.
If beautiful views and historic ruins are your thing, then the Wye Valley Greenway is for you! Newly opened at the start of Summer 2021, it follows the route of the long-abandoned Wye Valley railway, taking you on a ride through woodlands above the River Wye, and through am amazing old railway tunnel, which is home to a rare species of bat – but don’t worry, they’ll be asleep during the day when you ride through! Then stop for lunch in Tintern in the shadow of the beautiful Tintern Abbey, before hopping back on for the ride back.
You can park at the National Diving and Activity Centre just outside of Chepstow where the trail begins, and if you want to hire some bikes, Pedalabikeaway has a rental shop right on the trail with adult and child leisure bikes which are perfect for exploring the route.
Pedalabikeaway have just opened a brand new family-friendly bike park in the Dare Valley in Wales, and it’s a whole lot of fun! Pump tracks are perfect for developing bike and bmx skills, and the trails are all beginner-friendly and smooth. You can ride to the top and do laps, or we also have a bike uplift service; pop your bike in the truck, hop in a seat, and let us do the hard work so you can focus on the downhills!
There’s parking, a cafe and bike hire, so all you need to do is turn up and have fun.
If things have all gotten a bit too much and you want to get away from the crowds, then the Forest of Dean is big enough to offer you a little slice of peace and quiet. Grab a takeaway cuppa and sandwich from Mallards Cafe, and explore the quieter trails the Forest has to offer, watch the world go by, spot some wildlife, and just breathe.