Cannop Cycle Centre
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Forest of Dean Cycle Centre is a small woodland
cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
centre, comprising mountain bike trails, a visitor centre, car parks and uplift service. It is located on the former site of ''Cannop Colliery'' in the Cannop Valley,
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...
,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
. The nearest village is
Parkend Parkend is a village, located at the foot of the Cannop Valley, in the Royal Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England, and has a history dating back to the early 17th century. During the 19th century it was a busy industrial village with se ...
, away. In 2012, work was completed on a £100,000 redevelopment of the centre, culminating in the opening of a new cycle bridge.


Facilities

Use of the visitor centre and trails is completely free. There is a charge for car parking and some facilities, such as use of the bike wash. Facilities include; * Visitor centre comprising a café, bike shop, bike hire, bike repair workshop, showers, toilets, bike wash and compressed air. * Uplift service - Mini bus and purpose built trailer which transports riders to the top of the downhill runs. * Several large car parks * Picnic area. * Information boards.


Trails

Three main waymarked trails start and finish at the cycle centre;


The Freeminers Trail (formerly the FODCA Trail)

A all-weather loop, designed, built and maintained by volunteers in partnership with the Forestry Commission. This is a challenging and varied single track with several tricky switchback climbs, rooty drops and hairpin bends. The trail is graded RED on the CTC classification of cycle trails and is suitable for experienced riders only. It received a glowing report from
Mountain Biking UK ''Mountain Biking UK'' (often shortened to ''MBUK'') is a British mountain biking magazine. It is published by Our Media, an Immediate Media group company, and is currently the UK's best-selling mountain bike magazine, with a circulation o ...
magazine, when they reviewed it in 2008.


The Verderers' Trail

Widely acclaimed as the best new trail of 2011. This is a fast flowing
single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
trail with flat out corners, big berms and rollovers. It is graded BLUE on the CTC classification of cycle trails, but also incorporates several RED alternative sections. It gently winds uphill before a swooping, flat top section and a steep undulating descent known as the Dragon's Tail. This trail was also reviewed by Mountain Biking UK in March 2012, who scored it as 4 out of 5 stars, describing the berms as 'the very best they'd ever ridden'.


Family Cycle Trail

An circuit, with connecting spurs to several local villages. Follows wide gravelled tracks and is suitable for riding all year round. Mostly level gradients with some short climbs and suitable for all ages and abilities. The route passes along the old Severn and Wye railway line, passing former stations at Drybrook Road, Cannop Wharf and Speech House. Remnants of former coalmines can also be seen at Foxes Bridge, Lightmoor and New fancy. In July 2007, the Forest of Dean Family Cycle Trail was number one in a list of 'Best British cycle routes', published by
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
And in June 2009, it was voted the best 'family cycle route' by
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
.


Downhill tracks

In addition to the waymarked trails there are seven or more excellent downhill tracks. From the visitor centre, a short push-up path leads to the downhill tracks. The route initially follows the Freeminers Trail and is marked by white arrows on a yellow background. Most of the downhill tracks are easy to find, with several beginning at a trailhead just to the east of the top information board. The shorter trails start further down the hill. All the downhill tracks feature difficult technical sections, big jumps, steep drops and one; ''GBU'', features two very tricky drop-offs. Other downhill tracks include ''Endo'', ''Mr Rooty'', ''Flatlands'', ''Corkscrew'' and ''Sheepskull''.


References


External links


Forestry England websiteFreeminers TrailVerderers' TrailFamily Cycle TrailOfficial tourism website, list of accommodation providers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forest of Dean Cycle Centre Forest of Dean Tourist attractions in Gloucestershire Mountain biking venues in the United Kingdom