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!

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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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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What makes a good MTB trail for kids?

What makes a great MTB trail for kids? A Path Geek explains

When you’re riding with your kids along a cycle track or trail, have you ever stopped to consider how it was designed and why? And more importantly, what makes a great MTB trail for kids?  I have to confess it’s not something I’d given much thought to, until very recently.  We were at the 7Stanes Kirroughtree mountain biking…

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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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7 year old riding his Islabike up Beast Banks Kendal, Tour of Britain 2016

Riding the Tour of Britain before school

It’s not every day you get to ride part of the Tour of Britain route before school, but today was one of those days! Stage Two of The Tour of Britain is heading from Carlisle to Kendal along some of the steepest and most stunning roads Cumbria has to offer before finishing at the top…

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Watching the Tour de France

What’s it like going on a Tour de France family holiday?

Mum of two Liz tells us all about here Tour de France family holiday in France

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