Cardinham Woods — Attraction in Cardinham

The main focus for our visit was to try and keep a 2 year old entertained whilst on holiday. As a big fan of the Julia Donaldson books featuring the Gruffalo, along with my daughter, this had a certain appeal due to the Gruffalo Trail.

There were multiple walks available that were clearly sign posted. In the opposite direction seemed to be mountain bike trails. Not for this visit, but there were a lot of people around with some heavy duty bikes. This led me to think a visit with the bike at a later date could be in order.

The walk we needed to be on for the Gruffalo Trail wasn't too long, however littler legs got tired quickly. We took a carrier, however the trail was pram friendly.

The Gruffalo Trail requires the "Gruffalo Spotter" app for your smartphone from the Play Store or App Store. Get this before you set off. This app turns a beautiful forestry into an augmented reality "Deep Dark Wood" where you hold your phone up to the signs with various character's footprints on. The characters come to life and you can let your little one watch and photograph them next to their favourite characters.

It really is magic... Or at least very clever and a great way to get your kids outdoors. I would...

Went for an early evening ride and it was worth every pedal stroke. I'd not ridden at Cardinhan Woods for at least four years, in that time the trails have bedded in really well whilst not degrading, hopefully it gives some measure of the dedication of the maintenance crews. It may only be graded Blue with a couple of Red options but the switch backs are fairly tight and the climbs though largely on fireroad are quite testing, a good outing for a rider getting to grips with more technical features, the Red has some lovely tight bermed switchbacks in descent, it could probably do with a couple more tabletops but there are rollers to double up when you know their location. Beware the climbs on the Red whilst not traditionally technical it is a steep as found on few Blacks around the back the various UK trail centres. The trail itself feels longer than it is, the designers made good use of the topography, taking you up and down the valley sides, but can easily be ridden in under an hour making multiple laps possible. I cannot comment on the cafe, it was closed at that time, hopefully it still has the old world trade room charm it had on my previous visit. Well worth a visit if you are riding in...

First visit to Cardinham Woods. £4 for 2 hours parking (only £5 for up to 4 hours), took the longest route and still had time for coffee and cake within the two hours. Next time, it will be £5 and two routes before coffee break. Wonderful walk but the wildlife wasn’t playing ball today. Our dog was delighted/tired out but well watered using frequent visits to the stream. Only disappointment were the large group of cyclists, (barely) supervised during there outing. We took to walking single file, off the edge of the main forest track, as the main group of cyclists (from a school with a name ending in “field”), were using the entire width of the track, (one even detoured around a bench at the side of the track). No “Thanks” for our courtesy, no acknowledgement whatsoever. Almost burst out laughing when they were congratulated on their controlled/disciplined/well executed ride out. Every other cyclist we have met on this trip has been far superior in their courtesy and behaviour, going above and beyond, no matter how confined the...