leisure cycling in west midlands

[bea]

inspired to get out and do a bit of cycling with dh and dd... although i must stress the word leisure!!! what i want is to cycle on paths, pref within a forest... i went to cannock chase years ago and remembered they had cycle paths around the forest... am i remembering correctly? also is there anywhere else fun to cycle... dd is 2 and will be in the bike seat, on the back of dh's bike!!!

The wyre forest is supposed to be quite good but haven't actually been myself - far too energetic!

What about the Lickey and Clent hills - they have good cycle paths. Wyre forest is very nice and not too many hills!!! Cannock chase also has cycle paths.

Sutton Park?

Dh is more of a cyclist than I am - his comments on the suggestions so far ....

Lickey hills are, er, hilly and I don't know of any cycle paths.

Sutton park is ideal. Would take ds there! (DS is 22 months, but has been riding his own bike for a couple of months and we have a cycle trailer for him for longer trips).

Cannock also fine, but some of the hills would seem big and some of the tracks a bit rough and stoney.

Similarly with Wyre forest: should be okay near the visitor's centre.

Other suggestions he came up with....

Manifold Valley (ex railway line in Derbyshire - it's about 9 miles each way, but you could park in the middle and just do half of it).

The Greenway out of Stratford (ex tramway, so nice and flat).

The big park (Arrow valley?) in middle of Redditch.

There is a track on the edge of Cannock Chase. It is off the Rugeley/Hednesford Road and you take the turning up to Fives Valley Industrial Park and it is on the right hand side, very pretty location. It is all flat and very very easy to get round, my Dad used to take me up there when I was younger. I was born in Cannock and cant beleive it has been mentioned more than once on here in the last few days. Also there are lots of nice flat tracks in the Peak disrict, but I dont know if this would be too far. I know my friend took her family(toddlers) to a particular one in Ilham.

Gill W - can your ds really ride his own bike at 22 months? very impressed!!!!

bea - yes (with stabilisers of course). All the other children in our street are between about 3 and 8, so they're always out in the road on their bikes. DS just decided one day back in May that he could do that too, climbed onto one of the girls' bikes and pedalled off down the road.... Once he'd proved that he could do it we didn't have much choice really but to buy him his own bike!

What about around Malvern?

What about the paths along the canal?