Cycling

Leeds Urban Bike Park Cycling Review For Families

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Leeds Urban Bike Park

Route at a glance

Total distanceFlexible loops: Green trail ~1.4 mi; family loop ~3.6 mi; full network ~7 mi
DifficultyAll grades on site — stick to Green/Blue with kids
Top things to see
  • Hub: pump track, BMX track, café & bike shop
  • Flowy woodland singletrack & skills areas (observe signage)
  • Easy link into Middleton Park paths & play areas

Leeds Urban Bike Park is a gem of a project by Leeds council, the lottery funded and British Cycling & Sports England. At the top part of Middleton park is a mountain bike trail centre and BMX Track, a bike shop with a workshop and a cafe. The bike park consists of multiple different trails across all difficulty levels.

It’s incredibly family-friendly and is suitable for all ages. Best of all it’s completely free of charge. It connects nicely with the wider Middleton park meaning you can enjoy the facilities available including kids park and much more.

It’s run as a community project meaning it’s not for profit. Parking and the bike park are completely free but you can support them by purchasing items in the bike store or in the cafe.

There’s an abundance of courses and circuits that continue into the woodland. Our daughter absolutely loved it and we could have stayed for hours. Even for non-riders Middleton park has plenty of walking trails for you to enjoy.

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Betty Eastwood BMX Track Review

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Betty Eastwood BMX Track

As a family, we have become quite obsessed with BMX/Pump tracks. We feel they are a brilliant, safe way to get children into Cycling. Fortunately, we have one approximately 10 minutes from our doorstep. It’s a small one, but perfect for the kids to enjoy and pick up some key skills. This is Betty Eastwood BMX Track in Crigglestone, Wakefield.

The track has become a staple in our weekly routine. I tend to pick Barney up from Nursery, drive the short distance to Crigglestone and give him a short boost in improving his biking skills. As a parent, it’s just about giving your children that little boost of outside time and we’ve found on an evening this is a perfect spot.

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Wonders of Wakefield (WoW) – 21‑Mile Circular Route Review

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I’ve ridden almost every section of the Wonders of Wakefield loop in isolation over the years, but this was my first time stitching the whole thing together in one go. I rode it with my mate Chris (who contributes to Family Cycling), and it reminded me why the WoW is such a brilliant showcase of Wakefield’s green spaces: lots of traffic‑free riding, links between our favourite country parks, and plenty of places to stop. 

This review gives a friendly, practical overview for families and recreational riders: what to expect, how to navigate, the best stop‑offs, and how to adapt the loop for younger legs.

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Anglers Country Park cycling for families

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Anglers Country Park

Route at a glance

Total distance~2 miles / ~3.2 km loop
DifficultyEasy (flat, traffic-free once parked)
Top things to see
  • Room on the Broom adventure trail
  • Bird hides & lakeside wildlife
  • Play park by the visitor centre
  • Wide paths perfect for little legs

Anglers Country Park is an award-winning Green Flag destination where you can explore the unspoiled countryside, woodland, wetland and trails.

Anglers Country Park is in Wintersett, Wakefield. Once known as one of the deepest open cast coal mines, Anglers has since been transformed into a park which welcomes thousands of visitors a month. It has also flourished into a beautiful haven for wildlife including many migratory birds making it a perfect place to visit whether you are in or from the surrounding area.

We love Anglers because it has a central lake with a 2-mile trail around the edges. It’s a perfect place to cycle with small children as the terrain is flat and child safe. There’s also a Room on the broom trail as well as a playpark for the kids. Parking is completely free for the first two hours but living in Sandal we are able to travel to Anglers on the old Barnsley canal path.

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Walking vs Running vs Cycling: What’s Best for Busy Parents?

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Calder Hebble Navigation Cycle Review

When most people decide to get fit, the default tends to be running. It’s familiar, feels like proper exercise, and it burns calories quickly. But for beginner-level parents aged 30–45, who perhaps haven’t performed sustained levels of exercise for some time, is it really the best place to start?

The good news is that walking, running, and cycling can all improve your fitness. In this article, we’ll compare these three activities – looking at how they boost your heart health, which muscles they use, how many calories they burn, and their impact on your joints and lifestyle.

We’ll also talk about what makes an activity family-friendly and sustainable in the long run. By the end, you’ll see why we’re gently nudging you to give cycling a try as a fun, accessible way to get fit (without being preachy about it, we promise!). So, let’s break it down on why we would  

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The Tissington Trail Review for Families

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The Tissington Trail

Route at a glance

Total distance 13 miles / ~21 km
Difficulty Easy (gentle railway gradient)
Top things to see
  • Historic Tissington village & Tissington Hall
  • Parsley Hay Visitor Centre & junction with High Peak Trail
  • Ashbourne tunnel and old station sites
  • Wide White Peak views along the former railway

If you’re looking for a family-friendly cycle trail that has incredible views, fresh air, and adventure, then the Tissington Trail in the Peak District is a proper gem. It ticks all the boxes for a day out with kids – safe, scenic, and you can stop anywhere along the path easily for snacks and breaks to take in the views.

In May, whilst staying at the Trail View campsite, (add link?) we cycled along the Tissington Trail. 

It is a really peaceful path through the heart of the Peak District that’s perfect for little legs, but equally fun and challenging for all ages.

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Active Travel vs Road Spending in the UK

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Active Travel vs Road Spending UK

When it comes to transport infrastructure, much of the UK’s policy and spending has been based on a simple but flawed idea: more roads mean more economic opportunity. Yet growing evidence shows that investing in active travel — cycling and walking — delivers far greater returns (1).

In the early years of car use, it was clear to see the economic benefits of more roads. More distance can be covered, opportunities widen, and the economy expands. But is that still the case,  and do they lead to a better quality of life?

Today, we examine how active travel outperforms traditional road investment in economic outputs like retail spending, employment, health savings, and productivity and why it’s time to rethink how we measure success. Traditionally, any budget for Active Travel has been measured via non-economic outputs (environment, quality of life), whereas roads have been measured purely by economic output.

Recently, governments’ research studies have started to measure active travel measures via their economic output. The data is compelling, yet budgets are tiny vs road budgets. Why is this? Is it purely because change is difficult? Let’s examine the economic potential of active travel. 

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Rother Valley Country Park Cycling Review For Families

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Rother Valley Country Park Cycling

Rother Valley Country Park is located near Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK, just off the M1 at Junction 31, only a short drive away from the popular Gulliver’s Valley theme park. The park spans 750 acres, offering a mix of lakes, woodlands, and trails perfect for a family cycling day out.

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Balance Bike Vs Stabilisers – Which is best?

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Balance Bike vs Stabilisers

Teaching your child to ride a bike is a significant milestone, and the method you choose can greatly influence their confidence and enjoyment. Everything from the place you choose to teach them how to ride their bike, right through to the bike choice. These all influence the speed of the outcome.

While stabilisers (training wheels) have been the traditional route, balance bikes are increasingly recognised, and evidence supports that they are a vastly superior alternative.

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Center Parcs Review For Families

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Center Parcs Review For Families

There’s a long-running joke about the cost of Center Parcs. A trip there can sometimes feel like you’re paying obscene prices for a trip a couple of hours away from home. 

But here’s the truth we’ve discovered: when approached in the right way, Center Parcs can be one of the best-value short breaks for outdoorsy families—especially those with young cyclists in tow who happen to love swimming and parks. 

Table of Contents

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