Family Mountain Biking at Hanchurch Woods, Staffordshire – Trails for All Ages

Friday 25th April 2025. If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you’ll know that Swynnerton Old Park (also known as Hanchurch) is one of our favourite walking spots locally. You’ll also know that getting into mountain biking was also an important goal for us this year, selling our cars and taking on a van conversion to help make this actually happen. My husband and I had been planning to take a week off of work in the second week of the Easter Holidays to do some adventures with the boys. We had a half converted van, now with enough seats, and it was in a usable state to enable us to pack the bikes inside the van and get on to some adventuring.

But there was a hiccup. Two weeks before the holidays, Evolution Vans had a slot available to finish the roof bed they hadn’t completed when they were fixing the roof that they’d bodged 🙈. I wasn’t too concerned, most places would only need a van in for a couple of days to complete this job… Unfortunately for us, a series of issues (anyone surprised?!) meant that the van wasn’t ready until the very last day of the Easter holidays. So much for some far flung adventures in the van this holiday 😭.

We grabbed the van as early as we could on the Friday morning (post on the van update coming soon), and bought her home ready to fill up with bikes (and plenty of water and bribes!!!) Now, off for our first mountain biking adventure…!!!

Once everyone and everything was packed and secured in the van, we headed out to Swynnerton Old Park, full of excitement. We were a little concerned that by this point on a dry day, especially being the last day of the holidays, that the car park would be rammed and we’d have to go home, but it was desolate! The road just beyond the car park was closed, perhaps the road closure signs had put people off? Or perhaps every other parent who had been able to get out with their children this week were thoroughly knackered and taking a day off? Either way, it was a welcome sight, and we parked beside another a camper van. The boys even pointed this out – “now we can go on adventures in our camper van too!”. They were right, it’s far from finished but it’s now usable, and this was our first ‘van required’ adventure! Of course, I couldn’t help but photograph this special occasion!!

I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous about this ride. Not for any of the reasons I’ve mentioned before, like the dangerous roads where we live. No, this time I was blissfully carefree of the liklihood of child/vehicle related accidents, and more concerned with whether I could keep up with my energetic boys… And whether I would bounce as well, if I came off, as I did when I was a teenager. Highly unlikely! 😅 Personal fears aside, it was nice to be free of worries about my children’s safety for a change and get to watch them enjoy themselves without me watching out for cars like a hawk.

I’ll admit, I had some trepidation about how my youngest would handle proper off-road biking. I don’t think I’ve done anything beyond bumpy field rides since I was at school, and my husband’s only been mountain biking a handful of times in all the years we’ve been together. My eldest had been once before with Dad earlier this year, and I wasn’t too worried about him – mostly because I’d had a glowing report on how well he’d handled it.

But my youngest? Apart from a few daring swoops down local fields, he’d never really done anything like this.

So naturally, I assumed I’d be sticking with him at the back – you know, keeping things steady, cheering him on, using him as my excuse for taking it easy.

Turns out, I was entirely wrong.

Not only did he fly ahead, I was left pedalling behind as the official slow mum. No child to blame, no one to slow me down – just me, freaking out alone at the back, trying not to look completely out of my depth. 🙈

So enough feeling sorry for myself, let’s get back to the ride! Dad had decided to follow the perimeter route we’d previously walked. I was hesitant because some spots were quite narrow with spike trees trying to grab you, but apparently this is all part of it! Note to self, buy a long sleeve t-shirt! It was along this first half that my youngest absolutely tore away from us. He is utterly fearless, and was absolutely loving the undulating landscape and the thrilling downhill sections. I was just amazed at how different he was from the road ride the other day, and even he said this was way more fun and he was so glad he came! My eldest actually was the more cautious of the two, despite his extra biking trip earlier in the year! Either way, it was great to see I wasn’t alone at taking my time around all the tree roots and random tree trunks that tried to kill me at several points along the way 😂

Of course, what comes after numerous downhill sections? Lots, and lots, and lots, of uphill sections. And uphill sections that were difficult enough walking, were made even more difficult when you’re also trying to push up a bike. Some of the sections were just far too narrow to cycle without smashing your peddles, and try as we may, the steep climbs were often just too steep for us noobs to cycle. At this point, we started to have some quibbles from the youngest: he really doesn’t like the uphills!

At the top he re-energised with some well prepared bribes and plenty of water, and by that point, he was well up for some more fun! As we continued along the flat pathway, we found some other trail entrances and gave them a whirl. These ones were more geared up for mountain biking (the previous circular being popular with walkers and riders), and a lot of fun was had by the boys. These were also more manageable – shorter down hills and shorter uphills, so enthusiasm was high! Even when we were overtaken several times on the uphills by the same guy on an e-bike! 😂

Another couple of miles later and we were all ready to go home. Mountain biking is tiring! But most importantly, no one could wait until we could get back out on our bikes again – even with each of us bringing home a little reminder of the day with us (cuts, grazes, bruises and nettle stings! 😅) Winner!

I discovered that my youngest is a carefree daredevil with absolutely no fear, even when he came off after a steep descent followed by a tight bend, he was totally blasé about the fall, hopped back on and got going again like it was nothing. My eldest, the more cautious, took his time on the descents but boy did he show strength, endurance and determination when it came to getting up the hills without having to get off his bike! And I discovered I’m a total wimp. But I definitely finished a little braver than when I started, and even I’m excited for another 2-wheeled adventure!

And what about the boys? What were their thoughts? Well, they both loved it and can’t wait to get out on another ride either! Amazing!

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Ride Summary

Distance: 5.76 miles

Difficulty: Intermediate (Unofficially: mix of blue and red trails)

Surface: Mainly forest single track, with some gravel paths. The area features a variety of trails, including steep downhills, fast bermed sections, and rooty singletracks

Elevation Gain: 200m

Suitability

Suitable for children? Recommended for older children with some experience (or no fear!)

Skill level needed? Intermediate

Facilities

Parking: Some parking along the lane in, but a good sized (if not pot-holey) car park can be found at ///clown.shovels.dawn

Toilets: No toilets available

Cafe/Refreshments: No cafe available

Other Information

Entry Fees: None

Opening Times: Open all year round, no formal opening hours. Daylight hours are recommended for safety.

Best Season to Ride: Late spring to early autumn (can get very muddy after rainfall)

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Have you ridden this trail with children? Share your tips or experiences in the comments!