Hopton Woods MTB Red Trail Review: Is It Family-Friendly for Young Riders?

Saturday 16th August 2025. Today we’d decided it would be an MTB day. On Friday evening we looked at other MTB options near us. We frequent Hanchurch a lot as it’s our nearest, and we’d done Cannock Chase last weekend. I fancied a change, so we checked out some other Shropshire options – there aren’t many, but two sites came up with recommended MTB trails: Eastridge and Hopton Woods. Dad did his due diligence and found some YouTube videos, and after watching one chap compare both, we opted for Hopton. Eastridge looked far more rooty, and when the presenter mentioned “a mammoth hill called Goliath” that even he hated, it was a no-brainer (at least according to our 9-year-old 😂).

Being a Forestry England site we thought we’d get more bang for our buck with our pass, but actually Hopton Woods is free to park! Winner! Before leaving we checked the Forestry England website and saw that the “warm up” blue route and mini red circular were closed. A shame, because I do like a little blue before I hit the red, but hopefully next time it’ll be open (apparently closed due to storm-damaged trees being cleared earlier in the year). It took us 90 minutes to get there, about half an hour longer than Cannock, so we had everything crossed it wouldn’t be a disappointment.

After coming down some tight lanes we finally reached the site, which itself ended with another very gravelly, bumpy lane to the car park – but with amazing views, so the slow going wasn’t so bad 😂. The car park wasn’t huge. When we arrived there were only a couple of cars – one was leaving and another pulled in as we unloaded the bikes. We thought we’d soon bump into them but we never saw another soul. Even when we returned, the car park was empty. If you’re after a quiet MTB ride, this is the place!

The red route starts from the car park and immediately throws you down some narrow, gravelly descents with steep drops, but it’s only about 0.7 miles long. There we met a diversion sign. The red was declared “fully open” back at the car park, but we decided to play it safe and follow the diversion. It led us onto a flatter section that joined the fire road. We followed this for some time, uphill – so long in fact that we began to question if we’d missed the sign to get us back on the red route!

We did eventually find the red route sign (hopefully we didn’t miss too much?) and climbed some more. We climbed. And climbed. And climbed. Honestly, it went on for almost 2 miles and it wasn’t much fun. Our 9-year-old was getting tired and fed up, but luckily we had Flix Mix bribes! We stopped halfway when the little one’s derailleur pin came loose – thankfully we caught it in time, tightened it, and had no more issues. Eventually we made it to the top and enjoyed a well-earned break, taking in a stunning view.

Being at the highest point (Garmin even gave me a “highest elevation” achievement 😂) we figured it would be all downhill from here… Around 4km in, with 8km still to go, we passed a shortcut back to the car park. I scoffed, “Why take that after smashing all those hills? I’d rather have 8km of fun than rush back.” Famous last words. Let’s just say, I wish I’d taken it 😂.

It started off fine, with some fun downhill, albeit very fine sand and gravelly with hundreds of trees roots. At one point C came off and got twisted with and stuck in his bike, but we got him back on his feet and like a little trouper he jumped back on and was ready to continue. At this point I was sent ahead to record the husband and C as they made the descent, and I had a terrible time coming down, sliding all over the place, and was thankful to get to the end of the section without taking a tumble myself (and believe me even I was shocked at this!).

I’m not very good at this stuff, it’s as new to me as it is the boys, but I hope that as we get out more, I’ll eventually get better – the boys are definitely getting better, just at a much faster pace!! 😂

This led into a more gravelly downhill through the trees, which C and Dad loved so much they hiked back up to do it again, while I sat at the bottom, thankful I hadn’t died, with my camera 😂.

Then – more uphills. Which felt wildly unfair after that earlier two-mile slog, but there you go. Thankfully another downhill appeared, this one with a table top – something new for C and I! Dad and C loved it, riding back up repeatedly while I eventually called time on filming as we still had some miles to go and didn’t want everyone to be worn out. C declared it his favourite section and said if he could skip straight to it, he’d just ride here all day.

Not long after, another long, steep climb – over 1.3 miles – where we spent more time pushing than pedalling. I felt for C: 20″ wheels and 6 gears make for hard work, and I didn’t envy him. We really need to stretch him onto a 24″ ASAP. He was knackered, but we eventually found a flatter section with some rolling ups and downs, and a couple of steep, gravelly drops. C and I bailed on those, manhandling our bikes down instead – we were both tired and fear was creeping in!

And then… another climb. Yes, really. Around a mile, finishing especially steep. C was close to tears and I wasn’t far behind. Even Dad admitted it was tough. I told him this was the hardest route we’d ever done. The uphill to downhill ratio felt way off – more slog than fun. More Flix Mix was devoured before a final flat-ish stretch (still slightly uphill, cruelly noticeable in our tired state). The route ended with a final downhill back to the car park – fun, fast, and the perfect reminder of why we love MTB, not just the endless hills.

So – the red route at Hopton Woods. Family-friendly? I’d say no, not really. Maybe if your children are older and more experienced, yes. I’d like to build up more miles with my lads, get C on a bigger bike, and maybe come back in a year. Dad and S struggled at Cannock the first time, but now they crush it. I’m hoping Hopton will be the same. For me, the sheer volume of hills sapped the fun. Even my usual positive affirmations I continually bellow at C on uphills ran dry. E-bikes would be a game-changer here! Hopton also felt much more technical than Cannock: rooty, slippy, more drops, and did I mention the roots? 😂. As a mum there were several moments my heart was in my mouth watching C near steep edges, but of course you swallow the warnings so you don’t pass on your fear 😅.

For all the hills, roots, and the fact I was almost broken, I still enjoyed Hopton Woods. It was blissfully peaceful – we saw no one, heard no one, just stunning views, birdsong, and (OK, fine) plenty of heavy breathing up the climbs 😂. I’m not in a rush to return though – I prefer routes with a more even mix of up and down – but once we’ve got more strength and experience, we’ll definitely be back. 💪