Cycling at Alton Water - Great Family Day Out

By Miriam Spall from Wheretotakeourchildren.co.uk

We headed to Alton Water at 11 am on a Sunday, it was forecast to be cloudy all day, we did have a few drops of rain at midday but then it stopped and it was a nice and pleasant day.

We took Alex’s bike with us, but the attendant said Alex wouldn't go too far with his stabilisers as the trail required a two wheeler bicycle. We decided to hire a Mountain bike (£8) with a Trailer (£6) for Damian and Alex and a Mountain bike (£8) for myself. Alex absolutely loved it..!

Apparently there are two routes, Route A (easier route) and Route B (more challenging route), we of course, took the easier route! It had small hills here and there but generally was a smooth and enjoyable ride.

I have to admit I was quite nervous as I hadn't ridden a bike for around 5 years and never had the greatest of balance, but I managed ok. We had to ride on the side of the road for part of the cycling circuit if we wanted to avoid the more challenging trails, only 3 cars passed by us whilst we were riding on the road which made it less stressful for me.

Make sure you carry some change with you, we passed by a house that had a small fruit stall outside their gates with a small tin where you could leave £1.20 for a bowl of raspberries, but we only had notes! So we missed out on the treat.  Fortunately there were loads of ripe wild blackberries which we enjoyed picking. There is also a nice pub (The White Horse) on the way if you fancy taking a break and going for a drink.

We stopped for a picnic by the water along the route before continuing our journey to the café where we had ice cream and a drink at their outside tables facing the lake.

Verdict:

We loved it; great family fun there is a spacious car Park and a cafe with panoramic views across the water.  Easy enough to ride for non very confident cyclists, Alex had a big smile all the way through, and loved to be pulled around, he enjoyed the natural trail, picking blackberries, finding sticks on the woods and having a picnic near the lake. A fun enjoyable day out that doesn't cost the world, especially if you bring your own bikes.

For more information visit their website at

http://www.altoncyclehire.co.uk/index.html