Cardinham Woods Reviews Summary

Category: National forest

Address: Bodmin, PL30 4AL, United Kingdom

Phone: +44120876787

Rating: 4.7
based on 327 reviews.

Trails and Walks

Pros:

  • "Beautiful forest with walking and riding trails."
  • "Lovely woods with a clear stream running through, where me and my little boy had a little walk through."
  • "The woods are lovely with wide smooth tracks as well as 'off road' trails for mountain bikers."
  • "All the trails are well laid out and there are lots of options to suit different abilities."
  • "Beautiful woods with fantastic trails that go round a large stream."
  • "A range of walks through these beautiful woods, along well maintained and generally stable paths."
  • "Great place to walk through the woods, excellent paths, different walks to suit all abilities."

Cons:

  • "The only negative thing is the parking fees (£3 for 0 to 2 hours) which is unnecessary considering the fact we visited in peak season over a weekend and there was plenty of space for cars."
  • "We did fail to find the view point on the blue walk, so that could do with improving."
  • "The routes seems to be made with a bulldozer, they like normal routes and at some places looks like they wanted to create four lane motorway or something."
  • "The trails are long but you can opt out at the next cut off point."
  • "It's a short 8mile mixed blue/red route, with lots of climbing up valley sides, and not much in the way of technical sections."
  • "The whole place is very steep and the trails have lots of switchbacks both up and down hill."
  • "On the trail there are a couple of bike tracks cutting down and across path again it would be good if there were signs to warn you as bikes appear out of nowhere."

Cafe and Food

Pros:

  • "The cafe is also amazing and there are plenty of picnic tables."
  • "There is a lovely selection of food on offer, the corrination chickpea is amazing, as is the carrot cake."
  • "The cafe here is always a high point. They make lovely sandwiches and cakes."
  • "Cafe does amazing sausage rolls and drinks."
  • "The cafe was fantastic with extremely friendly staff."
  • "The autumn colours were glorious. We did the 4 mile trail the paths are well managed."
  • "The cafe served us a really lovely scone and carrot cake."

Cons:

  • "But the staff in the cafe were very rude and kept bothering us whilst the kids played and dogs had a run."
  • "Ate at the cafe and I was a bit disappointed with the ploughmans particularly for £8.95."
  • "Honestly fetching your own drinks from 'round back' ain't no good."
  • "The service was a little slow at the café even though it wasn't that busy so I would consider avoiding peak times."
  • "Cafe with nice cakes but a little dearer than a lot of cafes."
  • "The forest is beautiful. And the cafe is extremely expensive! £25 for two hot chocolates and two ham sandwiches!!"
  • "Cafe was slightly expensive for a latte its around £3.50 and comes in the smallest cup so bring your own refreshments and food as you could happily spend all day there."

Parking and Accessibility

Pros:

  • "Plenty of parking with toilets."
  • "Big car park, pay and display, although members park for free."
  • "Parking is 3 quid for 2 hours - free if you're a member."
  • "Parking is reasonably priced and can use Ringo to pay for parking."
  • "The parking at Cardinham Woods is 5 pounds for the day which is not bad."
  • "Good parking, fair fee."
  • "Decent size car park, little pricey but all very well maintained."

Cons:

  • "Lovely place but can get very busy, and dog owners have an attitude problem with kids on bikes."
  • "However beware as you'll also find an expensive car park, lots of dogs off-lead."
  • "Parking was fine when I went, I used the Ringo app but to get a signal you need to stand at the rangers office at the car park entrance."
  • "Car park, not free, is small so get there early as it gets full quick."
  • "Expensive parking if you're just having an hour on the bike."
  • "2 stars due to a 'not fit for purpose' parking system. A no cash system relying on contactless payments and a signal for woodland in the middle of nowhere is not the best idea."
  • "Parking prices have increased by quite a lot since last visiting not sure if machines except money or you have to pay by card."

Facilities and Amenities

Pros:

  • "Off road mobility scooter can be hired for disabled use."
  • "Self serve dog wash."
  • "Car park is looked after the toilets are clean."
  • "Facilities are good and there's a changing room and toilets."
  • "Café on site, kids play area, picnic benches and toilets available."
  • "Facilities for less abled as well."
  • "There's a cafe (lovely cream teas!), toilets and self service dog wash (£7)."

Cons:

  • "The playground was a little too advanced for a 2-year-old but he loved the slide."
  • "Only problem was nothing our young lad could / would eat at the cafe. Needs gluten free and has a learning difficulty."
  • "Very crowded, poor access (road blocked by traffic), car park rammed, far too many dogs around the cafe area."
  • "Small park at the end but my daughter aged 8 found this boring. So aimed at younger kids."
  • "But prices are high and so much disposable waste.. everything is in paper/cardboard."
  • "Lovely place to chill and run energy off the kids. Well set out and toilets near by. Only criticism and 3 stars was for the amount of wasps around children play areas."
  • "Possibly not suitable for toddlers and younger children without constant supervision."

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