The fastest way to get my two stepsons to switch off their PlayStations is to suggest a bike ride in the New Forest.
They spend most of their lives confined within fixed boundaries, closely supervised by adults. But once in the woods, Eddie, 9, and Harry, 11, are unleashed and free to go at their own pace, even if that means pedalling way ahead and out of sight.
They sometimes complain about walking a quarter of a mile to the shops but recently rode 36 miles in an afternoon, sustained only by the promise of an ice cream.
We do sometimes ride to school but the journey is almost all on-road and accompanied by lots of tense barking of commands as we dodge the mums in their people carriers. On the New Forest’s 100 miles of cycle tracks, the only risk of collision is with deer leaping out from the wild rhododendrons. We can live with that risk.
There have been a few cuts and bruises, and one very nasty gashed lip, as the boys learnt how to control their bikes on the rough tracks. But giving them freedom has turned them into skilful cyclists, and they punctuate our rides with heart-stopping jumps and 180-degree skid-turns.
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Our favourite section of the forest is the triangle created by drawing lines between Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and Beaulieu. There are numerous routes but we tend to choose one with a good pub, picnic spot or some other diversion. The Otter, Owl and Wildlife Park at Deerleap is a favourite, especially if we are there at feeding time.
The boys could tell you the locations of the ten best rope swings over the forest’s rivers — their current number one is near Ipley Cross and requires a precise launch to avoid crashing back into the oak tree from which the rope hangs. The tips of the pines marking the start of the New Forest sway alluringly over our neighbour’s roof in Dibden Purlieu. Yet escaping into this haven is not easy as the A326, one of Hampshire’s most dangerous roads, cuts us off.
In a couple of years’ time, the boys will be confident enough to ride across the A326 roundabout and along the forest roads, where the 40mph speed limit is widely ignored and almost 100 ponies, donkeys and cattle are killed each year.
But until then a simple family cycle outing involves squeezing four bikes on to a towball-mounted rack and setting off in the opposite direction before we can join the road that winds towards the dozens of free forest car parks.