Introducing FoD Pocket Trails App

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We've built something new, and we're rather proud of it.

FoD Pocket Trails is a free app for anyone riding the Forest of Dean — and the whole point is that it works when nothing else does. No signal out in the trees? Doesn't matter. Once it's on your phone, the entire guide is there whether you've got bars or not.

Because let's be honest: the moment you actually want to check a trail grade, or how far's left on a loop, or which way the Freeminers goes — that's exactly when you're deep in the forest with no reception. This fixes that.

What's in version 1

We've packed a lot into this first release:

Emergency, front and centre — it's the first thing you see. One-tap 999 and Forestry England, the Cycle Centre's exact location to read out, nearest hospitals, and a "Show my location" button that gives your precise coordinates to read to 999 or text to a mate. It works completely offline, which out here genuinely matters.

Check before you ride — a direct link to Forestry England's live trail status, plus a snapshot of recent ride reports from local riders, so you know what you're rolling into.

Ride Now — the bit we're most pleased with. Tell it whether it's been dry or wet and how long you've got, and it suggests what suits right now. It even shows roughly how much usable daylight is left in the forest, so you know whether there's time for another lap.

Every official trail — Old Bob's, the Verderers, the Freeminers and the Family Trail, with grades, distances, times, features and honest local tips.

All 14 downhill tracks — colour-graded, each with a description of what to expect and a link to a POV run on YouTube so you can see the lines before you drop in.

GPX routes — download the Verderers, Freeminers and Family Trail straight into Trailforks, Komoot or your Garmin for turn-by-turn navigation.

Know the rules — clear, local answers on e-bikes, dogs, closures and keeping the forest clean. The stuff the big global apps tend to get wrong.

Plus — on-site info (café, hire, parking, facilities, uplift), a pre-ride checklist, a plain-English glossary of trail speak, and first-aid basics.

How to get it

It's free, and there's no App Store involved. Just open fodpockettrails.netlify.app on your phone and add it to your home screen — full instructions are on our Pocket Trails App page. You'll get the boar on your home screen and it opens full-screen like any other app.

This is version 1 — tell us what's next

We're calling this version 1 deliberately, because we've got ideas for where it goes next, and we'd genuinely like yours. Ridden with it? Found something missing, or something wrong? Let us know — this gets better the more riders shape it.

One thing to remember: FoD Pocket Trails is a reference guide, not a substitute for checking the live trail status before you ride. Closures and diversions change; always check before you set off.

See you in the forest.

Paul