Hi Chris - I recommend you give Black Desert Training a call (run by ex-Dakar riders Craig Bounds & Tamsin Jones) - they are based in South Wales near Merthyr Tydfil, and have a range of bikes available - including some smaller stuff as they are involved in various kids/teenage projects too, which in turn means they have access to private land - handy for beginners/non-full licence riders...

To be perfectly honest, if what you want is to mess around and get muddy, and of course hopefully learn a few skills along the way - then doing something like that on a private site is better than arsing about on green lanes which is only going to fcuk it up for people who like to trail ride sensibly - no offence intended, but the reason so many lanes are now closed is because some riders don't consider the environment they are in, think they are enduro gods, make too much noise, ride too fast, and basically cause conflict with other users...

Going on a dedicated course is ideal for a beginner and someone new to the whole 'off-road' thing in general - you'll learn great bike skills, and hopefully the difference between riding 'off-road' which is on a dedicated course like a motocross track where pretty much anything goes, and 'off-tarmac' which is an unsurfaced 'road', where prudence ought to be applied...

Hope that helps.

Jx

__________________
"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com