| As far as the bike in the piccie goes...CRF 250/450 is a great bike. I currently have a DR350, but hope to swap to a CRF 250 in the near future. Trust me, if you are new to off-road riding, you don't need 450 cc's!!!
As for places...your kind of half right...the ridgeway is closed from October till April...yes a big chunk of the year, but don't let the buggers grind you down. Its not all of the lanes that are now closed...if you have an OS map to hand and are willing to explore a little, its still possible to go out for the day and do a good few miles all off road.
In and around Oxfordshire we have been hit quite hard with the new laws regarding the Byways etc...but there is still a strong group of riders determined to keep going. | 
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