Off road trails similar to South Downs Way?
Discussion
Hi all,
first post in PP, so be gentle.
Last year me and a friend cycled the South Downs Way (train & camping), and about 4 years ago we did the Wessex way as part of a charity bike ride (hostels and minibuses).
I want to sort oute something similar this year, and could do with help identifying likely routes to investigate.
We can do about 40-70 miles a day
We want to stay off the roads wherever possible
We don't mind a challenge re: hills, but probably want to keep out of the mountains for now
My mate is in London, I'm near Gatwick, so South / SE would be preferable, but obviously I've got to be flexible with this.
I'd rather do a "challenge" than just meander round in a circle for 2 to 3 days. Having said that, camping on the bikes was a good laugh, so anywhere with decent scenery and a pub nearby would probably get us by.
So, with that in mind, I've seen quite a bit of coast to coast up North, and Coast to Coast in Devon, but both involve a lot of travelling to get there, which will eat into our time actually riding.
I know there are national cycle routes listed on the sustrans website, and I've riden some from Surrey down to Eastbourne, but I recall quite a lot being on the road (though maybe I remember wrong..).
Does anyone have any good ideas, or share some routes they've done that loosely fit the above aims?
One option would be to just cycle it the other way, or to re-do parts of the SDW / WW, but I figure the country is big enough to not have to cycle the same bit again.
Cheers,
Ian
first post in PP, so be gentle.
Last year me and a friend cycled the South Downs Way (train & camping), and about 4 years ago we did the Wessex way as part of a charity bike ride (hostels and minibuses).
I want to sort oute something similar this year, and could do with help identifying likely routes to investigate.
We can do about 40-70 miles a day
We want to stay off the roads wherever possible
We don't mind a challenge re: hills, but probably want to keep out of the mountains for now
My mate is in London, I'm near Gatwick, so South / SE would be preferable, but obviously I've got to be flexible with this.
I'd rather do a "challenge" than just meander round in a circle for 2 to 3 days. Having said that, camping on the bikes was a good laugh, so anywhere with decent scenery and a pub nearby would probably get us by.
So, with that in mind, I've seen quite a bit of coast to coast up North, and Coast to Coast in Devon, but both involve a lot of travelling to get there, which will eat into our time actually riding.
I know there are national cycle routes listed on the sustrans website, and I've riden some from Surrey down to Eastbourne, but I recall quite a lot being on the road (though maybe I remember wrong..).
Does anyone have any good ideas, or share some routes they've done that loosely fit the above aims?
One option would be to just cycle it the other way, or to re-do parts of the SDW / WW, but I figure the country is big enough to not have to cycle the same bit again.
Cheers,
Ian
There's the Ridgeway or the Ridgeway Double if you fancy something a bit longer.
http://ridgewaydouble.net
I'm planning on doing the double this year some time, just not sure when yet.
http://ridgewaydouble.net
I'm planning on doing the double this year some time, just not sure when yet.
Ridgeway has a nice campsite at the Eastern end, handy for a go at the double...
Look up the Capital Trail, starting and finishing Edinburgh. Ideal 2-3 day adventure.
Also have a look at mtbepics site: www.mtbepicsuk.co.uk/gps/
Look up the Capital Trail, starting and finishing Edinburgh. Ideal 2-3 day adventure.
Also have a look at mtbepics site: www.mtbepicsuk.co.uk/gps/
piecost76 said:
North Downs Way
That's not a bad shout. I've rode the section from Farnham to BoxHill last year and it was pretty good. Quite a few sections of it are footpath so shouldn't really be cycling on them but I did it midweek and there was next to no-one about. The few people I did see on the footpaths didn't seem bothered at all about me being there.
The West Highland Way is a great bike trip. It'll go in a (very) long day but it works really well as a two or three day trip. Do it South to North, then get the overnight sleeper back down to London.
96 miles all in, but with a fair amount of ascent and a mandatory pushing/carrying section on the shore of Loch Lomond. A lot of people hate that part but I quite enjoy it as it's interspersed with some lovely pieces of trail
The Capital Trail is another good shout, but it's very dependent on a good spring to dry the trails out, or a harsh winter to freeze them. It would probably work best as a two day ride, or two and a half at most.
96 miles all in, but with a fair amount of ascent and a mandatory pushing/carrying section on the shore of Loch Lomond. A lot of people hate that part but I quite enjoy it as it's interspersed with some lovely pieces of trail
The Capital Trail is another good shout, but it's very dependent on a good spring to dry the trails out, or a harsh winter to freeze them. It would probably work best as a two day ride, or two and a half at most.
Edited by AlasdairMc on Sunday 21st February 23:00
The Downs link is a bit dull - although I have done a charity ride on it for about 4 years so maybe as a one-off it would be ok.
It's an old railway line, so there aren't many proper hills, they are gradually resurfacing it so a full on mtb isn't necessary (some sections I think you could take a 23 mm road bike on if you were careful!) and when you are in the cuttings you can't see a lot. There are some good pubs on the route, and there is a London-to-Brighton off road route which takes in some of it, and at the southern end you cross the SDW which means you can branch out there for some proper off-road stuff.
It's an old railway line, so there aren't many proper hills, they are gradually resurfacing it so a full on mtb isn't necessary (some sections I think you could take a 23 mm road bike on if you were careful!) and when you are in the cuttings you can't see a lot. There are some good pubs on the route, and there is a London-to-Brighton off road route which takes in some of it, and at the southern end you cross the SDW which means you can branch out there for some proper off-road stuff.
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