Travelling by bike is the finest way to explore back-road Britain. Away from the busy main highways there’s a web of quiet country lanes leading through fields and peaceful villages, ideal for touring by road bike or mountain bike. Off-road riders can go further into the wilds on the many tracks and bridleways that cross Britain's hills, forests and high moorland areas.
The opportunities are endless – whatever your energy and enthusiasm. You can amble round flat lanes and tracks, taking it easy and stopping for cream teas or pub lunches, or you can thrash all day through hilly areas, revelling in steep ascents and swooping downhill sections. You can cycle from place to place, either camping or staying in B&Bs (many are specifically ‘cyclist friendly’). Or you can stay somewhere for a while and go out on day-rides in different directions.
Wherever you go, your first stop should be a local Tourist Information Centre – they all have leaflets on suggested cycling routes, plus detailed maps and guidebooks. They can also tell you where to hire bikes, find repair shops and so on.
Useful organisations include the Cyclists' Touring Club (www.ctc.org.uk) – Britain’s leading recreational cycling and campaigning body. Your other good friend on two wheels is Sustrans (www.sustrans.org.uk) the originator of the National Cycle Network – a fantastic system of signposted cycling routes covering the whole country.
Some of the best places for cycling include: the South Downs, Dorset, Wiltshire, the New Forest, the Cotswolds, Derbyshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, the Marches (the borderlands where England meets Wales), Mid-Wales, Anglesey, the Gower Peninsula, Scotland’s southern Lowlands and southern Uplands, Skye and the Outer Hebrides. But those are just ideas. With a map and a sense of adventure, the rest is up to you!
For loads more info, check out our Cycling section.