Sarn Helen, Follow the Romans

Following in the footsteps of the Romans, from Conwy to Swansea. Around 200 miles, an epic Welsh coast to coast with the Sarn Helen Bikepacking Route. This one is a great challenge, but it is just that it’s wales after all, the trails are rugged rocky and not always ridable (Them Romans were never known for smooth roads) There is plenty of hike-a-bike and plenty of technical trails to overcome on this one. But when you make it, ohh does it feel so good. And for all the hardships you will go through on a ride like this there are some incredibly old trails to ride along. Think of all the journeys that have been made using these old Roman roads, and now you.

Its long its tough so I think bringing the gravel bike on this one is only going to make your life a lot harder and less enjoyable, there are plenty of steep rocky trails that a good MTB will play into your favour. And besides you can really enjoy some of the descents on a MTB, not so much on the gravel bike.

It gets slow-going at times this one, with long hike a bike sections, sometimes that just because it’s really steep sometimes that is because it just too rocky to get up so a good 4–7 days is probably what you will need for a route like this.

Being wales it likely you will have a bit of everything when it comes to the weather especially as you head up high so make sure you are prepared for that, carry the correct kits and make sure you can carry a good couple of days worth of food. Also, a filter along this route is a good idea as there is lots of streams to collect water from.

This one is going to be a challenge but a rewarding one for sure.