My Recommendations

with so much choice, it can be hard to deicide which route to take on, so here are my recommendations. I will give you 3 recommendations for the best beginner routes one from England one from Scotland and one from wales and then finally my top 3 routes of all time, let’s start in Scotland with a beginner route.

Scotland - Loch Ness - I think a good starting point for a beginner bikepacking route in Scotland is actually going to be one I completed recently, bikepacking around Loch Ness it is only a short route at 80 miles with some steep climbs and epic views but if you want to explore a little beautiful part of Scotland then riding around Loch Ness is a great place to start without throwing yourself into the deep end of Scottish bikepacking. It will give you a good taste of what to expect when you venture further into the bikepacking world.

England -The norths downs way - The north downs way is going to be my recommendation for a great beginner route in England. It’s a great fun route with lots of fun trails, it’s well signed posted and can be ridden most of the year. With some beautiful views and a chance to ride through some beautiful blue bell filled woodland, if you take this on at the right time then it’s such a great choice. Top tip, if you're leaving the country by ferry you can extend this route down to Dover.

Wales - The Gower - Wales and beginner routes don’t really exist, but the easiest route and the most beginner-friendly fun bikepacking route I think I took on and would recommend would be The Gower, a short route perfect for an overnighter in wales. It’s wales but less remote, less rugged and less brutal. But equally beautiful.

Best route recommendation

My three favourite routes from around the UK that I think are a must-do are ….

The second city divide - I’d highly recommend this one tarting in Glasgow and finishing in Manchester, 360 miles of pure joy, well nearly, more like 300 miles of pure joy, then the not so fun Pennine bridle way to finish off. The second city divide is an example of gravel bike heaven, with endless wide gravel roads through the wind farms and floe descents with mountains either side of you. Unlike a lot of routes in the UK this one isn’t afraid to just use the road sometimes which means you get to experience some incredible flowing roads with great views, and don’t worry because the road sections are not busy with traffic they are quite country lanes. It keeps the ride moving and feels like you are making good progress, meaning you can enjoy stopping off a jumping in the streams and rivers to cool off if you need to.

Yorkshire dales 300 - The Yorkshire dales 300 is a fantastic route exploring the Yorkshire dales, with lots and lots of fun riding and exploring. It was one of them adventures that you go on and just love every minute of it, yes it’s tough there is lots of climbing and the trails are a little rough especially if you take this on, on the gravel bike. But I loved riding this route, from the old Roman roads to the fast flowing descents to the wild camping, it was a bikepacking adventure that just felt perfect for me. The old Roman roads, well not known for their smoothness, offer you a chance to really let go of them breaks and descend FAST. The trails are most of the time nice and wide, which makes finding the perfect line all that easier. And there are so many places to camp with incredible views looking over the dales.

The Cornish delight - Yes, I am a little bias with this one because I created it myself, but it’s bikepacking trip with a purpose to get a real Cornish pasty. The Cornish delight, an adventure from Bournemouth to Padstow through some of my local favourite trails. A route you will travel along the Jurassic coastline to Exeter, before a nice flat cruise around the cycle path around the estuary before heading into Dartmoor from some open rugged beauty and some epic gravel roads. Before testing, your legs on some Cornish steep country lanes, don’t worry though I have given you a nice easy flat finish along the camel trail. It is probably my favourite coast to coast bikepacking route that I have done, so I recommend it, especially if you like Cornish pasties.