Cycling UK Forum

Can anyone tell me the quietest route from Oakham to Stamford please..either north of south of Rutlandwater..dont mind a bit of offroad riding..avoiding A roads..dont mind pavements though if in the country..

There's a nice backroad; Burghley->Exton->Tickencote->Stamford. It's pretty obvious on the map. I ride it a lot and it's very nice.

I've cycled a bit of boblo's route and the roads N of the A606 are good and quiet. Nonetheless, you may want to include some of Rutland water.

There is a bike path all the way round Rutland Water. This means that you can choose N or S.

If you come out of Oakham following the A606 you can quickly pick up the N path. You could follow this towards the Eastern end of the lake then head N to pick up boblo's route. The cycle path starts as a path next to the road, then gets off road with wooded stuff, etc. One surprisingly short steep hill. Then you get to the visitors centre, etc. You'll need to look at a map to work out where to cross the A606 to link up with boblo's route

Personally, I think I would go south. You can either aim to pick up the round lake path as soon as poss by coming out on the A606, or follow the cycle path along the A6003 and then pick up the round lake path later. I rode it a couple of weeks ago and continued on the A6003 (narrowish and can be busy at weekend) and followed it to the rail bridge where I picked up the lake cycle path up to the Jockey and Groom pub..

From the pub, a fair bit of the South cycle path is on road or next to road, it then drops down to become an off road route. You may want to stay on the road and continue to Edith Weston, then pick up the road to Ketton and on to Stamford.

Its a bit hard to explain in text, so have a look at a map - even the Google map will do.

Generally, following the off-road lakeside parts of the path will be on gravel or mud surfaces and can be a lot longer as it winds its way round the shore.

Enjoy.