Your favourite routes

[BeccieA]

Hi all. I'm Rebecca, if you use the Cycling UK website you might recognise my name as I write regular articles. I'm putting together an article highlighting 25 routes to ride in 2025. I thought it would be nice to include a selection of favourite routes from forum members.

If you've got a favourite route that you'd like to share please do let me know by replying to this thread. The route name, a website if it's got one and why it's a favourite of yours would be perfect. Any that are included will be credited. And if I get more replies than I can include I'll put a link to thread in the article. Thank you!

[cycle tramp]

Hello - How long can the route be? A day ride, a weekend or even a few days?

[gaz]

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[rogerzilla]

Dunwich Dynamo? Although, to be honest, the A104 bit is horrible, especially now there's a cyclepath (losing priority at every side road) which drivers expect you to use, plus we always take a slightly different route from North Weald Bassett to Moreton to avoid congestion.

[Carlton green]

It’s a long time since I’ve done it but consider the Wiltshire Cycleway. Various start points along the route plus good train links for those in London to travel out to various start points on - or indeed to just do sections of the route.
https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/12 ... e-Cycleway

[Nearholmer]

Does “route” here mean “named and curated route”, or is it any route?

Judged by frequency of use, my favourite two would be from home to two different shops, each less than 2 miles away, but I’m thinking that perhaps the members of CUK might not want to know about those routes.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Not sure whether you're just looking at the UK, but I rode the Velosud - a new signposted French route across the foothills of the Pyrenees - last autumn and it was magnificent. A perfect combination of country lanes, rail trails, medieval towns and some really stunning mountain scenery, but the hills were forgiving enough that I could ride it on a folding bike. Deserves to be much better known.

https://cycle.travel/route/pyrenees_coast_to_coast

[Manc33]

Snake Pass, by a country mile (pun intended). No other place like it anywhere near where I live.

[BeccieA]

Hello - How long can the route be? A day ride, a weekend or even a few days?

It can be any of these! I'm including family-friendly routes, long distance, weekend, accessible, bikepacking - pretty much everything.

[BeccieA]

Does “route” here mean “named and curated route”, or is it any route?

Judged by frequency of use, my favourite two would be from home to two different shops, each less than 2 miles away, but I’m thinking that perhaps the members of CUK might not want to know about those routes.

Should have said I meant leisure routes! You probably wouldn't want your home as the start of a route on our website either! But if you do have any favourite named leisure routes, please do share!

[Manc33]

Anyone's favourite route surely would always include a lot of countryside?

Another one I like is Sandhill Lane and it's quite flat and easy:

Down Compstall Road (B6104)
Left onto Glossop Road (A626)
Right onto Sandhill Lane (dangerous turn on a bike - good hearing, wits and speed needed!)
Keep following that and it turns into New Mills Road (but you're on the same road).
At the end you're in Chisworth. Left is back towards Marple and Compstall. Right is to Gamesley and Glossop.

Parts of that are quite dangerous though (A626) but along Sandhill Lane is great scenery.

There's next to no traffic along there too...

[AndyK]

This is still one of my favourites, as published on the Cycling UK website, though the description could do with a bit of an update on the cafe/pub information. Happy to supply it if you can get that page amended.
https://www.cyclinguk.org/routes/vale-white-horse

[roubaixtuesday]

But if you do have any favourite named leisure routes, please do share!

If you're after named routes, then the Monsal Trail is excellent, Bakewell to Buxton(ish) feat. tunnels and magnificent views, including Monsal Head from the viaduct.

The Tissington Trail isn't far behind, and both are easily within the capability of quote young children for family rides.

Both can also be done one way with roads the other way for more variety (and a lot more hills).

At the other end of the scale, the route of the Fred Whitton Sportif is magnificent but very, very hard indeed.

[phil parker]

It’s a long time since I’ve done it but consider the Wiltshire Cycleway. Various start points along the route plus good train links for those in London to travel out to various start points on - or indeed to just do sections of the route.
https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/12 ... e-Cycleway

I will second this route, and I did this recently (last April) over two days and will probably do it again this Spring. I should have probably completed it many years ago as I live close enough to a start point to make logistics easy. Completing it in April allowed me to take advantage of the comparatively cheaper accommodation at a Premier Inn, close to what was to be my halfway point. Although I would happily take a tent and camp overnight if necessary.

They are very pleasant and mostly quiet roads with potential to stop and visit/photograph places of interest (I must do a video/slide show next time), and there is no real difficulty or hilly sections, so long as you are conditioned to the mileage, I would consider it a 'moderate' route over two days, and 'challenging' over one day (at least at my stage of cycling!). It will also be pleasant and leisurely to complete in more than two days if logistics are not an issue.

I will add some more of my recent favourite routes to this thread later (time to go for a cycle ride now the sun has just come out!)

[Paulatic]

So many favourites but because I think I’ve done this route far more often than others I will pick
Haltwhistle to Alston along the South Tyne Trail https://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/hom ... ycle-route
Great views along the way, steam trains and cafe at the Alston station and if you time it right the Wallace Arms is open on the way back
The break in the trail at Lambley Viaduct spoils it for very young children. Having to negotiate the steps or use the road with hills. They’ve probably gone far enough by then anyway and can do the section to Alston another day.

The access by the house at Lambley viaduct has rumbled on for years and is a great shame it’s still not resolved. There was a good discussion on it here a couple of years ago where the OP, I believe, had the thread removed. I was given no explanation after asking why?