Did you know that the 9th -17th June is Bike Week? Nope, neither did I! For us, bike week’s tend to be when we are away in Ruby the VW Campervan, (previously Bluebell the Motorhome). In fact one of the very first gadgets we brought for Ruby when we bought her last year was a towbar and an Atera Strada DL3 Bike Rack, a phenomenal piece of kit, which usually attracts a lot of attention onsite as Keith effortlessly tilts the rack (with bikes on) back several times a day to enable us to get into the tailgate boot.
For us when we go camping, we like to pitch up and not have to move the van for the duration. We use the bikes to get us to and from the local town or city for supplies and a look around. We also LOVE cycling on converted disused railway lines, now made into bridleways, or canal towpaths – traffic free routes are so relaxing and enjoyable, that now we actually base our holidays on where there are traffic free cycle routes to enjoy.
To celebrate Bike Week, and to accompany my recent “Top 10 Campsites for Walkers” blog post, I thought I’d share with you our favourite campsites that have direct or very close access to Cycle Routes in the UK.
- Caravan and Motorhome Club, Lady Margaret’s Park Club Site, Chirk for the Llangollen Canal Towpath and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. 9 Miles each way
We actually only recently discovered this gem of a club site, however the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct has been on our list of places to visit for a long time now. The site is conveniently located to access the canal and is about 3 miles cycle to the UK’s longest and highest aqueduct. You can carry on to Llangollen for an extra 4 miles. The canal path itself is breathtaking. It’s a popular route but one worth doing. In the opposite direction from the site you can cycle (or push your bike rather!) though the impressive Chirk Tunnel.
2. Devizes Camping and Caravan Club Site for the Kennet and Avon Canal Path and Caen Hill flight of locks and Devizes in one direction and Bradford on Avon in the other.
This campsite is open all year round, in fact we visited in winter and enjoyed a crisp winters day cycle. The route to Caen Hill Locks is only about 3 miles, and pretty good surface. The locks are fascinating to see and there is a lovely tea room at the top.
3. Beech Croft Farm for the Monsal Trail 8.5 miles each way
We’ve developed quite a liking for cycling old railway paths – largely because they tend to be flat, or have a very gentle incline, which makes for happy cycling. There are quite a few to choose from in The Peak District, but we think we like The Monsal Trail the best as it links two interesting and pretty market towns, Buxton and Bakewell (which of course is home to the famous Bakewell Pie. The Monsal Trail also has some beautiful scenery and some impressive tunnels which you can cycle through.
4. Heath Farm CL Norfolk for the Bure Valley Way 9 Miles each way
This is one of our local ones and if you time your ride well you will be lucky enough to experience a steam engine or five choo choo past you, as this line still runs providing leisure rides mainly at the weekends. Our favourite bit is the approach to the very pretty waterside town of Wroxham where you can pick up some delicious fish and chips and enjoy them overlooking the broads.
and whilst you are in this neck of the woods, just 5 miles away is
5. Breck Farm or Attlebridge Station CL for the Marriots Way 26 Miles each way
Breck Farm is a fabulous little campsite with a lovely sunset, and although we haven’t stayed at Attlebridge Station CL its on our list for this year as it looks superb. The converted station has been done amazingly well. The Marriotts Way links Norwich with Ayslham, so it’s possible to cycle for a day trip to Norwich from here. There is a fabulous railway museum and cafe just down the road too. The position of both sites is right in the middle of the Marriots Way so it’s perfect to break into two 13 mile each way days.
6. Canterbury Park and Ride Motorhome Stopover for The Crab and Winkle Way 7 Miles each way
First of all, a huge well done to Canterbury Council for having the business sense to allow motorhomes to park overnight in their park and ride facility for a small charge! We really enjoyed our couple of days in Canterbury, a highlight of which was our bike ride on the Crab and Winkle Way – an off road paved track all the way to the seaside town of Whistable. If you’re an oyster lover – this is a heavenly place to have your lunch!
7. Armley Lodge CL for Rutland Water 17 Miles circular
Rutland Water is a large man made resevoir in the East Midlands. It’s used for watersports, cycling, walking and is a hive of activity year round. You can either hire bikes there or take your own, and the paths are a mixture of Tarmac and loose sand/stone so hybrid or mountain bikes are best.
8. Grafham Water Camping and Caravan Club Site for Grafham Water 10 miles circular
Along with Alton Water (below) this is another Anglian Water reservoir/water park. There are 10 miles of offroad track and the campsite is lovely too. If you re into Geocaching there are also loads and loads to find on this trail. Grafham water is also used for trout fishing and we had some wonderful local trout that we brought from a house down the road from the campsite.
9. The Brair Campsite for Alton Water 8 miles circular
The Briar is a lovely little C&CC club site just 3 miles on a very quiet road from Alton Water. There is also a lovely pick your own fruit farm in the same village and the owner makes some wonderful marmalade which he sells. Alton Water was an enjoyable cycle and you pass a wonderful wild flower field on the way round. Just lovely.
10. Glen Nevis Campsite, Fort William for Neptune’s Staircase and The Great Glen Way on the Caledonian Canal Up to 72 miles linear, but we did about 8 miles each way.
It’s taken us about 5 trips to Scotland before we actually used our bikes! When we think of Scotland, we think of huge mountain ranges and none bike friendly (well for us anyway!) hills. It took at least 5 trips through Fort William before we stopped at Neptunes Staircase and realised that actually there was a really beautiful canal towpath we could follow (which was obviously.. flat!) The campsite is nestled right under Ben Nevis by the way – so you could attempt to climb it whilst staying there.
As you can see, where we take our doggie with us on all these trips and he sure doesn’t half get some attention on the way. Many people stop us and ask where we got our dog basket from. It’s from Amazon (link below) and as you can see, he loves it!
We are aware there are hundreds of other enjoyable off road cycle trails. We use this book to plot and inspire us,
We are always on the look out for new sites/cycle combinations, so where is your favourite? Let us know – our list is always growing!
Until Next Time
Lx
Just ordered the book from eBay … £1.95 😀. Only done around Rutland Water and Monsail so far …
Have a look at Kielder Water … that’s a good’Un but harder than you would think.
Ooh lots of ideas here. We went on the Pontcysyllte viaduct last year but stayed on a camping and caravan club temporary holiday site quite a way from there. We had to get there via the Horseshoe Pass which has spectacular views (not by bike I hasten to add, our motorhome struggled up the hills never mind us on a bike. Another great place for cycling is North Wales. There’s a Haven site just on the outskirts of Prestatyn next to the sand dunes. It has a nice section for tourers and you can cycle for miles on the National cycle route from there. You can go from there all the way to Conwy without going on the roads right by the sea.
Ah lovely. I’d recommend that site at Chirk the stretch from Chirk to Llangollen is absolutely spectacular. A real favourite cycle we’ve done. We fancy revisiting Conwy so will check that out x
Cobleland Forestry Commission site near Aberfoyle has a walk/cycle path into Aberfoyle, but only a couple of miles!
fab, will add it to the list! thanks Lx