5 of the Best Cycling Holidays in the UK
My first cycling holiday in the UK was around 8 years ago shortly after joining Breeze the UK's biggest programme ever to get more women riding bikes for fun and fitness. I have enjoyed annual cycling holidays ever since. You could say, I got a taste for it and my annual cycling weekends became almost as important to me as my family holidays. In 8 years of cycling holidays just one holiday was abroad and interestingly, we experienced the worst weather that year in Majorca. We were approaching The Luc Monastery when some locals advised us to head back down the mountain, because torrential rain was coming and to cycle through it would feel as though we were cycling down a river on slick tyres. Yikes! We followed their advice and sheltered in Pollenca for the storm to pass. It certainly added a bit of drama to the whole experience.
While this has certainly not deterred me from cycling abroad, I am more inclined to book longer breaks to factor in the ever changing weather patterns. There are still so many beautiful regions that I haven’t yet explored yet right here on our doorstep in the UK.
Based in Yorkshire, Seafern Adventures are perfectly placed to offer cycling holidays that enable our guests to explore the Yorkshire Dales, the Yorkshire Coast and the Cumbrian Lake District. It is no surprise that these feature in our list of the best cycling holidays in the UK.
- Yorkshire
- Lake District
- Scottish Highlands
- Northumberland
- Cornwall
- Yorkshire
The largest county in the UK offers such a variety of cycling landscapes to explore. Steeped in history and rich in natural beauty, North Yorkshire is home to the stunning Yorkshire Dales, the brooding North York Moors, and a rugged coastline dotted with charming fishing villages.
Host to the Tour de France, the Yorkshire Dales National Park isn’t just a fantastic location to travel to with your bike, but it now has its own place in cycling history. The Way of the Roses, a very popular coast-to-coast cycle route also passes through Yorkshire.
One of our favourite routes is:
Burnsall and Bolton Abbey Loop
This scenic mountainous region in northwest England is one of the most popular locations for cycling holidays in the UK. The area is blessed with sixteen lakes in total with largest being Windermere. UNESCO selected the area as a World Heritage Site in 2017, which speaks volumes of its natural beauty and unparalleled cycling routes.
A popular route and one we use on our 3 day cycling holiday is:
Coniston, Windermere & Southern Lakes
- Scottish Highlands
The breathtaking Scottish Highlands have their fair share of scenic cycling routes. Cycling here provides the opportunity to visit the world famous Loch Ness and Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest mountain! The North Coast 500, a 7-day road cycling tour is an extreme challenge for experienced cyclists, but there are sections of The Caledonian Way that are very doable for novice riders. The Caledonian Way will always hold a special place in my heart for the stunning scenery, Ben and the beautiful lochs. If you are lucky with the weather this Scottish landscape is every bit as beautiful as the Italian lakes.
Favourite route:
- Northumberland
Northumberland is an excellent destination for cycling, offering a wide variety of terrain for all skill levels, from the coastal Coast and Castles route to the challenging mountain bike trails in Kielder Forest. The Coast and Castles South route is a great introduction to long-distance cycling. It’s one of the UK's easier, but no less epic, long-distance routes. Along the way, you’ll pass several areas of outstanding natural beauty, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, and Bamburgh Castle. This 192-mile route starts at Newcastle and finishes at Edinburgh, making an easy one to do self guided by arriving and departing by train. Watch out for bollards on the cycle path around Almouth, it’s easy to get taken away with the stunning views and take you eye off the path ahead.
Find out more at the Walk Wheel cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans) website:
- Cornwall
Cornwall is a stunning place to take a cycling holiday in England, thanks to its warm climate and beautiful beaches. You might be surprised to know that the option to challenge yourself is also there since Cornwall is home to some of the toughest climbs in the UK. Save for a few flat, family friendly sections of cycle path there isn’t a moment of flat, and on the coastal roads especially you are presented with repeated short, very steep climbs in and out of beautiful little villages.
The hills make Cornwall an e-bikers paradise to be enjoyed outside of the peak holiday season, because the county's road network is famously ill-equipped to deal with the volume of tourists that descend to the seaside towns every summer. The traffic free Camel Trail from Wadebridge to Padstow is well worth incorporating into a ride.
Routes to try:
