England

Part of United Kingdom

Why cycle in England?

England doesn’t have Alpine passes, but it does have climbing that you won’t soon forget: short, venomously steep and often with stunning views. In addition, you’ll find rolling hills with villages of honey-colored stone, vast meadows, and an endless network of narrow country lanes and unpaved bridleways. And it’s close by: with the night boat to Hull or Harwich, you’ll be on your bike in the morning.

The most beautiful cycling areas

Lake District

Together with the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales, it is the most beautiful cycling area in England, and the steepest. Between the lakes and the fells lie Hardknott and Wrynose, the steepest roads in the country, and classics like Kirkstone Pass above Windermere. The climbs are short and treacherous, the views almost dramatic. In May, thousands of cyclists take part in the Fred Whitton Challenge, one of the toughest tours in England. And in July 2027, the second stage of the Tour de France will start in Keswick, towards Liverpool.

Start your trip in Ambleside, for example at Copper Pot Café (open from 09:30). Keswick is a typical Lake District town with plenty of places to have lunch, such as Merienda.

Yorkshire Dales

Ten north-west of Leeds lies the Yorkshire Dales: green valleys, stone walls and rugged hills. The national park covers over 1,700 square kilometers, with good roads for the bike and plenty of unpaved terrain for gravel and bikepacking. The Buttertubs Pass is famous from the 2014 Tour de France, and the Kidstones Pass is also a classic. Sleep in Hawes or Bainbridge, where you can have a beer after the ride from the Yorkshire Dales Brewery. Read our story Enjoying cycling in Yorkshire: more than Harrogate.

Peak District

The Peak District, the first national park in England in the 1950s, is located in Derbyshire between Manchester and Sheffield. In the north lies the rugged Dark Peak, with Kinder Scout (636 meters) as the highest point. In the south lies the lower White Peak, with limestone plateaus. The climbs have names to remember: Winnats Pass, Mam Tor, Snake Pass, the Cat and Fiddle, and Holme Moss, 4.7 kilometers at 7% with sections up to 14%, known from the 2014 Tour de France. For gravel there are car-free paths over old railway lines, such as at Tideswell and Millers Dale.

Bakewell (famous for the cake) is a nice start, at SUMMAT Café, with a group ride on Saturday at 9:00 am. In Hathersage you can have a good lunch. Read our story Cycling in the Peak District: peak hunting in England.

Surrey Hills: cycling from London

South of London lie the Surrey Hills, which have become world famous since the 2012 Olympic Games. Box Hill, via the Zig Zag Road, is 2.5 kilometers at 5%: not a monster, but the region’s most challenging climb, with a nice view at the top. Don’t be fooled: a 60-kilometer round trip on Coldharbour Lane, Anstie Lane, and Leith Hill will take you up 1,000 meters. You start in Leatherhead or Dorking, about an hour from central London. In the city itself, you drive around in Richmond Park, a car-free loop of over 10 kilometers.

Read our stories Surrey: the cycling area south of London and Cycling in London: our guide to a cycling weekend in the city.

The South Coast

Along the south coast you drive over the chalk hills of the South Downs, with Ditchling Beacon in Sussex as the most famous climb: just under 10% average, with stretches up to 16% and on top views over the rolling countryside. Further to the west lies the New Forest, flat and wooded, with freely roaming ponies, and behind it the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast. Ideal if you come by boat via Harwich.

Devon and Cornwall

The southwest is rugged and steep. On Dartmoor and Exmoor you drive over open heather, along the coast the short, steep climbs from bay to bay follow one after the other. The north coast of Cornwall is one of the most beautiful and toughest stretches of England, with many meters of elevation per kilometer. Exmoor and the Quantock Hills are also beautiful on gravel. And right in the west lies Land’s End, the starting point of the famous LEJOG to John o’Groats in Scotland.

And more

The Cotswolds are ideal for relaxing bike rides from village to village, with honey-colored houses and a pub or tea house at every corner. The North York Moors have new gravel routes and are accessible by train. And along the Hadrian's Wall you cycle from coast to coast.

The best climbing in England

English climbs are short but venomous. Box Hill is the most famous, but certainly not the hardest. A few that you should have ridden:

• Hardknott Pass (Lake District): the steepest road in England, with sections of around 30%.
• Kirkstone Pass (Lake District): from Ambleside up, with a view over Windermere.
• Buttertubs Pass (Yorkshire Dales): known from the Tour of 2014.
• Holme Moss and Winnats Pass (Peak District).
• Ditchling Beacon (South Downs) and Box Hill (Surrey Hills).

Read also Mountain biking in the United Kingdom: 5 alternatives to Box Hill and 10 race bike and gravel routes in England.

Race bike or gravel bike?

With the race bike you ride over narrow country roads and short, steep climbs: expect many meters of elevation gain per kilometer. For gravel, the bridleways and byways are ideal, unpaved paths where you can ride your bike. They run through meadows, past fields and through forests, but can be muddy after rain.

Your Cycling base

Ambleside and Keswick They are the cycling towns of the Lake District. In the Yorkshire Dales you sleep in Hawes of Bainbridge, in the Peak District in Bakewell of Buxton. For the Surrey Hills, you are in good hands. Dorking of Leatherhead, Or you can combine it with a weekend London.

When are you leaving?

April to October. In the spring the embankments are full of flowers; in September it is quieter. It can rain at any time of the year; always bring a rain jacket.

Travel tips

• Driving on the leftIn England you drive on the left, even on a bicycle.
• WeatherAlways bring a rain jacket and an extra layer, even in the summer.
• Narrow roads: Many country roads are narrow, with high hedges and little visibility. Drive carefully in the curves.
• Cafe cultureEnglish cyclists like to stop. Almost every village has a bike-friendly café or tea house, and a pub after the ride.

How do you get there?

With the night boat from Rotterdam to Hull (for Yorkshire, the Peak District and the Lake District) or from Hoek van Holland to Harwich (for the south). With the Eurostar you are in London in four hours. You can fly to Manchester, Leeds Bradford or London.