by Nick Cotton
Publishers description
Cycling is one of the most pleasant ways to enjoy the British countryside, but it is not easy to decide where to go or to devise your own route. Cycle Tours takes the effort out of planning your trip. First, each of the 14 on-road and 9 off-road routes is introduced with facts about the distance, the degree of difficulty, the nature of the terrain including the big hills you will encounter, the nearest railway station, where to park your car, where to start and places of interest and refreshment on the way so that you can choose a ride to suit your ability and mood. The junction-by-junction instructions are combined with highlighted Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 Landranger map extracts to make route finding straightforward.
The road rides are about 48-60 km (30-38 miles) long, and the off-road rides are about 24-32 (15-20 miles) . These distances can be covered in 2-3 hours by a cyclist pedalling nonstop or 3-4 hours by a fit cyclist, or could be made into a day ride for moderately fit cyclists or anyone interested in a leisurely jaunt, stopping at places of interest and for refreshments. For this reason no times are given for the rides, although it is important to remember that the time taken to do an off-road ride in good weather could easily be doubled in wet, muddy conditions.
The aims of the rides differ: some go to attractive villages or towns, some to places of interest, some have a pub or teashop as their highlight, others are simply a celebration of the British countryside as seen from its quiet lanes and bridleways. If the have a linking theme, it is minimise the time spent on busy roads, which are not the domain of the touring cyclist, and to maximise time spent on minor roads where there are fewer vehicles or on legitimate, rideable off-road tracks.
The guide also offers information on preparing your bike for a ride, what to wear, what to take with you and how to get your bike to the start of the ride.
Featured routes Road rides
- Rolling lanes across Anglesey (35 miles)
- In and out of the Conwy Valley (42 miles)
- Through the Clwyd Hills, north of Denbigh (33 miles)
- Hills, forests andreservoirs, southwest of Denbigh (34 miles)
- Lakes and passes in the Berwyns Mountains (34 miles)
- Along the Ceiriog Valley, west of Oswestry (29 miles)
- Through the Cheshire Plain and around Whitchurch (29 miles)
- Into the hills above the Dovey Valley from Machynlleth (38 miles)
- Hills and reservoirs, east of Aberystwyth (37 miles)
- Towards the source of the River Severn, west of Llanidloes (27 miles)
- Bishop's Castle, Montgomery and the Kerry Ridgeway (38 miles)
- The Long Mynd, from Church Stretton (23 miles)
- Steep Welsh Border countryside north of Knighton (32 miles)
- Tributaries of the River Teme, west of Ludlow (29 miles)
Off-road rides
- Into hills above the coast to the west of Conwy (18 miles)
- Mountain tracks and a Roman road near Betws-y-Coed (14 miles)
- Two waymarked routes in Gwydir Forest Park, Betws-y-Coed (11 and 8 miles)
- The heart of the Clwyd Hills, west of Nannerch (18 miles)
- East of Ruthin into the southern Clwyd Hills (19 miles)
- Into the Berwyn Mountains, west of Oswestry (12 miles)
- Along the Mawddach Estuary, west of Dolgellau (27 miles)
- The Dovey Estuary and Happy Valley, west of Machynlleth (15 miles)
- Vyrnwy Valley and Dyfnant north of Llangadfan (21 mies)
Product details
- Spiral bound: 128 pages (March 11, 2002)
- Publisher: Philip's OS Publications
- ISBN: 054082104
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