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You don’t have to chase medals to enjoy cycling: from Cornwall to Cumbria, discover a new route – and catch the season’s standout events
It’s a bonanza on wheels at the moment – with so many international cycling events in full swing including road races, time trials and all the unmissable action in the velodrome.
But you don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy life in the saddle – and for anyone who fancies taking to the open road (or one of Britain’s many off-road trails) there couldn’t be a better time to have a go.
A fabulous suburban spin, fit for families with smaller children, that
runs along part of the old Wolverhampton to Dudley railway line. The Kingswinford Railway Walk section runs from Himley into Wombourne: it’s traffic-free, and the surface is wide and ideal for all types of bikes.
Along the way, you’ll pass through Himley Plantation, a wood full of oak and sycamore trees with a number of picnic spots. The ride can also be doubled in length by joining the South Staffordshire Railway Walk, which terminates in north Wolverhampton.
More West Midlands routes are available on the OS Maps app.
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places to explore
Light fantastic
Get closer to nature on a
bike ride
Kingswinford Urban Escape, Staffordshire – 4 miles
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Don’t miss
The Platform, a popular cycling café in Wombourne set in a lovingly restored railway station, which serves great (and reasonably priced) breakfasts and lunches.
Get involved: Summer of Cycling
Embrace the joy of pedal power by attending or participating in some of the events and taster sessions taking place all over the UK this summer. Here’s a small selection...
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KETTLE® Chips is the official supporter of British Cycling. The partnership aims to inspire Britain’s families to get outside and take part in a whole series of UK-wide biking events in this Summer of Cycling. There’s something for every age and stage – from beginners and kids right up to serious road races. And if you prefer solo or family cycles, British Cycling also offers scores of great rides with plenty of handy information about each route and levels of difficulty.
So why not go along and join in the fun? Enjoying the wind in your hair and a restorative post-ride bag of KETTLE Chips shared with family and friends makes for the perfect day out. Here are eight bike rides to get you started, plus some great British Cycling events you won’t want to miss…
Fun times
Cycling with the family keeps children happy
and parents fit
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Long view
The South Staffordshire Railway Walk is a striking cycle route
Sussex secrets
Left, the moated Michelham Priory; cycling birders on the Cuckoo Trail may spot its namesake
The Cuckoo Trail makes use of another former railway line, taking its name from an old Sussex tradition of releasing a cuckoo at the Heathfield Fair.
The route runs from Heathfield to Polegate through a green corridor of broadleaf woodland, open grassland, arable farmland and pasture. Listen for woodpeckers, dunnocks and bullfinches.
Dotted along the route are carved wooden seats using oaks felled by the great storm of 1987, plus striking metal sculptures by local artist Hamish Black. A three-mile extension now continues to central Eastbourne via Shinewater Park.
The Cuckoo Trail, East Sussex – 11 miles
Michelham Priory in Hailsham, a historic house and remains of an Augustinian Priory, surrounded by the longest water-filled medieval moat in England.
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Don’t miss
A hugely popular route, from Padstow to Wenfordbridge via Wadebridge and Bodmin, which takes in some of Cornwall’s finest scenery.
The path passes through the wooded countryside of the upper Camel Valley and alongside the Camel Estuary – an area of outstanding natural beauty and wildlife haven, particularly for birds. It’s largely traffic-free and there are picnic spots along the way, plus bike hire in Padstow and Wadebridge if you don’t have your own.
The Camel Trail, Cornwall – 17.5 miles
Charming Wadebridge is about a third of the way along if you don’t fancy the whole stretch, and is full of cafés, bars and restaurants.
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Don’t miss
by bike
this summer
Making tracks
The 26-mile Marriott’s Way is suitable for more intrepid cyclists
A cycle and footpath trail running alongside the nine-mile length of the 15-inch gauge railway from Aylsham, just north of Norwich – where KETTLE Chips are made using local potatoes – to Wroxham, on the edge of the Norfolk Broads.
It’s a picturesque route that hugs the Bure, a rare chalk stream river, for part of the journey. Even better, bikes are welcome on the Bure Valley Railway line for a small charge, meaning you can cycle one way and catch the steam train back.
There are also intermediate stations at Brampton, Buxton and Coltishall. Aylsham station has a good café, while Coltishall has an excellent riverside pub, the Rising Sun. More intrepid cyclists can pedal all the way from the centre of Norwich to Aylsham off road via the 26-mile Marriott’s Way.
Great KETTLE Potato Ride, Bure Valley Path, Norfolk – 9 miles
Wroxham is dubbed the capital of the Norfolk Broads. You can take a boat tour from Wroxham Bridge or hire one of your own.
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Don’t miss
Lake land
You can tour Coniston Water on its Victorian steam yacht, Gondola
Coniston Water in the Lake District was the inspiration for Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons. It used to have its own railway line and village station, but they were decommissioned in 1958.
Parts of the old track into Coniston village have since been converted into a bike path, and you can cycle further along the shore and through Torver Wood to the village of Torver. It’s an easy route perfectly suited to beginners. Bikes can be hired at Coniston Boating Centre.
The Coniston to Torver Trail, Cumbria – 6 miles
Coniston has a steam-powered yacht, so you can also tour the lake where Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record (more than once).
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This popular traffic-free ride begins in Leeds city centre and winds its way west out of the city, along the towpath of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, to the Unesco world heritage site of Saltaire.
The route passes the Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills, medieval Kirkstall Abbey, through Bramley Fall and Rodley Nature Reserve, then ancient woodland to the bustling market town of Shipley and – just beyond – Saltaire. This Victorian model village boasts a major art gallery featuring more than 400 works by David Hockney as well as boutique shops in listed buildings.
Leeds to Saltaire,
West Yorkshire – 13.3 miles
Board the quaint restored Victorian tramway in Saltaire to the beauty spot of Shipley Glen with an Edwardian sweet shop at the top.
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Don’t miss
The Ridgeway National Trail is a historic footpath that stretches for 87 miles across southern England, from the Unesco world heritage site of Avebury in Wiltshire to the ancient hill fort of Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire.
The Phoenix Trail is an offshoot – a traffic-free cycle route between Princes Risborough in Bucks and Thame in Oxfordshire, two lovely market towns. The flat, well-maintained path provides fine views of the Chiltern Hills, making for a lovely, chilled ride with red kites circling overhead.
The Phoenix Trail, Oxfordshire/
Buckinghamshire – 7.5 miles
The route features a series of 30 artworks inspired by the old railway and the Chilterns landscape.
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Don’t miss
Eye in the sky
Look out for red kites as you traverse the Phoenix Trail
Bright turn
The ride takes in the old Colinton Tunnel and Scotland Union towpath
This route offers a superb traffic-free, family-friendly urban pedal through Edinburgh’s grand history. It begins just outside the Royal Scottish Academy on Princes Street, then follows National Cycle Network Route 75 up The Mound to the Royal Mile and across the Meadows before picking up the Union Canal towpath just after Bruntsfield.
Across the canal it follows the Water of Leith through the Victorian Colinton railway tunnel. Here you have a choice to grab a drink in The Spylaw pub or a coffee in the café, or push on another five miles to Balerno. The National Trust-run Malleny Garden there has one of the largest rose collections in Scotland.
Edinburgh to Colinton, Scotland – 5 miles
The once dilapidated Colinton Tunnel has a mural running its entire 460ft length, inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem From a Railway Carriage.
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Don’t miss
Summer of Cycling supported by KETTLE, August and September
A calendar full of FREE experiences for children and young people. British Cycling clubs are putting on traffic-free group rides, fun coaching and entry-level racing for all bikes and abilities. Visit British Cycling’s web page to find a club near you.
British BMX Championships, August 24-25
This event will take place once again at Derby BMX Club. Expect to see some powerful racing as Beth Shriever and Quillan Isidore compete to retain their titles for the third year in a row.
Blackpool Ride the Lights, August 27
Enjoy the famous Blackpool Illuminations along the traffic-free promenade for one night only. It’s free and a great way to get out as a family. Maybe design your very own Illuminations display for your bike? Light your ride... then ride the lights.
Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, September 3-8
The 20th edition of Britain’s biggest free-to-attend sporting spectacle takes in the Scottish Borders, Tees Valley, South Yorkshire, west Northamptonshire and east Suffolk, with hundreds of thousands of cycling fans expected to line the streets.
British Heart Foundation London to Brighton, September 15
The UK’s mass charity bike event for all comers features everyone from road racer wannabes to postal workers on their bikes, charging 54 miles to the coast. An off-road version is held the following weekend.
Safety first: keep an eye out for potholes – they are extremely dangerous.
Carry a bike repair kit or a spare inner tube. Punctures aren’t fun.
Set your bike up properly before you leave. The right saddle height will help avoid injury and ensure you cycle efficiently.
Check over your bike regularly: adjust the brakes and oil the chain. Keeping tyres at the correct pressure protects from punctures and ensures a smoother ride.
Carry a lock. Don’t pop into a shop without locking it: a bike can be gone in a jiffy.
Be sure to eat and drink enough to replace the energy and liquids you’re using to ride. Why not pack a picnic with your favourite flavour of KETTLE Chips to enjoy on your favourite route.
Take a look at British Cycling’s Insight Zone.
Tips for a wheely good time
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For more information on rides and events, go to britishcycling.org.uk/summerofcycling
Don’t miss
Living history
Salts Mill is an icon of Yorkshire’s industrial heritage
Estuary accents
Right, the Camel Trail runs through
an area of outstanding natural beauty
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