I spend a lot of time cycling around Britain researching bike routes, mostly for Cycling Plus magazine. All posts (243 in total) are listed below. Incidentally, all these trips are undertaken by train and bike; I don’t have or use a car.
- Lowther Hill: Scotland’s biggest climb on the radar
Scotland’s highest cyclable tarmac road is, delightfully, closed to motor traffic. It’s the access to a NATS air-traffic control radar station and… - NCN7: Killin me softly, and a date with Callander
The twentyish miles between Killin, on the end of Loch Tay, and Trossachs-gateway Callander, are some of my favourite bits of the… - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch to Gorsafawddachaidraigddanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion 2: Steep hills and barmy bridges
Resuming my trip between place names so long it may be quicker to ride it than say it, I set off from… - Llŷn Peninsula 2: Not dodging Storm Lilian
It blew up, literally, about half four in the morning. The wind abruptly swung from the west and now, unshielded by the… - Llŷn Peninsula 1: Dodging Storm Lilian
It’s all gloomy December days right now – grey, blustery, drizzly, cold – which is annoying, as it’s August. The forecast last… - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch to Gorsafawddachaidraigddanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion 1: Dog and Porthmadog
I’m in North Wales, doing Britain’s longest possible bike ride. Not distance, but word length: from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch to Gorsafawddachaidraigddanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion near Barmouth, fifty-odd…
- 12 Lochs 2: Katrine to Lubnaig 27 July 2024
- 12 Lochs 1: Rusky to Katrine 26 July 2024
- Kirkpatrick Macmillan 3: Leadhills to Glasgow 25 July 2024
- Kirkpatrick Macmillan 2: Keir Mill to Leadhills 24 July 2024
- Kirkpatrick Macmillan 1: Dumfries to Keir Mill 23 July 2024
- Ulverston: Velo Retro retrospective 3 June 2024
- WoR 1970s 1: Morecambe to Malham 8 April 2024
- WoR 1970s 0: There in black and white 7 March 2024
- Smallest Church to Biggest 2: Chester to Liverpool 22 February 2024
- Smallest Church to Biggest 1: Rhos to Chester 21 February 2024
- Blackpool: Light entertainment 11 December 2023
- Bennerley Viaduct: It’s irony 17 November 2023
- Seven Summits: High achievements in the North Pennines 17 August 2023
- Canterbury ales: Kent beer-hop 7 May 2023
- Birds Trail 2: Down to the reserves 23 March 2023
- Birds Trail 1: Hiding in Norfolk 22 March 2023
- Painters Trail 2: Marginal Gainsborough 21 March 2023
- Painters Trail 1: Arresting Constable 20 March 2023
- Highest pub to lowest: Tan Hill to Marsden Grotto 10 February 2023
- Paris 3: Royalty-free images from Versailles 7 November 2022
- Paris 1: Chasing clouds of the world’s first bike race 5 November 2022
- Liège 3: Stairing into space 3 November 2022
- Liège 2: Down-to-Ourthe alternative to Bastogne 2 November 2022
- Liège 1: Maastricht treat 1 November 2022
- Manchester: Bee prepared 26 August 2022
- Portsmouth: Naval gazing and seaside scoots 7 August 2022
- Isle of Wight 2: Red Squirrel Trail 6 August 2022
- Isle of Wight 1: Round the Island 5 August 2022
- Otterburn Ranges: Remote possibilities 1 August 2022
- Wilts White Horses: Chalking up all eight 17 July 2022
- Wye 4: Ross to mouth (to Chepstow) 15 July 2022
- Wye 3: Hay to Ross 14 July 2022
- Wye 2: Llangurig to Hay 13 July 2022
- Wye 1: (Borth to) Source to Llangurig 12 July 2022
- Dales Wild Swims: Shoot to chill 8 June 2022
- Utrecht: Goodbye motorway, hello bike paths 27 May 2022
- Amsterdam: Scenes from a cycle city 26 April 2022
- Prague: A1 time along the Vltava 25 April 2022
- Chepstow: Wye oh Wye 27 March 2022
- Herefordshire 3: Golden opportunities 26 March 2022
- Herefordshire 2: Ley Lines and Elgar 25 March 2022
- Herefordshire 1: Here in black and white 24 March 2022
- Wild Swims 2: Ingleton to Hawes 17 March 2022
- Wild Swims 1: Morecambe to Ingleton 15 March 2022
- Sandringham: Right royal ride 12 January 2022
- Holme Fen: Lowest of the low 11 January 2022
- Stilton: Say cheese 11 January 2022
- Dumfries 3: Full tilt on empty roads 25 November 2021
- Dumfries 2: Ae grade 24 November 2021
- Dumfries 1: Flat calm along the Nith 23 November 2021
- Kidderminster 3: Canal plus 15 November 2021
- Kidderminster 2: Clee facts 14 November 2021
- Kidderminster 1: Down to the Wyre 13 November 2021
- Bournemouth 2: Poole party 9 November 2021
- Bournemouth 1: Wide ride beside the seaside 8 November 2021
- Clitheroe 3: Centre of attention 23 October 2021
- Clitheroe 2: Every witch way 22 October 2021
- Clitheroe 1: Magic moors 21 October 2021
- North Wales Coast 2: Tiny houses, miracle wells 16 October 2021
- North Wales Coast 1: Sunny Prestatyn to Llovely Llandudno 15 October 2021
- Blackpool: A towering ride 7 October 2021
- Bridgwater 3: Gorging on Cheddar, rescuing sheep 4 October 2021
- Bridgwater 2: Rain can’t spoil my positive altitude 3 October 2021
- Bridgwater 1: Quantocky surveying 1 October 2021
- Dorchester 2: Footing the Portland Bill 30 September 2021
- Dorchester 1: Hardy country. But which Hardy? 29 September 2021
- Hadrian’s Food Wall 3: Carlisle to Newcastle 22 September 2021
- Hadrian’s Food Wall 2: Ravenglass to Carlisle 21 September 2021
- Hadrian’s Food Wall 1: Bowness to Carlisle 20 September 2021
- Berwick: Borderline brilliant 16 September 2021
- Stevenage: On trains, chaos rains 14 September 2021
- Matlock 5: Bamford Clough, Britain’s new steepest uphill 10 September 2021
- Matlock 4: News Flash from Tour of Britain 9 September 2021
- Matlock 3: Top entertainment 8 September 2021
- Matlock 2: Double thanks for the memory 7 September 2021
- Matlock 1: Trail mix 6 September 2021
- Aberystwyth: Net profit 18 August 2021
- Nottingham: Ye Olde Trip to Beeston 6 August 2021
- Northampton 3: Rain men 30 July 2021
- Northampton 2: Village people 29 July 2021
- Northampton 1: Railtrails, reservoirs and forest roads to boot 27 July 2021
- Birmingham: More cycle paths than Venice 26 July 2021
- Thirsk: Hidden bridges, collapsing walls, secret sculptures 8 July 2021
- Geneva to Florence 5: Newport to Florence 5 July 2021
- Geneva to Florence 4: Welshpool to Newport 4 July 2021
- Geneva to Florence 3: Elan Valley to Welshpool 3 July 2021
- Geneva to Florence 2: Geneva to Elan Valley 2 July 2021
- Geneva to Florence 1: Carmarthen to Geneva 1 July 2021
- Hexham 4: Along the Tyne to the Toon 10 June 2021
- Hexham 3: Pennines mightier than the sward 9 June 2021
- Hexham 2: Wall in a day’s work 8 June 2021
- Hexham 1: Beer in abbeyance 7 June 2021
- King’s Lynn 4: Fen and games 14 May 2021
- King’s Lynn 3: Pedalling Peddar’s 13 May 2021
- King’s Lynn 2: Chelsea-on-Sea to Nazareth via Holland 12 May 2021
- King’s Lynn 1: Hunny coloured sunset 11 May 2021
- Stafford 4: The Chase is on 22 April 2021
- Stafford 3: Canals, bridges, rivers, reservoirs 21 April 2021
- Stafford 2: Gravelly hill interchange 20 April 2021
- Stafford 1: Angle Delight 19 April 2021
- Swindon 4: Magic roundabouts, curly-wurlys 7 December 2020
- Swindon 3: Rainy Ridgeway 6 December 2020
- Swindon 2: White Horses 5 December 2020
- Swindon 1: Stones and gravel 4 December 2020
- Tunbridge Wells 3: Fishy stories 19 November 2020
- Tunbridge Wells 2: Tree little words 18 November 2020
- Tunbridge Wells 1: Rock on 17 November 2020
- Arran 3: Round-island tour 17 October 2020
- Arran 2: Gravel roads 16 October 2020
- Arran 1: Scotland in miniatures 15 October 2020
- Kirkby Stephen 2: Furlong scheme 3 October 2020
- Kirkby Stephen 1: Great Dun Fell 2 October 2020
- Wirral: Prom season 27 September 2020
- York: Bridge game 17 September 2020
- Inverness 2: Tomatin sauce 23 August 2020
- Inverness 1: Loch Ness monster etc 21 August 2020
- Edinburgh: Giraffes, mythic dogs and pizzas 20 August 2020
- Yorkshire Dales: Caution, cycling writers at work 17 July 2020
- Cornwall: Problems looming 14 March 2020
- Bury St Edmunds: Who was Clare Castle? 18 February 2020
- Oxford 2: Time travel 29 January 2020
- Oxford 1: Cotswolds 28 January 2020
- Newcastle: Bridges, tunnels, cake 16 January 2020
- Petersfield 3: Cricket, sharks 10 January 2020
- Petersfield 2: Butser busters 9 January 2020
- Petersfield 1: The Treachery of Images 8 January 2020
- Ladybower Reservoir: Red sky at night 30 December 2019
- Saffron Walden: Cake stop 8 December 2019
- Stevenage 2: Puddled up 7 November 2019
- Stevenage 1: Old Town, New Town 6 November 2019
- Chilterns: Ups and Downs 20 October 2019
- Edinburgh 2: ‘Town centre’ 16 September 2019
- Edinburgh 1: View from the Seat 14 September 2019
- Exeter: Maths rivers 29 July 2019
- Dartmoor 3: Thatcher era, satnav age 28 July 2019
- Dartmoor 2: Fair weather cycling 27 July 2019
- Dartmoor 1: Don’t believe lying sheep 26 July 2019
- Greenwich 2: East meets West 24 July 2019
- Greenwich 1: About time 23 July 2019
- Windermere 3: Solitude and crowds 27 June 2019
- Windermere 2: Hardknott, Wrynose, Laurel & Hardy 26 June 2019
- Windermere 1: I can resist anything except… 25 June 2019
- Church Stretton 2: A cycling writer’s work is never done 25 March 2019
- Church Stretton 1: Ludlow and the alps 24 March 2019
- Dundee 2: Out of this world 17 March 2019
- Dundee 1: Scone in Scone, and bad poets 15 March 2019
- Ingleton 3: Like a limestone pavement 22 February 2019
- Ingleton 2: Making a Dent in the Dales 21 February 2019
- Ingleton 1: Highest point in Belgium 20 February 2019
- Bristol: Miles in the Banksy 23 November 2018
- Stanhope 3: Case for a winter bike 28 October 2018
- Stanhope 2: Railtrails and reservoirs 26 October 2018
- Stanhope 1: England’s highest roads 25 October 2018
- Salisbury 2: Plain speaking, Gold Hills 10 October 2018
- Salisbury 1: Stonehenge (fail) 9 October 2018
- Stratford 2: To be or not to be cycling 6 October 2018
- Stratford 1: Shall I compare thee? No 4 October 2018
- Staffs 3: Mow Cop 14 September 2018
- Staffs 2: Roaches and Flash photography 12 September 2018
- Staffs 1: Mr Kipling’s lakes 10 September 2018
- Surrey Hills 3: Box Hill 2 September 2018
- Surrey Hills 2: In the slow lane 30 August 2018
- Surrey Hills 1: Sunken lanes and horse touring 29 August 2018
- Falkirk: Wheels, tunnels and Irn-Bru 7 July 2018
- Rutland 2: Border ride 26 June 2018
- Rutland 1: Water, water everywhere 25 June 2018
- Skipton: Lift on a canal boat 3 June 2018
- Canterbury 3: Dungeness coast 24 May 2018
- Canterbury 2: Margate and Otty Bottom 22 May 2018
- Canterbury 1: Ham Sandwich 17 May 2018
- Norwich 2: Ferries and floods 20 April 2018
- Norwich 1: Broads and coast 19 April 2018
- Brighton 2: Long Man, Seven Sisters 22 March 2018
- Brighton 1: Devil’s Dyke, Ditchling Beacon 21 March 2018
- Whitby 2: Cake, but no fryup in Fryup 10 March 2018
- Whitby 1: Moors and more 7 March 2018
- Milton Keynes 3: Cricket and chameleons 9 February 2018
- Milton Keynes 2: Country lanes and castles 7 February 2018
- Milton Keynes 1: Concrete cows, delivery robots 6 February 2018
- Pennines: High Cup Nick 20 October 2017
- Alnwick 2: Amble and Warkworth 8 October 2017
- Alnwick 1: Road blocks, bah 6 October 2017
- Loch Tay 4: Kinloch Rannoch 24 August 2017
- Loch Tay 3: The Trossachs 20 August 2017
- Loch Tay 2: Glen Lyon 18 August 2017
- Loch Tay 1: Dull, twinned with Boring 17 August 2017
- Llangollen 3: Into the hills 10 August 2017
- Llangollen 2: Horseshoe Pass 9 August 2017
- Llangollen 1: Pontcysyllte and Chirk aqueducts 8 August 2017
- Lincoln 2: Curious sights 4 July 2017
- Lincoln 1: The smallest pub 3 July 2017
- Calderdale 2: Singing Ringing Tree 29 April 2017
- Calderdale 1: Four seasons in a day 26 April 2017
- London: Emirates Air Line cable car 4 March 2017
- Dolgellau: Prints of Wales 12 November 2016
- Lakes 4: Getting coached 23 October 2016
- Lakes 3: Skiddaw House 22 October 2016
- Lakes 2: Autumn colours 21 October 2016
- Lakes 1: Enjoy the Singletrack 19 October 2016
- Borders 2: Wish lists 27 September 2016
- Borders 1: Reservoir digs 26 September 2016
- Blackpool: Illuminating experience 30 August 2016
- Birmingham: Fluid measures for cycle parking 4 August 2016
- Wolds: Joining the fold 1 August 2016
- Leicester: Park life 26 July 2016
- Peaks: Closed for cars, open for bikes 20 July 2016
- Nottingham: Tunnels and tramlines 12 October 2015
- Speyside 3: Straight to mouth 21 August 2015
- Speyside 2: Spirit of cycling 20 August 2015
- Speyside 1: Takes a lot of bottle 19 August 2015
- Birmingham: Christmas and canals 5 December 2011
- Cramond Island: Rebel with a causeway 18 November 2011
- Bealach na Bà: Height of achievement 3 September 2010
- Gloucester: What a bore (the Severn’s) 2 March 2010
- London: Waterlink Way 26 November 2009
- Abergwesyn Pass: Wales song 1 November 2009
- Kinloch Hourn: Dead end job 6 September 2009
- Scarborough: Cinder Trail to Whitby 4 September 2009
- Horkstow Bridge: Little to Humber’s Large 2 September 2009
- Humber Bridge: Still a world-beater for bikes 1 September 2009
- Padstow: Humping along the Camel Trail 25 July 2009
- Vale St: Steep hill, Bristol-fashion 19 November 2006
- Gold Hill: Bread-and-butter climb 1 November 2006
- A406: North Circular’s amazing aqueduct 30 October 2006
- Shepperton: Time for a tiny ferry 27 October 2006
- Netherton Tunnel: Britain’s scariest ride? 19 September 2006
- Holy Island: Miracle cycling on water 17 September 2006
- Wheeldale Moor: Original Roman Road? 15 September 2006
- Rosedale Chimney Bank: The tarmac elevator 15 September 2006
- Blackstone Edge: Original Roman Road? 14 September 2006
- Mam Tor: The shivering mountain bike road 14 September 2006
- Blackpool Bridge: Original Roman Road? 13 September 2006
- Fford Pen Llech: Steep learning curve 13 September 2006
- Caen Hill: The ski-slope canal towpath 12 September 2006
- Bosham Harbour: Time and tide 11 September 2006
- Cam High Road: Roman Road, straight up 17 June 2006
- Debenham: The 1km-long ford 10 December 2005