January is a hateful month for those of us in the northern hemisphere. It’s cold, dark, wet, you haven’t got the indulgences of the festive period to look forward to anymore, and spring can feel a long way off. I can see why so many of us look to book a cycling holiday at this time of year; get something in the calendar, something to look forward to.
Where do you go then? For those of us in the UK, you may think Mallorca, eastern Spain, Tuscany, or the Alps. Always somewhere warm, somewhere south, somewhere far away. Amazing riding is to be had in all of these places for sure, but with it comes the stress of international travel, exacerbated further if you’re taking a bike with you, as well as a much larger carbon footprint.
If you’re looking to get away on the bike but don’t fancy going abroad then there are plenty of world-class riding destinations to be had all across the UK. The below is not an exhaustive list, but rather the ones I’ve been lucky enough to either live in or have ridden in extensively over the years. Unfortunately, that excludes Northern Ireland, so apologies in advance for that, but where possible I’ve included my own photos. If you’re reading this from outside the UK then these should be on your hitlist, and you should also check out our list of the best bike travel cases and our top tips for travelling with a bike.
Cornwall
Cornwall is where I grew up, and I believe it is the best place to ride a bike in England, if not the UK as a whole. There’s a saying down here that Cornish miles are worth 1.5x everywhere else, not because it’s blessed with giant, majestic hills, but more a result of how the elevation is delivered. 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.
I’ve done 120km days in the Alps, up the Col d’Iseran, and I can do a coastal route in Cornwall of equivalent length with more elevation gain. If you can stomach the climbing, though, you will be treated to some of the most beautiful views. Rugged coastline, scruffy vegetation, a sea breeze to clear your lungs, and a big pasty for lunch (Ann’s Pasties down the Lizard is the place to go). The roads aren’t the most well-maintained though, so fit some…
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