Description
Starting in London, you cycle out of the British capital through the green valley of the River Lee. If you travel by ferry from Hook van Holland, you will start in Harwich. Both routes meet in the rolling countryside of Cambridgeshire and then continue on to the famous university city of Cambridge.
From here, you will cycle via rural Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, including the estates of Wimpole and Woburn. You pass the famous Bletchey Park, the city of Milton Keynes and picturesque villages along the Grand Union Canal. Warwick and Kenilworth both have beautiful castles.
Birmingham is the second city of the United Kingdom and surprisingly green thanks to a unique canal network that allows you to cycle in and out of the city without traffic. This gives you a unique insight into England’s society during the Industrial Revolution. Our route features the Back to Backs and Blackcountry museums. Galton Bridge and Delph Nine Locks are technological marvels from that era.
From Birmingham, beautiful hilly countryside around Kinver Edge and Bridgnorth takes you to the Ironbridge UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for the world’s first iron bridge. Passing the Roman ruins of Wroxeter, the route continues to historic Shrewsbury, the birthplace of Charles Darwin. You will cycle into Wales at Welshpool and the beautiful Powis Castle.
Our route through mountainous Wales takes us past beautiful Lake Vyrnwy and the spectacular Foel y Geir pass to Snowdonia National Park. The route then will take you via tourist town Betwys-y-Coed and the Lake Ogwen pass to the cathedral city of Bangor. Crossing the historic Menai Bridge, you will cycle onto the island of Anglesey for the ferry port of Holyhead.
From here, it takes about four hours to sail to Dublin, your gateway into Ireland. We invite you to join us on a rural journey via little-travelled County Meath, including the prehistoric Hill of Tara. At Camlough Mountain, you will arrive in Northern Ireland. You cycle to Portadown via the Ulster Way and on to Lough Neagh, the largest lake in Great Britain.
Via the stunning Sperrin Mountains and the wide expanse of Lough Foyle, you will arrive at the north coast. Magilligan Strand and Mussenden Temple both offer spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean. Via the seaside resorts of Portstewart and Portrush and the ruins of Dunluce Castle, you will arrive at the Giant’s Causeway. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is famous for its hexagonal basalt columns rising from the seabed against the high cliffs. Was this all the work of volcanic forces or the Irish giant Finn McCool?
Whatever which storyline you prefer, the Giant’s Causeway is indeed a special end of the cycle route. From nearby Portrush, you can take the train to Belfast and then travel back to England via the night ferry to Liverpool. If you are heading back to the continent, we recommend taking a train to Hull for the night ferry to Rotterdam. In this way, your full return journey can be made within a day and a half. Long distance trains to London depart from both Liverpool and Holyhead. All home journey options are discussed in detail in the guidebook.
What you’ll see
Traffic-free cycle trails: River Lee Country Park, Wivenhoe Riverside, Milton Keynes cycle paths, Lias Line, Kenilworth Greenway, Grand Union Canal, Telford Canal, Mercian Way, Snowdonia Slate Trail, Royal Canal Greenway, Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway, Ulster Way.
National Parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty: Greensand Ridge, Y Byrwydd hills, Lake Vyrnwy, Snowdonia National Park, Lake Bala, Lake Ogwen, Menai Strait, River Boyne, Sperrin Mountains, Causeway Coast.
Scenic towns and cities: Londen, Tottenham Hale, Waltham Abbey, Old Harlow, Harwich, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Halstead, Thaxted, Cambridge, Bedford, Woburn, Milton Keynes, Stoke Bruerne, Napton on the Hill, Stockton, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick, Kenilworth, Birmingham, Dudley, Stourbridge, Kinver, Bridgnorth, Coalport, Ironbridge, Shrewsbury, Welshpool, Y Bala, Betwys-y-Coed, Bangor, Holyhead, Dublin, Maynooth, Navan, Carrickmacross, Inniskeen, Newry, Portadown, Cookstown, Downhill, Castlerock, Coleraine, Portstewart, Portrush, Bushmills.
Beaches and coastal features: Harwich Promenade, Bangor Promenade, Gart sea front, Holy Island Holyhead, Newry Beach, Lough Foyle, Magilligan Strand, Mussenden cliffs, Portstewart Strand, Portrush West Strand, Ramore Head, Portrush East Strand, World Heritage Giant’s Causeway.
Castles, cathedrals, abbeys and ancient monuments:Waltham Abbey, Colchester Castle, Balkerne Gate, Rickling Church, Whittlesford Church, University of Cambridge (King’s College), Round Church Cambridge, Castle Mound Bedford, Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Abbey ruins Kenilworth, Wroxeter Roman City, Montford Church, Powis Castle, Penrhyn Castle, Sodowyr Burial Chamber, Dublin Castle, Trinity College Dublin, Maynooth Castle, Moynalvey Church, Hill of Tara, St. Brigid’s Shrine, Moyry Castle, Drumcree Church, Dunluce Castle.
Nature reserves, noticeable parks and beauty spots: Mile End Park, Regent’s Canal, Old Ford Lock, Victoria Park, River Lee Canal, Hackney Marshes, River Lee Country Park, Seventy Acres Lake, Glen Faba & River Stort Navigation, Castle Park Colchester, Priory Park Bedford, Bedford Embankment, Millennium Country Park of Marston Vale, Ouse Valley Country Park, Jephson Gardens, Staffordshire & Worcester Canal bridge, Kinver Edge, Severn Valley Country Park, Apley Estate, Foel y Geifr, Cadar Benlynn, waterfalls near and in Betwys-y-Coed, Mynydd Twr hill Holyhead, Camlough Lake and Mountain, People’s Park Portadown, Lough Neagh, Maghery Country Park, Wetlands Park, Iniscarn Forest, Round Knowe.
Country houses and gardens:Botanic Gardens Cambridge, Wimpole, Woburn Abbey, Attingham Park, Larchhill Arcadian Garden, Drenagh Gardens and The Orangery.
Attractions: Animal Adventure Park, Scudamore’s Boatyards, The Malt House, Sea Life, Lego Discovery, Canals and Cavers Tour, Dudley Zoo, Severn Railway, Llanfair Railway, Bala Watersports, Bala Railway, Old Bushmills Distillery, Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway (Titanic Experience Belfast, River Mersey Ferry Liverpool, The Deep Hull).
Museums:Tower of London, Royal Gunpowder Mills, Hollytrees Museum, East Anglian Railway Museum, Fitzwilliam Museum, The Higgins Bedford, John Bunyan Museum, Panacea Museum, Bletchley Park, National Museum of Computing, Canal Museum Stoke Bruerne, Royal Pump Rooms and Baths, The Barn Kenilworth, Back to Backs Museum, Galton Valley Canal Museum, Black Country Museum, Dudley Museum, Jackfield Tile Museum, Museum of the Gorge, Museum of Iron, Darby Houses, Soldiers of Shropshire Museum, Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, Conwy Valley Railway Museum, Holyhead Maritime Museum, Epic The Irish Emigration Museum, Book of Kells, Patrick Kavanagh Centre, Newry and Mourne Museum.
Special landmarks and infrastructure:London Monument, London Stadium, John Webb’s Windmill, Mathemetical Bridge Cambridge, Grand Union Canal, Bullring Birmingham, Gas Street Basin and Brindley Place Birmingham, Wolverhampton Canal, Telford Canal, Galton Valley, Galton Bridge, Galton Tunnel, Dudley Canal, Delph Nine Locks, Stourbridge Canal, Rock Houses, Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, Inclined Plane Ironbridge, Ironbridge World Heritage, Iron Bridge, Porthill Bridge, Dam Lake Vyrnwy, Tynal Tywyll Tunnel, Menai Suspension Bridge, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll station, Scherzer Bridges, Samuel Beckett Bridge, O’ Connell Bridge, Croke Park Stadium, Downhill House, Mussenden Temple.
Route updates and more
Travelling to the start point: The route starts in London at the London Monument near London Bridge. The guidebook features additional routes from five major London railway stations to London Monument. If you are visiting from the European continent, the North Sea ferry crossing between Hook of Holland and Harwich is the obvious way to get started on the route (www.stenaline.com).
Travelling home: From Portrush in Northern Ireland, take the train to Belfast for the night ferry to Liverpool (www.stenaline.com). From Liverpool, you can take a long-distance train back to London. If you were visiting from the European continent, take the train from Liverpool to Hull. From there, take another next night ferry (www.poferries.com) to Europoort Rotterdam.
A full overview regarding starting the route and travelling home is included in the guidebook. The guidebook also features routes in Belfast, Liverpool and Hull between railway stations and ferry terminals.
Facility Listings:
For your choice of accommodation on the way, please use our facility listings featuring hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, hostels, bunkhouses, campsites and bike repair shops. We did a lot of research to provide you with the best choices relevant for the route. Only local businesses with professional standards are listed. All facilities are either directly on or close to the route. We have omitted venues that require membership (YHA excepted) or a stay of minimum two nights. Also, campsites not allowing tents are naturally not listed!
To avoid disappointments, we recommend making reservations at least 24 hours in advance for all accommodation, even for campsites! For some campsites, this is now compulsory. Please refer to the terms and conditions of the provider in advance and adhere to the rules of the provider!
Route updates: Things do change; routes do get improved or are closed down! Venues come and go as well and our eyes can’t be anywhere. When cycling the route, have your eyes out for changes and report these to us. We keep a PDF available for you to download prior to cycling the route. You can here download the updates for this route: Download Route Updates England – Wales – Ireland Cycle Route.
