With the Bank Holiday weekend coming up, we have a look at some of our favourite gravel rides for you to try out!
Our first route takes you from the heart of Milton Keynes into the surrounding areas where some hidden gems of riding await, through Woburn and towards Winslow.
A fast, often dusty and chalky route, this gravel loop absolutely ticks all the boxes. The route meanders through some of Woburn’s fast singletrack, even incorporating a cheeky UK-famous MTB trail or two. The scenery here is no joke either; from pristine singletrack through ancient woods, to breath-taking views along ridgelines of the home counties. This route is a nice length, meaning you’d be hard pressed to find an excuse to not check out your new favourite Milton Keynes ride (despite there being no gravel roundabouts…yet).
This next route is an absolute stunner through the South of England, provided by Matt from @ridegravelroad. Starting just outside Farnham, this is definitely one to check out!
Most of the route follows the ‘Shipwrights Way’, an ancient route used to take trees from the Alice Holt Forest to Portsmouth, for use in ship building. This nicely juxtaposes some of the more modern wayfinding (and hopefully more modern ships) of the ride, as Matt says this is the only loop he’s ever ridden in which two ferries must be used, from Hayling Island and to Gosport. With the long Bank Holiday weekend, you’ll have enough time to recover from this monster of a trek!
Our last ride for you was used in the 2023 UCI Gravel World Series in Dumphries and Galloway. A beautifully scenic route, this chop is sure to satisfy all your UK gravelling needs.
This loop starts from the small town of Gatehouse of Fleet. It is hugely undulating, with just under 2,000 metres of climbing within the 70 mile course. From the outset, you head towards the first wooded section, with much of the way being via delightful doubletrack fireroads, before following even more doubletrack to the open moorland. A monster day out is quickly rewarded with even more mega views, making this, all in all, a worthy expedition.