Westcountry Way (Devon C2C)

bikepacking.com/routes/westcountry-way/

The Westcountry Way traverses the UK’s south-western peninsular, climbing from the English Channel over the harsh, exposed heathland of Dartmoor, and across the wooded, twisting trails of Exmoor. Some 130 miles later, the route culminates with a descent to the Bristol Channel.

This part of the country is an evocative place, with a history rich in folklore. Dartmoor, with its open moorland, forests, rivers, wetlands and imposing granite tors, is home to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, probably Sherlock Holmes’ most famous adventure. Exmoor has a similarly foreboding, although more intimate, atmosphere and its own legends including the Beast of Exmoor, a large predatory cat said to roam the moors through the 1970s and 80s.

The journey from Plymouth on the south coast to Minehead in the north can be completed comfortably in three full days, although there are ample camping and bunkhouses options if you want to break up the ride into smaller chunks and add an extra day or two. It’s also possible to complete the journey in two long days. This route crosses the Exmoor and Quantock Hills route. A combination of both routes would provide ample options for a longer trip.

North Yorkshire moors ramble

bikepacking.com/routes/north-yorkshire-moors-ramble/

The North Yorkshire Moors Ramble is a lovely long-weekend bikepacking loop that uses a mix of singletrack, medieval flagstone paths, forest tracks, and gravel backcountry roads to explore the North Yorkshire Moors National Park and all its diverse landscapes. From the heather-covered sandstone moorlands to stone wall-lined fields to medieval abbeys and ancient bridges, this route offers countless vistas connected in a 200-mile figure-eight...

The North Yorkshire Moors Ramble starts and finishes in the picturesque fishing port of Whitby, famous for its jet jewelry and ruined abbey, the inspiration and setting for Dracula’s landfall in Bram Stoker’s gothic novel. The route comprises a regularly changing mix of moorland track, fast forest road, singletrack, medieval flagstone pathway, former mineral railway, and quiet country roads, including England’s joint steepest climb at 33%.

The upland plateau is bordered to the north and west by the rocky escarpments of the Cleveland and Hambleton Hills, to the east by Jurassic cliffs along the North Sea coast, while to the south the Tabular Hills tumble down to the Vale of Pickering. The figure-eight route takes in the diversity of landscapes the national park has to offer, from the heather-covered sandstone moorland through wooded, steep valley sides to the dry stone wall-lined fields below.

East Devon trail

bikepacking.com/routes/east-devon-trail/

The East Devon Trail is a 113-mile bikepacking route through East Devon, a rural and coastal landscape between the county’s capital of Exeter and neighboring counties of Dorset and Somerset. This often-overlooked region will astound you with the sheer variety of habitats, from freshwater marshes to lowland heath, green agricultural field networks to steep cliffs, pebbled beaches and sleepy woodland, and the wonderful wildlife that calls these wild places home...

While bikepackers visiting Devon may immediately think of the Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks, quietly tucked away in the rolling hills to the east of the Exe Estuary lies an extensive network of blissful gravel trails, spicy singletrack and quiet lanes with expansive views across heathland and a patchwork of fields, out towards the Jurassic Coast and the English Channel.

The rewards are countless, but you just need to know where to look. Marrying up a deep admiration of this gorgeous part of the South West with the many creatures that seek refuge here, the East Devon Trail visits numerous nature reserves along its 115-mile length.

Look out for migratory birds on the move and foraging waders at RSPB Bowling Green and Goosemoor just a short ride out of the county’s capital, rare nightjars, Dartford Warblers, basking common lizards and adders across the rare lowland heath network of the Pebblebed Heaths, Trinity Hill and Fire Beacon Hill. And visit the Island Hide at Seaton Marshes with a near-360 degree view over the wetlands, where you can often see oystercatchers, black-tailed godwits and ringed plovers. If you’re really lucky and spend the time on the River Otter, you might even spy a beaver; part of the Devon Wildlife Trust’s pioneering reintroduction programme, which has paved the way for their wider reintroduction across the UK.

West Kernow Way

www.cyclinguk.org/west-kernow-way

West Kernow Way – a 230km circular bikepacking route

The West Kernow Way takes in many of the highlights of the western half of the Cornish peninsula, including the Botallack tin mines, the Bronze Age monument Mên-an-Tol, Land’s End, St Michael’s Mount and Lizard Point. Expect spectacular coastal scenery, hedgerows bursting with wildflowers and ancient tracks across isolated moorland.

There’s no denying it will be a challenge, with more than 4,200m of climbing – but all that exertion provides a worthy excuse to sample the excellent Cornish cuisine. Designed to be ridden over three to four days, the route links together bridleways, byways, lost ways and quiet lanes to escape the tourist hotspots and discover hidden treasures which reveal the history and culture of the region.

South downs way

southdownsway.org/activities/cycling/