Rapha’s Guide to Riding in the UK

The UK has had a peculiar relationship with cycling over the years. The Victorians loved it, cooking up long-distance challenges, interesting mechanical contrivances and all-night velodrome jamborees. Indeed, the ‘penny-farthing’, the most enduring icon of bicycling the world-over, is so-named for its resemblance to the two British coins in circulation at the time.

We built millions and millions of bicycles in the UK to meet the rampant demand for this joyful, utilitarian conveyance. In 1895, a contributor to The Guardian wrote: “We have had many pleasures in the way of travelling, but we have never yet experienced such exhilarating enthusiasm or such complete recreation. What once was impossible has become possible, and distance is no longer the barrier to the refreshment of country life or contact with kindred spirits.” 

While regular people loved riding bikes as part of their daily lives, competitive cycling was a different kettle of fish. In 1890 the National Cyclist’s Union banned mass-start road racing, and the sport remained proscribed in the UK for a very long time. Cycling here still has something of an illicit edge to it – like you’re being let in on a well-kept secret. As you discover the greenest and most pleasant of lands, there’s a furtive thrill to go along with the ever changing landscape. 

In the latter half of the 20th century, Britain was a fringe outsider in cycling, looking in on the European scene like a lovely schoolkid peering over a fence at a game of hopscotch. Only a few British athletes made the jump to continental success in those early years; names that have since entered the pantheon of British cycling. Robinson, Simpson, Hoban. The jerseys of foreign cycling teams held a kind of mystique for those of us on British shores, with their exotic logos for French aperitifs and Italian coffee machines. 

Still, it was those trailblazers that cleared the way, providing inspiration to the new wave of talents that powered Britain to global dominance of cycling – road and track, at least – in the early 2010s. You probably know the rest: mountain trains and marginal gains. 

That, in a nutshell, is how we got here. But what’s it like to go cycling in the UK in 2026? Challenging, varied and wildly rewarding, for a start. 

Where to go cycling in the UK

While most people visiting the UK on holiday head directly for London, and some never make it beyond the borders of the metropolis, there’s a rich and varied nation to explore. Especially on two wheels. 

Gravel riding in Scotland

With its vast and scarcely populated landscapes, its long history of forestry and right to roam enshrined in law, Scotland has much to offer the adventure cyclist. 

To take just one popular example, the Badger Divide is a 210-mile (338km) off-road route between Glasgow and Inverness.  Conventionally tackled from north to south, it’s a steady

progression through some truly wild and remote country. The middle section skirts around lochs, through glens and over Highland passes. There’s an annual event that sees competitors take it on in two days – but you can ride it whenever you wish, and at any pace you choose.

Rapha’s own Pennine Rally historically departed from Edinburgh and spent its first day and half meandering around the gravel roads and byways of the Pentland & Ettrick Hills in the Scottish Borders. It did a marvellous job of helping cyclists – both homegrown and those from abroad – to discover this lesser-known part of the country. The route remains publicly available should you wish to take it on in your own time. 

Nowhere in the UK can match Scotland for scale. Widely agreed to be mainland Britain’s highest road climb, Belach na Bà is a mighty ascent on the Applecross peninsula. Having started life as a single-track cow-herding road, it’s tarmacked these days – although you’ll still want 32s at least, given the variable surface. 

If we had just one piece of advice on cycling in Scotland, it would be to make provisions for midges. These flying insects are a massive pest in summer, so don’t stand still too long, and stay the nights indoors! 

Exploring Cornwall by bike

The southernmost county of Britain boasts some of the best weather and most beautiful beaches anywhere on this sceptred isle. You’ll need your climbing legs and maybe a compact gear on the front to winch up some of the steeper ascents in and out of the coastal villages, but the rewards are manifold. Sparkling blue seas, cloistered peaceful sea coves (as well as some really, really busy ones) and arguably the best cream teas anywhere in the world. 

The recently-pioneered West Kernow Way was created to connect some truly wonderful riding in the western half of the country. It’s a gravel route, although a hardtail would also do you right – particularly in foul weather – and it links up a whole host of bridleways, lost lanes and cycle paths.

If you can, visit Cornwall outside of peak tourism times (the months of July & August, and spring half terms) as the peninsula is extremely popular and roads can get busy, fast and uncomfortable. 

Gymru: riding bikes in Wales 

Wales is home to truly spectacular scenery; marvellously diverse and deeply challenging.

The stark, lunar landscapes of Blaenau Ffestiniog would give even the Ventoux a run for its money when it comes to drama. Better suited to MTB than legendary feats of road cycling, the area has been a hotbed of slate mining for centuries. These days, it has its own uplift MTB centre, Antur Stiniog, where you can ride all day while scarcely having to push a pedal in anger. 

In west Wales, the Afan Forest is another nationally-lauded hotspot for MTB, but there’s also ample road riding around Carmarthenshire. The roads are small, peaceful and winding for the most part – and offer up views of the west edge of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.

The Bannau Brycheiniog are worthy of a visit to Wales in and of themselves. These magnificent south Walian mountains are home to a host of epic road climbs, including The Tumble, the Gospel Pass and The Blorenge, the world’s only known cycling climb to rhyme with ‘orange’.

Pushing to the Peak: England’s first National Park

The Peak District was the first National Park in the United Kingdom, inaugurated in 1949 as a way of preserving the natural beauty of, and guaranteeing public access to, one of England’s loveliest areas. 

Just outside Castleton, Winnats Pass is among the UK’s steepest and most visually arresting climbs. The dramatic limestone gorge was originally formed some 340 million years ago from ancient reefs in a long-vanished tropical sea. From its summit you can ride over and down the other side of Mam Nick, through one of Derbyshire’s only hairpin bends, and descend into the stunning Edale valley. 

Further north, the mighty Snake Pass, about as close as England gets to an alpine climb with its long duration and steady gradient. The ascent is more gradual when taken from the Bamford side, and the scenery is starkly different too. The Glossop side is wild moorland, stark and bare, while the Bamford side wends through farmland and forestry, before flattening out on the banks of the Ladybower reservoir. A certain special bike race will be coming this way next summer. 

Cycling in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District

We couldn’t mention the Peaks without also giving a nod to the Lakes and the Dales, two astounding areas of natural beauty with their own cycling heritage.

Cumbria’s Lake District is full of jagged peaks, knee-snappingly steep climbs and some of the best beer anywhere on the planet. Which is to say nothing of the natural wonder of the titular bodies of water themselves. You could spend a weekend, a week or a month exploring the roads around this area: with Hardknott and its grim mate, Wrynose, Honister and Whinlatter Passes all making for mighty challenges. 

It’s not all gritted teeth and 17%, though. A ride around Coniston Water takes in some more serene roads, but still packs in plenty of the blockbuster scenery you came for. 

The terroir of the Yorkshire Dales is something slightly different. The hills are gentler but more frequent, the villages and towns a bit more bijou. Rolling green hillsides, meandering rivers and picture-perfect farmhouses abound. While there may not be the out-and-out brutality of Cumbrian highlands. there are still plenty of great roads, and an intriguing mix of off-road riding too. The towns just beyond the National Park boundary – Skipton, Ilkley and

Otley – are all hotbeds of road racing, with the latter hosting a round of the Rapha Super-League in 2025 and 2026. 

What to wear when cycling in the UK

Layers, layers, layers. The UK’s is a notoriously changeable climate, which goes a long way to explaining Britons’ obsession with talking about the weather. We have our flag-cracking summers and our sudden, tumultuous spring storms. We have snow at Easter, unpredictable autumns and, yes, we have the rain.

Mornings tend to be cool, even in the summer, although the increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves between April and September make general average temperatures difficult to predict. It’s wise to pack accordingly, and set off on your ride with flexible apparel you can put on or take off as needed.