How to go Bikepacking in the UK
Bikepacking is booming. More and more travellers are opting for our favourite two-wheeled transport on their UK holidays and enjoying the joys of slow travel whilst drastically cutting their carbon footprint. These are holidays where your bike becomes your bestie, and panniers your most precious possessions. One important thing to point out is that bikepacking is not necessarily about racing. Lycra is not obligatory. In fact, bikepacking is accessible to many people, especially if you let our team at Byway organise all the details, like gorgeous places to stop and stay en route. We’ll be on call for you on Whatsapp the whole time, so all you need to do is get on your bike and explore as slowly or as speedily as you like.
What is bikepacking?
Bikepacking is a multi-day trip by bike, where adventurous travellers seek out incredible routes using their bike as the main mode of transport. Most opt for off-road tracks and paths which can only be accessed on foot, wheel or horseback. Real hard-core folk carry all their kit on their bike and choose to camp along the way. But many people are now opting to take the more luxurious approach, lightening their load by ditching the kit and staying in hotels and B&Bs and seeking out local eateries. Hardy bikepackers nickname this softer version, ‘credit card bikepacking’. All bikepacking is beautiful chez Byway and if you fancy a ‘credit card’ trip we’ll plan it, book it, and make sure it’s 100% seamless and delightful.
Our favourite UK bikepacking route
The UK has endless spectacular routes, on and off road. Our favourite, which is well-cycled by our bike-loving founder, Cat, takes you on a journey by train, bike and ferry to the Isle of Purbeck on England’s south coast. For a weekend escape from London, pack lightly into a small backpack or pannier, cycle to Waterloo station using cycleways mapped out on Transport for London's website, hop on a train to Bournemouth and breathe. When you get off the train in Bournemouth you’ll have the most delightful cycle along the seafront almost all the way to Poole Harbour, where you can take the bikes onto the chain ferry to the Isle of Purbeck for £1 return. From there, wild open heathland, expansive nature reserves and ridgeway routes await. You can even cool off in a tidal swimming pool hewn from the rock at Dancing Ledge.
If you like the sound of Studland but are not a fan of the bike, that’s no problem at all. There’s a wonderful open top bus, the Purbeck Breezer, that follows the coast around the same sort of places.