Great Britain is home to some wonderful landscapes, ranging from amazing coastal regions to magnificent hills and plains. For cyclists, the many off-road and other routes that can be explored are a welcome addition to the attractions across the UK, and if you enjoy the outdoors on a bike, you’re in one of the best places in Europe. With exciting forest routes – check out the magnificent cycle paths through Kielder Forest close to the Scottish Borders – and fine National Parks, you can choose to explore Britain using dedicated paths, or ride the roads to and from wherever you want to be.
Cycling is a great way of getting to see parts of the scenery that you would miss in a car or other form of transport, and it’s also a fun family pastime. Taking the children out on a ride on their mountain bikes, for example, couldn’t be more fun, and it gets them exercise and fresh air, too. Biking holidays in the UK are becoming more popular than ever, and with many families choosing the ‘staycation’ instead of traveling abroad, it might be something you want to consider even if cycling is not a regular pastime of yours.
Securing Your Bike
If you’re out cycling with the family, you’ll want to stop and investigate places of interest along the way. This will mean leaving your bikes unattended and, sadly, there are unscrupulous people who will take the opportunity to have themselves a free bike! Bicycle theft is not uncommon, so you need to make sure you have a way of securing your machine when you leave it outside, for example, a café or pub.
What you need is the best bike lock you can afford, and we recommend you check out the top 10 models at bestreviewer.co.uk, a leading review website where you can find out everything you need to know. You can find out about the different types of bike locks, their advantages and disadvantages, and what you are likely to have to pay, and it’s a great resource for other items, too.
Where to Ride in Britain
The sheer choice of places to ride your bike in Britain is tremendous, so if you have a holiday booked already, there are bound to be places to ride in the near vicinity. If you are looking for ideas, there are plenty of great cycling routes. For those who don’t want to tackle hills, the likes of Cheshire and Lincolnshire both have plenty of flat land, and also feature some wonderful places to visit. If it’s coastal routes you want, we can recommend counties at two ends of the country – Dorset and Northumberland – for excellent cycling routes.
Wherever you are intending to go, the local tourist information board will be able to give you details of where you can ride safely and enjoy the best of the local scenery, but whatever you do, don’t forget to carry your bike lock with you so you can be sure it will be where you left it when you get back.
