King Alfred’S Way And The New Forest

The tour starts out in Reading and threads itself cunningly through cycle paths, forest tracks and forgotten back roads to Riseley. From there we’ll divert to the Roman town at Silchester with its impressively well-preserved defences. The day consists of pedaling between heathland nature reserves, canal towpath, back roads and bridleways. We finish the day navigating our way through defence force territory and up to the spectacular vantage point at the hill fort at Caesar’s Camp before rolling into Farnham.

A challenging day exploring the picturesque scenery through beautiful heathland, forests, back roads and bridleways. Heading out of Farnham we ride through one of the top 100-listed off-road cycling trails in Britain - the Alice Holt Forest before taking in the expansive tranquillity of Frensham Ponds. There are numerous more highlights of the day including the fantastic views at both Hankley and Hindhead commons, as well as the charming villages of Tilford and Thursley with the promise of coffee and cake by the village green.

We start this varied day heading south to where the King Alfred’s Way meets the North Downs Way. We’ll cycle up onto the ridgeline of North Downs to traverse to Queen Elizabeth Country Park on a mix of bridleways and back roads before reaching the transmitter at Wether Down. The next section will require all your effort and leg strength as we drop in and out of small – but sometimes steep – valleys before hitting a downhill gradient heading south and off the King Alfred’s Way to Southampton. The day’s route is arguably the most challenging of the trip but there’s certainly no shortage of beautiful panoramic views, ridgeline riding and rolling hills in an area steeped in history.