Cycling Sideways... Cycling in Wales Cycling in the Welsh Borders of England Photos of Wales Photos of the Welsh Borders Tales of Wales Travel Info Biking Maps & Guidebooks Bicycle Tours Welsh Place Names Cycling Tips Joking Aside
UK Cycling Links Worldwide Bicycling Links Loose Links | Cycling in Wales & the Welsh Borders If you are the kind of cycle tourist who likes to make sideways excursions rather than just biking straight ahead, there is no greater joy than cycle-touring in Wales and the Welsh Borders of England. You can easily avoid cycling on major highways as this little known region, on the western edge of Britain, is criss-crossed by a maze of rarely-used lanes (paved) that make it a touring cyclist's paradise. It's not just the famous national parks – such as Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire Coast, and Brecon Beacons – which justify a bike tour, but the bits in between like the Wye Valley, the Gower and Lleyn Peninsulas, the South Shropshire Hills, the Cheshire Plain, the Forest of Dean, and much more.  Stick a pin in a map of Wales and the Welsh Borders and it can't help but land near a river valley, mountains, coast, moorland, or all four. Look more closely at the map and you can see how the Welsh border was constantly changing as the Norman French pushed into Wales, and were beaten back by angry Welsh. A dead giveaway are the Welsh place names appearing in England, and English names appearing in the middle of Wales.
So, Wales and the Welsh Borders is not just a beautiful region, but it is full of history – romantic ruins, standing stones, moss-strewn churches, pagan wells, sulphur springs and Victorian spas to name but a few. Even if you aren't interested in history, they provide cyclists with a good excuse to stop and have a bite to eat. The focus of this site is on-road bicycle touring. You don't need to go mountain biking off-road to enjoy the peace and quiet of this area. Motorised traffic is hardly ever encountered on the country lanes. Now cycle sideways to one of the links on the left. Happy biking...
Croeso i Gymru – Welcome to Wales
Note: The Welsh Borders are sometimes referred to as the Welsh Marches or the Welsh Borderlands. Technically it is either side of the England/Wales border, but for the purposes of this site it is the western portion of the counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire in England. |
