Costwold Way??

Lofty2

Hi there – does anyone have any experience of riding on the Cotswold Way? I know a lot of it is footpath only (not bridleway) but a friend and I have got a plan to ride the whole length of it (over 100 miles) over a weekend.

I’m trying to work out realistic this is? I want to get an idea of is how quickly we are likely to progress? I’m worried we might hit problems with navigating (staying off the path), stiles, long grass, etc?

I’m confident 100 miles in 2 days on a firm fast trail would be easy enough but I’m guessing the Costwold Way isn’t like that all the way?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated!!

Lofty

glosboy

Hi Lofty - Its certainly rideable in a weekend, its been run in a day. But as always a lot depends on various factors:

An awful lot of the the route is footpath only and how far you will you detour from the it. By road you can usually stay relatively close, but off road it will involve some long additional milage in many places.

Conditions - remember its Cotswolds mud which can still be gloopy until well into spring, best time of the year is perhaps September, although midsummer better for daylight hours
Long grass should not be too much of a problem on the actual route, but off?

How much gear are you carrying, lots of B and B options near route.

The actual route is very well signposted and difficult to get lost if used in conjunction with a map, but it might be a different proposition when you are off route.

Its not bike related info but it might be worth having a look at Bath running clubs site, they organise an annual running relay race. (east to west) Lots of maps already created that might be of use. You will need to seach around it a bit, but includes things like profiles and detailed maps.

http://www.cotswoldwayrelay.co.uk/

Lofty2

thanks for the reply - i know quite a lot of the route is footpaths but is there anything to stop us riding up there or would it not be practical? I was kinda hoping we could just ride the whole route with any trouble?

Are most of the bridleway pretty quick?

Great website link thanks - loads of useful annotated route maps which will be handy.

The plans initially was too stop at a bike friendly B&B mid-way but not totally sure yet.

We are having a trial run in a couple of weeks to see how we get on going from Bath to Dursley and based on that we can decide if attempting the whole thing is viable!

Does it get an easier / harder from east to west??

Any advice you can offer is much appreciated!!