Walks Walking the South West Coast Path The adventure spanned 14 years, starting in Minehead when I was a teenager and finishing in Poole as I was about to become a parent.
Walks The first footprints in the snow Peering into the predawn gloom, we saw our street deep with snow. The hill beyond was obscured by cloud but we knew we’d soon be up there.
Thoughts Land access rights in England are wrong Around 92% of land in England is off-limits to the general public and where rights of way do exist, cyclists can only ride around 20% of them.
Rides In the tracks of the hop pickers A ride along the remains of a railway line axed by Beeching and recolonised by nature.
Thoughts The lost art of getting lost Why should you always have to know where you are, and where you’re going?
Rides The magic of cycling at night Until recently I didn’t see the appeal of riding at night, but I’m increasingly drawn to venturing out after hours.
Thoughts Goodbye to all that: when a child outgrows their bike We’ve just sold G’s bike. It’s not the first one he’s outgrown, and it won’t be the last. Yet it marks a moment in the journey through his childhood.
Rides Ride on: cycling through a pandemic I stood on the verge and photographed the sunrise-silhouettes of the trees and the ridge line of the hills. A moment of stillness in a world of upheaval.
Rides Riding the Forest of Dean ghost rails For much of the ride we followed the routes of railway lines long gone and long forgotten. In their place: cycle paths and forests tracks.
Thoughts The joy of towpath gravel With no proper infrastructure or access rights in England, I have to get creative when planning traffic-free rides.
Rides The Ridgeway + Kennet & Avon Canal I was on the Ridgeway – again. This time it was to ride a 240km car-free, off-road overnighter using the Kennet & Avon Canal to create a loop.
Rides Going Dutch in Domburg We pedalled away from our hostel – a converted thirteenth century castle – on the bike paths that run through the forest and nature reserve.
Rides Strawberry Line overnighter From our viewpoint above Cheddar Gorge, the town stretched out before us and we could see the hostel where we had spent the previous night.
Rides Cycling the Caledonian Canal Early in the year, and with local schools not yet on holiday, we had the white gravel towpath almost to ourselves.
Rides Falkirk Wheeler Who in their right mind would ride 76km on a heavy hire bike to see canal boats go up and down a lift?
Rides Family fatbiking in Porthcawl You can go pretty much anywhere on a fatbike, but it's hard to beat riding in joyous circles on an empty beach in the weak winter sun.
Rides Bristol-Bath cycle path “Ha, your bikes are smaller than mine,” chuckled G as J and I retrieved our Bromptons from the lockers outside Bristol Temple Meads Station.
Rides Monsal Trail bike and and hike We dived into Pizza Express, hungry after a day that had unexpectedly involved combining a family ride on the Monsal Trail with a hike back into Buxton.
Rides Riding the Elan Valley Trail The Elan Valley Trail, in the remote Cambrian Mountains, had been on our wish list for a while. There are few family cycle paths as spectacular.
Walks The slow train from Smethwick Keen to escape rural mud after a wet winter, we caught the train into Birmingham for an urban wander and, for one of us, an unscheduled swim.
Rides Tennyson Trail loop The mountain bike I’d hired was in quite a state when I handed it back. And so was I. Storm Brian had taken its toll on the Tennyson Trail.
Rides Freshwater family ride Storm Brian was in full force as our ferry crossed the Solent. This was an inauspicious start to our holiday on the Isle of Wight.
Rides Gospel Pass loop from Abergavenny Despite despite three punctures and some ill-advised fish and chips, the highest road pass in Wales didn't disappoint.
Rides Trailer tour to Gloucester Docks Our first overnight family bike ride saw us head down river through lanes and meadows to find a lifting bridge.