Tour De Bowland

A leisurely 120km Cycle Tour of the Forest of Bowland, allowing ample time to admire the breath-taking views and explore the scenic villages and bustling market towns along this hilly three-day route

SIR Bradley Wiggins trained for the Tour de France on the quiet lanes of the Forest of Bowland, where the steep climbs were the perfect preparation for his stunning victory in the 2012 Tour de France. But you don’t need to be a world class road racer to follow in Sir Bradley’s slipstream. This leisurely 120km route is split across three days, allowing plenty of time to take the odd detour and fully explore this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You’ll typically spend around three to four hours a day in the saddle and while you’ll encounter some steep climbs on Days 1 and 2, these never involve more than 600m of ascent and the good news is that there are plenty of cyclistfriendly cafes, pubs and country inns where you can recharge the batteries along the way. And talking of batteries, this route is perfect for cyclo-tourists with e-bikes. The daily distances are well within the range of a modern e-bike and you can charge up the batteries at your overnight stops – which also offer free e-bike battery charging.

88 DAY 1: Lancaster to Newton in Bowland 46km / 28.5 miles / 655m of ascent Coffee stops: The Mill, Conder Green: The Barn, Scorton; Puddleducks, Dunsop Bridge. Overnight: The Parkers Arms, Hall Gate Hill, Newton in Bowland BB7 3DY DAY 2: Newton in Bowland to Austwick 32km / 20 miles / 540m of ascent Coffee stops: Riverbank Tearooms, Slaidburn; The Old Vicarage Team Rooms, Tosside; Ye Old Naked Man Café, Settle. Don’t miss: The Courtyard Dairy specialist cheese shop, Austwick Overnight: The Traddock Hotel, Austwick, Settle LA2 8BY DAY 3: Austwick to Lancaster 37km / 23 miles / 325m of ascent Coffee stops: The Reading Room, Clapham; Bridge House Farm, Wray. Don’t miss: Ingleborough Show Cave, Clapham Optional overnight accommodation: The Fenwick Arms, Lancaster Road, Claughton LA2 9LA