WINTER SUN & FUN

was a challenge at times. On the upside when we did drop off it onto the Thames Path, we found a gorgeous spot next to the river for wild swimming.

I would say this is best ridden early summer in dry weather before the vegetation gets up. In wet weather the chalky marl surfaces might get a bit greasy and slippery. Further information: www.cyclinguk. org/king-alfreds-way

Not that I’m knocking the usual winter trips to ride in Mallorca, they are great but this year I fancied something different. An off-road route called the Trans Andalucía caught my eye. The whole route is 2000 km but we decided to pick off the southern sunny section between Seville and Malaga for our early March trip over two weeks at a leisurely pace.

Billed as a mountain bike route, this section for the most part is more gravel bike territory although there were a couple of sections where we even struggled with loaded mountain bikes. We did a mixture of hotels/hostels/camping and took maximum advantage of lunchtime cafe stops and evening tapa and beers wherever the opportunity arose. And why not, the food is fabulous and the beer is cheap.

Highlights were climbing up for ages on gentle gradient dirt roads, through marvellous cork oak forests to be greeted with amazing views of Gibraltar and North Africa. Also, the riding around El Chorro and the coastal riding around Tariffa stand out. The weather was marvellous and the only rain we had was on the day we were in Malaga boxing up the bikes to return. More info on the route in English at www.transandalus.org

– Nigel Blandford, Bury Clarion facebook.com/BritOnABike