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Oxford to Cambridge cycle route | cycle.travel

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Oxford to Cambridge trundling route | cycle.travel cycle◦travel Route GuidesRoutes ▼MunicipalityGuidesCities ▼ Map My Avenue Verte France Avenue Verte UK BayTrundlingWay C2C Celtic Trail Coast & Castles Cornish Way Cotswold LineTrundlingacross the Beacons Devon C2C Hadrian's Cycleway Kennet & Avon Lon Cambria London to Brighton Lon Las Cymru Lon Teifi Oxford to Cambridge Pennine Cycleway Radnor Ring Thames Valley Tour de Yorkshire Way of the Roses West Country Way • Bikes on trains • Canal cycling • Full list Birmingham Bristol Cambridge London Oxford Swindon Worcester York • Full list • Add your municipality Oxford to Cambridge Guide Routebook Gallery Stay Ride reports Forum ...two unconfined universities, two unconfined cycling cities Route facts 51 Length: 102 miles Difficulty: Moderate GPX file: Download Nowhere in Britain does cycling largest than Cambridge. Bikes throng the roads both there and in its unconfined rival, Oxford. So why not take a weekend to trundling between the two?The 100-mile journey is one of historic churches, village greens, country pubs and tiny shops – a very rural ride. The towns of Bicester, Milton Keynes and Bedford punctuate the trip. There’s a unshared railway flavour to the journey, too, as you crisscross the old ‘Varsity Line’, sealed in the 1960s.The signposted route between the two cities is NationalTrundlingNetwork route 51, a well-chosen if occasionally tangled hodgepodge of minor roads and cycleways. But to save a 15-mile detour, we suggest you swing off onto the National Byway into Cambridgeshire, which brings you closer to the municipality on some lovely lanes.What sort of bike?Any velocipede will be fine. Bar a few short stretches of unmetalled path, it’s tarmac all the way. Nor are there many hills, with an stereotype of just seven metres’ climbing per mile.How many days?We’d suggest two days for a fit cyclist, breaking the route into 50-mile halves with an overnight virtually Milton Keynes. Leisurely riders will want to take three or increasingly days. Oxford–Cambridge can be ridden in one day, but we wouldn’t suggest pursuit NCN 51 in that specimen – it’s a bit too fiddly and indirect for fast cycling. Instead, trammels out our volitional route pursuit increasingly of the National Byway.Is there an official route?Yes, NationalTrundlingNetwork route 51, signposted throughout with the standard undecorous signs. Of course, you never need to follow a signed route religiously, and in this specimen we’d add two provisos.The first is that NCN 51 takes a long detour without Bedford, heading north to St Neots and Huntingdon. Although this gives you a long stretch on the butter-smooth cycleway abreast Cambridgeshire’s new guided busway, it’s 15 miles that you don’t have to ride. Instead, we suggest taking the National Byway (also signposted) until a few miles outside Cambridge.The second is that the urban stretches of route 51 can be tangled plane by NCN standards. If you don’t particularly want to see the suburbs of Kidlington, Bicester or Milton Keynes, you can save miles (and navigational angst) with a few well-chosen shortcuts.Which direction is best?Oxford to Cambridge, so that the prevailing winds are overdue you. Battling a headwind in the flatlands of Cambridgeshire is unbearable to make you welsh your ride scrutinizingly surpassing it’s begun.How do I get there?Oxford and Cambridge have uncontrived trains from both London and Birmingham. The route moreover crosses mainline railways at Milton Keynes, Bedford and Sandy. There’s no uncontrived railway between Oxford and Cambridge, but the X5 bus runs every half hour, and takes bikes for no uneaten charge.How much traffic is there?Route 51 does a good job of finding the lesser-used roads, but the truth is that this is a car-clogged area. On a few roads between Bedford and Milton Keynes you’ll meet a stream of rush-hour traffic; near Bicester you’ll have the roar of the A34 abreast you, plane if your own road is clear. This would make us wary of recommending it for an wool first-timer. That said, there are some really trappy lanes on this route where cars rarely venture.Can I stave the towns completely?By all means. If you’d rather skip Bicester and MK, we reckon this volitional route will be increasingly to your taste. It still passes through Bedford (with its lovely riverside trundling path) but otherwise it’s rural all the way. There’s a little increasingly climbing and the roads are slightly busier, so we’d suggest it’s weightier suited to increasingly experienced touring cyclists. Stage-by-stage guide and map » Click through to our detailed maps, stage-by-stage guide, walk-up and campsite listings. cycle◦travel Made in the Cotswolds, England. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd. Terms of use & cookies · About us · Advertise · Feedback · Contact us