With quiet lanes and country roads, cycling in Northamptonshire is a great place to ride. Getting on your bike is ever increasingly popular holiday activity and cycling in Northamptonshire is a great way to take in many of the famous attractions whilst enjoying the outdoors. A cycling holiday gives the opportunity to explore the countryside at your own pace finding your own special piece of Northamptonshire.
With a wide range of national cycle routes you’re spoilt for choice, with routes to suit every standard of cyclist from families looking to enjoy the outdoors to experienced cyclists. Northamptonshire has a host of attractions to visit as you cycle around the county from stately homes such as Coton Manor and Althorp House to family oriented attractions such as Wicksteed Park and Stanwick Lakes.
With many cycle routes offering stunning views of Northamptonshire’s famous landmarks cycling can be a great way to explore and keep active while you’re away on holiday. If you don’t want to bring your own bikes with you cycle hire is available at plenty of shops across Northamptonshire, providing a range of bikes to hire from kids bikes to trial and mountain bikes also providing helmets, tools and maps to help rookie cyclists in the region. In addition many cycle shops offer coaching, training courses and guided tours for the inexperienced cyclists who still want to enjoy riding in Northamptonshire.
There are a range of great cycle routes – here are some we’ve picked out.
First up is Brixworth Country Park, The route visits the pretty villages surrounding the reservoir including Brixworth, Walgrave and Scaldwell. Cycle hire is available at the western end of the park and there is also a cafe for refreshments.
Secondly, Fermyn Woods has a number of cycling trails and it is located a few miles north east of Kettering. For cyclists there are three way marked trails to enjoy: The Skylark Nature trail is an all abilities trail on good surfaced paths. It takes you around the ponds and woods located next to the car park. The Woodland trail is about a mile long and takes you a little further into the woods on good footpaths. The Fermyn Forest trail is just over two miles taking you deep into the woodland on a mixture of hard and soft tracks.
Lastly Stanwick Lakes lets you explore 750 acres of parkland and nature reserve in the heart of Northamptonshire’s beautiful Nene Valley. The park has a lovely cycle and walking track passing between the many lakes.
We recommend using Sustrans National Cycle Network app, which is free on Apple and Android and enables the user access to over 25,000 miles of walking and cycling across the UK.
If staying on two feet is more your thing, take a look at our guide to walking in Northamptonshire.
