Finding (re)juvenation in unexpected places

The Old Chalk Way

A rejuvenating 385-mile birthday bikepacking journey By Simon Wright

Hi! My name is Simon - a Brit living in Arizona in the USA and a keen mountain biker. My brother, Martin, lives in Kent and is a weekend road warrior. It's my 65th birthday year so we decided to "treat" ourselves to a gravel adventure - seemingly a compromise between our skills and experience - although neither of us had ridden a gravel bike before. The Old Chalk Way popped up on YouTube and looked like a fun challenge (50:50 road and trail).

What better way to rediscover one's youthfulness...than to take on such a challenge?

From South Coast to North Sea, The Old Chalk Way embodies the 5,000-year history of Britain’s ancient trackways (The Monarch’s Way, The Ridgeway, The Icknield Way and The Peddars Way). Following a chalk vein, the route carves its way through some of Britain’s most iconic ancient sites, spectacular scenery, and some of the best gravel and all-road riding in southern England... Bikepacking.com

We opted for a 7-day itinerary (an average of 50 miles per day) staying in hotels, pubs and B&B’s along the way. Our plan was to average c. £100 per night. There are plenty of accommodation choices, cafes and re-supply options close to the trail throughout. We started in Dorset with 40-mile days, ramping up the distance eventually to a 70-mile day on Day 6. Other itineraries can be found online.

We had sunshine every day of our ride and temps above 30 C. This meant the trails were dry and hard packed. If it had been wet, this would have been a very different ride with some of it unrideable (or at best, not fun). A good Plan B for rainy days or muddy sections would be to use Google Maps to select parallel alternative routes using B-roads. Martin used this option even on dry days to avoid some of the rougher sections as he was not used to the chunk. Plan B does not cut the ride short and often selects the same easier bridleways as the official route.

THE RIDE

Day 1 – Lyme Regis to Higher Ansty (44 miles 5,400 ft)

Highlight of the day – view of the Cerne Giant chalk hill figure (the Rude Dude).

We picked up bikes from Wild Cycles at Marylebone Station, rode through London to Waterloo Station, and took the train to Axminster. A quick ride took us to Lyme Regis where we stayed the night at a rental flat called The Gables. Next morning we had a great breakfast at the Town Mill Bakery before rolling out onto a big road climb out of town.

This was the toughest day of the whole ride. It was very hilly. The off-road sections were unsubtly steep including a short hike-a-bike section on a steep uphill where it got very rocky. This is a section where those not used to off-road riding could take the “Plan B” option. The ride overall was, however, very pretty.

That night we stayed at a B&B in Higher Ansty called Pleck Barn.

Day 2 – Higher Ansty to Great Wishford (nr Salisbury) (49 miles, 3,000 ft)

Highlight of the day – climb up Shaftesbury’s famous Gold Hill (the cobbled hill from the iconic Hovis ad). 

This section is very nice and relatively easy riding. It starts with a big climb out of Ansty by road and then switches to a mix of single track and farm tracks with a bit of road. The trail crosses the River Stour at Durweston Mill and joins the North Dorset Trailway – a disused railway line. At Stillingstone, it passes alongside the North Dorset Steam Railway.

The road to Shaftesbury soon gets hilly with the final push being the Hovis Hill. We were fully committed to making the climb but its 20% gradient and cobbled stones following a hot morning’s ride defeated us. Still a reward of coffee and a sandwich at the top was earned.

Before leaving Shaftesbury, we paid a visit to Hope 2 Cycle shop which is on the route. We refilled water and took an apple and banana which were available for free to customers!

Mostly gravel track took us to Salisbury. We stayed the night at Great Wishford at The Old Post House. The owner kindly washed our cycling clothes and hung them out to dry and provided a great breakfast of granola and fresh fruit. There is no food option currently in Great Wishford so we ate in nearby Wilton.

Day 3 – Great Wishford to Ashbury (nr Swindon) (52 miles, 3,200 ft)

Highlights of the day – Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain Live Fire Area, Avebury Stone Circle and the start of The Ridgeway.

This was our favorite day of the whole ride. It started with mostly gravel bridleway to Stonehenge. Crossing the A303 was a nightmare and I eventually manged to flag down traffic to stop and let me cross. Arriving at Stonehenge before 9:00 am meant that it was very quiet with no other tourist around.

Leaving Stonehenge we arrived at Larkhill which is a military encampment. The red flags were flying warning of live fire exercises on Salisbury Plain. This meant taking a detour which adds only a few miles of B-roads and gravel bridleways, and was quite a pretty route.

If you want to plan ahead, red flag days for the Salisbury Plain Training Area can be found here. There was a good café at All Cannings where we met the GCN YouTube support crew who were filming a “Summer Solstice” gravel ride. It was a short hop from there to Avebury – the road goes right through the middle of the ancient stone circle. The National Trust café provided a much-needed lunch.

From Avebury, it was a long grind up a gravel road to join the Ridgeway. This section of The Ridgeway was wonderful to ride on.

We spent the night a Ashbury, at the Rose and Crown pub. Unfortunately, it was a steep ½-mile downhill by road off the Ridgeway to the pub.

Day 4 – Ashbury to Wendover (57 miles, 4,000 ft)

Highlight of the day – Goring-on-Thames.

This was a very enjoyable section of the ride that started with the steep uphill back to the trail followed by a long fast section of the Ridgeway before a descent by road into Goring-on-Thames. This was a pretty town with ample food options. We had an early lunch at Pierreponts Café.

A mix of lanes, farm tracks and road then took us to the Icknield Way.

Although there was 4,000 ft of climbing throughout this day, there was only one tough climb up Lodge Hill in the woods surrounding Chequers House just before Wendover. There was a fun twisty ride through these woods, but it was easy to lose the trail.

We spent the night at The Bel & Dragon, dining at The George & Dragon pub serving excellent Thai food.

Day 5 – Wendover to Royston (58 miles, 3,000 ft)

Highlights of the day – Grand Union Canal; Luton-Dunstable Busway.

The day started with a steep road climb followed by a steep off-road climb up to Wendover Woodland Park. A long pleasant ride through woodland and country lanes dropped out at Cow Roast marina and a working lock (No. 46) on the Grand Union Canal. Another climb topped out at the Bridgewater Monument in the Ashridge Estate. After dropping back down and a ride along the edge of farmland, the trail reached Edlesborough, site of the imposing St. Mary the Virgin church, and the welcome Heirloom Café.

The next section was the most urban of the whole ride. Skirting through fields and lanes around Dunstable, the trail eventually turned to road and met the Luton-Dunstable Busway. The concrete cycle path followed the guided busway into the heart of Luton. The route continued along the main A6 until it escaped the city through the South Beds golf course. The trail once again merged with the Icknield Way and crossed the East Coast Main Line over a foot bridge before becoming a road and going through the heart of Letchworth Garden City.

On a farm track a few miles beyond Letchworth, I got a flat tyre. I could not get the tyre off and after an hour of trying, I did the walk of shame to the nearest road and called a taxi to take me to our hotel, The Coach House on the outskirts of Royston.

After a beer, a plan came together fix the flat. We set a hotel picnic table on the tyre with Martin sitting on it, and I pulled the wheel against the combined weight to successfully brake the bead and replace the inner tube.

Day 6 – Royston to Great Ellingham (70 miles,3,000 ft)

Highlight of the day – Moulton Packhorse Bridge, Thetford Forest.

We picked the week of the British Superbike Championship at Snetterton for our ride, and this was right on The Old Chalk Way. Nearby accommodation had been booked out a year ahead so we had to detour and ride to Great Ellingham, near Attleborough for that night.

The morning ride was an easy combination of roads and farm tracks. The little village of Moulton with its ancient packhorse bridge was a treat. Crossing the A14 was not. A long stretch of the Icknield Way and some roads took us to a sandy trail into Thetford Forest. This was signed as closed. Continuing on the road though turned out to be a better option. The West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village was less than a mile further on and it had a café for lunch. Shorty after leaving there was dirt road called the West Stowe Trail that connected back to the planned bridleway through Thetford Forest, with the bonus of having avoided the sandy section

Arriving in the pedestrianized centre of Thetford there were plenty of cafes and I took the time to plan the detour to Great Ellingham. This was all by road much of it busy, but ended with a beautiful quiet section to our accommodation at Aldercarr Hall. The Crown pub in Great Ellingham served great food and beer, so all was well.

Day 7 – Great Ellingham to Holme-next-the-Sea (42 miles, 1,800 ft)

Highlight of the day – Castle Acre Ford, The North Sea.

We rejoined the official route at Watton on the Peddars Way. This took us to Castle Acre passing the ancient priory, over a footbridge crossing a deep ford. Reed beds paved the way into the village where coffee and a scone awaited us at Wittles Cafe.

Back on the Peddars Way, it was a long straight shot on farm tracks through the Sandringham Estate, and B-road to our North Sea destination on the sand dunes of Holme-next-the Sea. We had made it – not too old for The Old Chalk Way.

It was a short backtrack to the White Horse pub for lunch and our scheduled pickup.

Gear & Setup

Bikes (Wild Cycles rentals): Sonder Camino with 42mm tyres, SRAM Apex 11-speed, mechanical disc brakes

Luggage: Tailfin frame bag + Tailfin AeroPack

Clothing: One riding kit + one evening outfit

Navigation: Komoot app (iPhone with QuadLock tethered to an Anker 10,000 mAh portable charger) and Garmin Edge

Spare parts/tools: Tubes, patch kit, multitool, chain lube, chain brush, tyre levers, chain links, valve cores and remover tool, pliers, zip ties, e- and hand pump.

Snacks, first aid kit, and electronics.

Hydration pack/2 water bottles in the bike’s cages.

All-weather kit incl. rain jacket, spare mid-layer t-shirt, water-proof socks, single change of clothes and light-weight shoes for the evenings, wash kit.

Final Thoughts

In total, we rode 385 miles (including detours) and climbed 24,500 ft, averaging 9.2 mph. The gravel bikes were ideal—stiff enough for the trails and smooth on tarmac. Mountain bikes would have helped on Day 1 but made the rest slower and harder.

The bikes (Sonder Camino's) were great and well suited to the varied terrain.

Tailfin's bikepacking systems were absolutely brilliant, super practical and perfectly suited to our needs.

We ran tubed tyres, but a tubeless setup would have been much preferred. It would have prevented all our flats and allowed for more comfort on chunkier ground.

Navigation was key—there are no signs for The Old Chalk Way. Komoot worked well but required occasional user judgment when GPS lagged in the woods.

The transition to gravel bike riding is much easier for a mountain biker than for a road biker. While a gravel bike looks like a road bike and performs well on roads, off-road it performs like a rigid mountain bike where the experience of balance, rapid gear changing and punching over obstacles is key.

The Biggest Success?

Other than completing it and still smiling, the biggest success was our flexible Plan B strategy, allowing each of us to opt for routes that suited our skills best yet still meet up throughout the day.

Was It Fun?

Yes — definitely Type 2 fun! The kind that’s challenging, rewarding, rejuvenating and memorable, even if not always enjoyable in the moment. This ride sold me on bikepacking and gravel riding!

Martin... might need some convincing....

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Big thanks to Simon and Martin for choosing Wild Cycles' bike rentals for your epic journey. Thanks - Simon - for taking time to share the story of your journey - for us to enjoy. We hope that your helpful insights and information will inspire others to follow in your tyre tracks....