Fancy yourself a history buff? If the past fascinates you why not take on one of our historical journeys! Our place to place trips offer a great way to experience these historical routes and learn a little more about the rich culture associated with each destination along the way…
Ruta de La Plata
Translated from Spanish, ‘Plata’ means silver, though it’s more widely believed that this term was derived from the Arabic word balat, meaning cobbled road! The Ruta de la Plata is only recently being re-discovered as a fantastic riding route and was originally built by the Romans as an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path linking the dramatic Cantabrian coast with the sweltering South. This journey joins together some of Spain’s most ancient cities, from the UNESCO world heritage Cáceres with its fairytale walled city to the impressive Merida with its renowned Roman ruins…
Via Claudia
Another ancient Roman road, built to connect people and goods across The Alps, from Italy to the Northern frontier of the Empire! Not only does this route have a strong historical past it traverses 3 different countries – each providing their own unique geography and landscapes. The beginning of your journey starts in the foothills of The Alps with snowcapped mountains as your backdrop, a contrast to the Mediterranean finish in Italy on the shores of Lake Garda. The climate here allows for rolling vineyards and citrus tree’s – products undoubtable traded along this ancient route in the past…
Hadrian Cycleway
Those Roman’s got about didn’t they? Our final Roman route featured is the impressive Hadrian’s Wall, located in the slightly hardier climes of Northern England! Famed for inspiring the menacing ice wall in George RR Martin’s epic fantasy Game of Thrones, this iconic historical feature is one of the Roman’s most impressive feats of architecture and even missing a few metres, is still going strong! Our cycling journey here lets you experience all 84 miles, as well as giving opportunities to visit forts along the way to really immerse you in all things Roman.
Camino de Santiago
Highly travelled during the middle ages, the Camino de Santiago was at one point the most internationally visited part of Europe. Pilgrims flocked from around the world to walk the Way of St. James and eventually make it to the architecturally impressive cathedral. Conditions for pilgrims were said to have been atrocious, many becoming ill, with the weak dying along the way. However pilgrims were driven by the belief that to complete the pilgrimage would halve your time in Purgatory….something to bare in mind if your calves start to ache! Our cycling journey follows in the footsteps of these past travellers, exploring the historic region of Galicia which still possesses many of the fascinating features pilgrims would have spotted on their journey hundreds of years ago…