The UK is home to some of the best mountain biking trails offering a variety of riding that suits all levels and abilities. Whether you’re off exploring the ancient chalk drove roads of the Ridgeway, loamy forest trails in the Cairngorms, rocky Lake District descents or grassy singletrack in Northumberland, there’s a vast network of incredible mountain bike trails in the UK beckoning to be explored! Our mountain bike holidays in the UK explore some of the best long-distance MTB routes. These are our favourite routes to add to your bucket list.
The UK’s best off-road MTB routes
If you’re in search of a proper off-road adventure, then these long-distance mountain bike routes explore some of the best natural mountain bike trails in the UK. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of heading off on a place to place journey exploring some of the wildest corners of the British countryside. With carefully planned logistics, these routes can also be ridden on an electric mountain bike.
Highlands Coast to Coast – Fort William to Montrose
Total distance: 215 miles / 346 Km
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This is a classic wilderness mountain biking journey starting in Fort William and exploring some of the most remote and beautiful trails in the Highlands before finishing in Montrose on the east coast. Passing through Nevis Range, where the bike park and natural trails whet your appetite for what’s to come, you’ll then be treated to an array of hidden singletrack gems off the famous Great Glen Cycle Route and around Invergarry before finishing your day with a scenic ride along the Caledonian Canal towpath into Fort Augustus.
From here, your journey begins to feel quite remote as you take on the mighty Corrieairack Pass on General Wade’s old Military Road. Your efforts are rewarded with an exhilarating descent before picking up the River Spey and eventually reaching Laggan. The ride through Inshriach Forest and the Rothiemurchus Estate is a tasty mix of trails crossing open moorland and weaving among ancient Caledonian pines. After an overnight stay in the highest village in the Highlands, Tomintoul, you’ll find yourself riding against a dramatic backdrop of the Cairngorm Mountains as you make your way past the royal country house of Balmoral and onto Ballater. The final stretch of this epic adventure picks up a technical singletrack route around Mount Keen, followed by a picturesque trail along the River Esk, and an enjoyable cruise down to the coast to Montrose.
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Join our fully guided trip riding Highlands Coast to Coast:
Highlands Coast to Coast Mountain Bike Holiday
King Alfred’s Way
Distance: 245 miles / 395 Km
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King Alfred’s Way was created by the charity Cycling UK and named after the Anglo-Saxon King of Wessex. This circular off-road route traces millennia-old trails and historic sites, including Roman roads, the ancient Ridgeway, Stonehenge, Iron Age hill forts, castles and cathedrals. Between the historic towns and villages, the undulating landscape offers up a wonderful mix of riding, from chalky drove roads and grassy singletrack to sunken byways, twisty woodland mountain bike trails and gentle riverside tracks.
At 245 miles, this is one of the longest mountain biking routes in the UK, but the rolling landscape means the climbs, whilst occasionally lengthy, are not as brutally steep as other routes in the UK. Riding highlights include fast and fun descents on the South Downs, 5 miles of grin-inducing trails from the top of Hindhead Common and pedalling ancient chalky tracks along the Ridgeway.
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Join our fully guided trip riding King Alfred’s Way.
King Alfred’s Way Mountain Bike Holiday
Pennine Bridleway
Distance: 187 miles / 300 Km
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The Pennine Bridleway is the UK’s longest continuous off-road route, which follows a mix of ancient packhorse routes, drovers’ roads and bridleways from Middleton Top in the Peak District to Ravenstonedale in Cumbria. This is a classic cross-country mountain biking adventure with a mix of trails, including fast and fun grassy descents, open moorland traverses, rocky singletrack and exhilarating technical trails to test your bike-handling skills.
Highlights include soaking in the gorgeous views as you ride through the White Peak and the rugged Dark Peak, pedalling superb woodland trails after an overnight stop in the vibrant town of Hebden Bridge, the incredible descent from Black Moor, riding the iconic limestone pavements of the Yorkshire Dales, and taking in the incredible views of Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent.
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Join our fully guided trip riding the Pennine Bridleway.
Pennine Way Mountain Bike Holiday
Off-Road Coast to Coast – Whitehaven to Tynemouth
Distance: 157 miles / 252 Km
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The Off-Road Coast to Coast is a fun mountain biking alternative to the popular C2C, starting in Whitehaven on the west coast and finishing in Tynemouth on the east coast. Over four riding days you’ll soak in some of the most beautiful and varied scenery of northern England as you gaze over majestic mountains in the Lake District and the vast moors of the North Pennines.
The route follows a few sections of quiet tarmac blended with a delightful cocktail of trails along disused railway lines, rocky singletrack, grassy bridleways and weaving woodland tracks. This is a surprisingly wild off-road adventure that traces several historical routes and treasures along the way, including numerous old mine workings, Berrier Roman Road, a Bronze Age stone circle and Isaac’s Tea Trail.
Discover our Off-Road Coast to Coast MTB Holiday
Join our fully guided trip riding the Off-Road Coast to Coast
Off-Road Coast to Coast Mountain Bike Holiday
Sandstone Way
Distance: 115 miles / 185 Km
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Northumberland is often overlooked as a mountain biking destination but, as the least densely populated county in England, there’s so much wilderness to explore here. The Sandstone Way is a brilliant long-distance mountain biking route that traverses more than a hundred off-road miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed to the market town of Hexham.
The route begins with scenic coastal riding with views of ancient castles and sweeping sandy beaches before heading inland along farm tracks and forest roads towards Wooler. From here your journey begins to feel quite remote as you head into the Cheviots along open moorland and sections of fun woodland singletrack descending into Rothbury. A climb into Harwood Forest leads to some technical farm tracks and then onto a pretty riverside traverse towards the small village of West Woodburn. Your final day of riding is a fun mix of challenging bridleways, snaking singletrack and the odd stream crossing as you make your way past Hadrian’s Wall and celebrate your journey’s end with a fun descent into Hexham.
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Join our fully guided trip riding Sandstone Way or go self-guided.
Sandstone Way Guided Mountain Bike Holiday
Sandstone Way Self-Guided Mountain Bike Holiday
Coniston Classics
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Some of the best mountain biking routes in the UK are ridden in a day and what better way to spend a week than enjoying day after day of brilliant loop rides from your hotel door? Staying in Coniston in the Lake District you can do exactly this. These routes are particularly fun on an eMTB, allowing you to cover a good distance with plenty of steep climbs to access even more fun downhill trails:
- Coniston Round (24 miles / 40 Km) – A brilliant loop up the Old Man of Coniston, over Trover Common, the three witches of Satterthwaite and through Grizedale Forest’s trails.
- Ambleside and Loughrigg Fell (36 miles / 58 Km) – From Coniston, this big day out on the bike takes you out to Elterwater, along Loughrigg Terrace, across Hawkshead Hill and back into Grizedale Forest before following some wild singletrack over Blawith fells and back into Coniston.
- Grizedale and Windermere (26 miles / 42 Km) – a morning of incredible singletrack trails in Grizedale Forest is followed by an ascent to Claife Heights with awesome views of Windermere. After heading north around Holme Fell, the final stretch is a mix of rock tracks, bridleways and woodland trails.
- Old mining villages of Coniston (24 miles / 39 Km) – To the west of Coniston lies seldom-ridden but spectacular trails over the moors to Rosthwaite, and onto the old Walna Scar gravel roads, passing abandoned mining villages along the way.
Discover our Classic Coniston Electric MTB Holiday
Classic Coniston Electric Mountain Bike Holiday
The UK’s best mountain bike parks and trails
Trail centres are a great option if you want to hone your technical mountain biking skills before you go away on a mountain biking holiday and you just have a day or two available to ride. Here are our favourite UK bike parks and trail centres.
Whinlatter, Lake District
Whinlatter has a fun and popular trail centre with some lovely views and flowing trails.
- The blue trail has flowing singletrack, gentle berms and rolling jumps. There are two options – a short 2-mile (3.5 Km) route or a longer 4.6-mile (7.5 Km) trail.
- The red trail – is a 12-mile (19Km) challenging singletrack route. It’s the longest purpose-built mountain bike trail in the Lake District with views of Derwentwater, Bassenthwaite and Helvellyn. The trail is split into a north loop and a south loop from the visitor centre.
Other facilities: Bike hire, Café, Shop, Visitor Centre
Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire
Dalby Forest is situated in the heart of the North York Moors. The trail centre hosts a well-known UCI World Cup black trail, but there are also plenty of other routes catering to all levels as well, including:
- A long 21-mile (34Km) red trail with flowing singletrack and technical features, and two shorter 8.5-mile (14Km) and 6-mile (10Km) red trails. For riders looking to challenge their bike handling skills, there is a 7-mile (11Km) red trail that takes in a section of the UCI World Cup trail.
- A 6-mile (11Km) blue trail with fun zig zagging berms.
- The green trail has two options – an 8-mile (13Km) route or a longer 12-mile (19Km) route.
- There is also a green e-bike trail and a skills area.
Other facilities: Café, Bike hire, Shop, Visitor Centre
Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
The Forest of Dean Cycle Centre offers everything from progressive singletrack trails to demanding downhill runs.
- The downhill trails include 2 blues, 2 reds, 7 black runs and 3 double black runs. Uplift is available.
- The red trail has three loop options at 3.8 miles (6Km), 7 miles (11Km) or 10.7 miles (17Km).
- A 7-mile (11Km) blue trail delivers a variety of riding.
- A short 1.2-mile (2Km) green trail is a great beginners’ route.
- A pump track and skills area has grades ranging from easy (green) to advanced (black)
Other facilities: Café, Bike hire, Shop
Innerleithen and Glentress, Scottish Borders
Innerleithen is one of the 7 Stanes mountain bike trail centres in the Scottish Borders. The focus here is on downhill mountain biking and all four downhill trails are orange-graded Bike Park Extreme. There is also a 11-mile (19Km) challenging red-graded XC trail with miles of technical singletrack riding and optional black features. Innerleithen is not for beginners but is a great place for honing your skills on challenging trails. Uplift is also available to maximise your time on the downhill trails.
For a wider range of grades and trails, head a few miles down the road to Glentress, another 7 Stanes bike park. Here you will find a selection of green, blue and red routes, as well as newly developed swooping trails ranging from blue to black, as well as a skills area.
Other facilities: Café, Bike hire, Shop
Bike Park Wales, Methyr Tydfil
Bike Park Wales has over 40 trails for riders of all abilities. Access trails with an optional uplift pass and choose from green, blue, red, black and purple (pro) trails.
Trails are divided into categories of ‘flow’ trails, ‘tech’ trails and ‘blend’ trails across most grades to help you find your perfect challenge. There is also a skills area and pump track.
Other facilities: Café, Bike hire, Coaching, Shop
Find your perfect UK mountain biking holiday
Join us as we explore some of the best mountain biking trails in the UK. Each of our mountain biking tours is meticulously planned by our MTB experts so whether you choose to go on a self-guided tour or join one of our guided small group tours, you can relax knowing that all you need to worry about is what incredible trails lay ahead.
Our Mountain Bike Holidays in the UK