Barney

Looking for the full South Downs Way in one Tour? Here it is.



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Let's not beat about the bush, the West Highland way is a big ol' challenge. Its 95-odd miles are usually treated as a walk over several days, but they work marvellously well as a magnificent bike ride (you can take a bike on all the trails, after all).



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I hope you like hills first thing in the morning, as depending on where you overnighted, this second leg of the South Downs Way starts off with a rather stiff one.



Granted, if you’ve spent the night south of South Harting then it’s not nearly as bad - the escarpment is to your north - but you’ve still

The final leg of the West Highland Way starts off with a doozy; the Devil's Staircase as a challenging (to say the least) climb, and a descent that will entirely possibly put steam in your shorts.



The fun doesn't let up there, though. After another stiff (but eminently doable) climb from Kinochleven

The third section of the West Highland way is relatively straightforward compared to the some of the previous sections.



Although the trail runs close to the railway at the start, it soon becomes more remote and expansive. Plenty of wide doubletrack, singletrack which for the most part lacks the technicality

The second leg of West Highland Way runs from Rowardennan and finishes up in Tyndrum.



From Rowardennan, the lower trail can get frustrating for bikers. Sure, there's a lot that can be ridden, but for a while at least, there will likely be some pushing and a fair bit of muttering before the trail settles

The first leg of the West Highland Way is everything that the rest of the route is, in microcosm. Urban, flat, immensely steep, exposed, beautiful, open and enclosed in parts. It's just wonderful.



The route starts gently, with a spin out from the centre of Milngavie (pronounce it 'mul-Guy' if you don

There's nothing too technically demanding on this ride, although you'll feel as if you've paid for the wonderful views with some stiff climbing. But this is mostly on tarmac, so it's a relatively easy spin. Most of the work on this ride comes in the second half of the ride.



The first half, then, is pretty

Here's a route which won't take all that long (it's not too far) but packs a punch in terms of climbing for all that distance!



The rewards are worth it, though - the area is steeped in industrial history if you keep your eyes peeled, and there are plenty of descents to match all those climbs.



A long, easy

This is a great intermediate ride; not too long, not too short; not too technical, not too simple. Just right, in fact.



Although it manages to pack quite a bit of climbing into its relatively short distance, the route's rewards are chiefly the fantastic environment and the luscious views; lung-busting