If there is one thing gravel cycling has given us, it is the freedom to go exploring.
Forget traffic-heavy roads, chasing average speed or following the same sportive route every Sunday.
The best gravel rides take you away from the familiar and onto forest roads, bridleways, moorland trails and quiet country lanes.
And the UK is packed with them.
From the chalk ridges of the Chilterns to the forests of Kielder, the wild landscapes of Wales and the remote gravel roads of Scotland, there is an enormous variety of gravel bike routes in the UK.
We have picked five of the best gravel adventures, all around 50–100km, that deserve a place on your gravel cycling bucket list.
We also have many of these routes and many more on our GRVL Komoot page.
1. The Chilterns: Ridgeway, Ashridge, Wendover Woods & the Beacons
If you live anywhere around London, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire or Bedfordshire, you are sitting remarkably close to some of the UK's best gravel riding.
The Chilterns combine ancient woodland, chalk tracks, rolling hills and quiet lanes, with the Ridgeway providing one of the UK's most iconic off-road riding experiences.
For a perfect starting point, head to Church Farm Café in Aldbury. Set in the heart of the Chilterns, the café is specifically geared towards cyclists and sits close to Ashridge Estate and Tring. It's 35 mins from London Euston and a 2 minute ride from Tring train station, so ideal for those wanting to escape the smoke and enjoy a few hours of fresh air and epic trails.
From here, a great gravel adventure can take you towards Ashridge Forest, Ivinghoe Beacon, Dunstable Downs, Wendover Woods and sections of the Ridgeway, before looping back through the Chiltern villages.
There are plenty of climbs to collect along the way. Tag Ivinghoe Beacon, Coombe Hill and the Dunstable Downs, and you will quickly realise that this is not simply a ride through pretty countryside.
The Chilterns are deceptively hilly.
For a longer Komoot route in the area, the Church Farm Cafe – Great Missenden loop from Chesham provides a 94.9km ride with around 900m of climbing and a moving time of approximately 5 hours 52 minutes. Komoot rates it Hard and if you ride in winter, expect some challenging climbs.
View the Chilterns route on Komoot
Distance: 94.9km
Climbing: 900m
Time: 5h 52m
Difficulty: Hard
The beauty of this area is that you can make the ride as long or short as you want. The Chilterns have an extensive network of gravel tracks, bridleways and quiet roads, while the official Chilterns Cycleway provides further options for building your own adventure.
Feeling tired, check the map , make a detour and start to head back. The number of routes that link and endless and it's very easy to link routes so you handle ever touch tarmac.
And when you finish, Church Farm Café is a pretty good place to talk about how many times you nearly ran out of legs over the best coffee outside London before you roll back down the hill to Tring station and back home.
If you are travelling by car, the cafe has plenty of parking and serves breakfast from 8:30am every day. The cakes are big enough to share and locally sourced produce makes this a great base to start and end from.
The cafe is GRVL's local base and we run 50km social ride every month from here.
2. Galloway, Scotland: Gravel in the Gralloch Country
Scotland takes gravel cycling to another level.
The combination of huge forests, lochs, moorland, woodland fire trails and almost empty roads makes the south-west of Scotland one of the UK's most exciting gravel destinations.
The Gralloch has helped put the region firmly on the gravel map, but you don't need to enter an event to experience the riding.
One excellent option is Komoot's Galloway Gravel: Exploring the Galloway Forest Park from Dalry.
This 70.4km loop takes riders deep into Galloway Forest Park, with approximately 730m of climbing. Around 40km of the route is recorded as unpaved, giving it a proper gravel-adventure feel. Komoot rates it Hard.
Ride the Galloway Gravel route on Komoot
Distance: 70.4km
Climbing: 730m
Time: 6h 05m
Difficulty: Hard
The scenery is the real attraction.
Expect forest roads, open moorland, big skies and long sections where you can ride without seeing much traffic at all. This is gravel cycling as an escape rather than simply a different surface.
The wider region also offers routes such as The Grannoch, a 73.5km gravel ride with 910m of climbing and an estimated time of 6 hours 44 minutes.
Explore The Grannoch on Komoot
For riders travelling north from England, Galloway is an excellent destination for a weekend of gravel riding.
Work out the best time to visit. In our experience, May is a great month as the weather is usually pleasant and the midges haven't appeared yet. If you decide to ride from June to September, then expect to fight off the odd midge or two!
3. Kielder Forest: The Dirty Reiver Playground
If you want to understand why Kielder has become synonymous with UK gravel, spend a day riding its wide forest roads.
Kielder is home to England's largest forest and a huge network of forest roads, trails and tracks. The area is remote, wild and almost perfectly designed for gravel bikes.
The obvious inspiration is the Dirty Reiver, one of the UK's original and best-known gravel events.
But you don't need to ride 200km to experience Kielder.
Komoot's Kielder Dam – Lakeside Way loop from Falstone is an excellent 72.5km option, with 1,120m of climbing and an estimated riding time of 5 hours 44 minutes. Komoot rates it Hard.
Ride the Kielder route on Komoot
Distance: 72.5km
Climbing: 1,120m
Time: 5h 44m
Difficulty: Hard
There is a huge amount of unpaved riding, including forest tracks and sections of the Lakeside Way. Expect sustained climbing rather than technical mountain-bike trails.
Kielder also has some great pieces of outdoor art to enjoy and the views from the observatory on a clear day is stunning.
If you want something even closer to the Dirty Reiver experience, the Kielder Reiver route is 88.8km with around 1,340m of climbing.
Kielder is also a brilliant destination for a two-day trip. Visit Kielder's accommodation options include lodges, hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation.
4. Wales: The Trans Cambrian Way
For riders who want their gravel adventure to feel genuinely remote, Wales is difficult to beat.
The Trans Cambrian Way Loop heads into the Cambrian Mountains, often described as the wild heart of Wales.
This is not a gentle café ride, it's seriously lumpy.
The Komoot route covers 77.2km and climbs approximately 1,280m, taking around 6 hours 50 minutes. Komoot rates it Hard.
Ride the Trans Cambrian Way Loop on Komoot
Distance: 77.2km
Climbing: 1,280m
Time: 6h 50m
Difficulty: Hard
The route combines gravel tracks, ancient ridge roads, forest tracks, rocky sections and singletrack, passing landmarks including Claerwen Dam and the Teifi Pools.
It is also the most serious adventure on this list.
Komoot warns that riders should be prepared for river crossings, boggy sections, gates and limited facilities. Some sections may require you to push your bike.
Make sure you take provisions, food, water and a repair kit for punctures. The route is remote and a mechanical could mean hours of walking before you can get picked up.
That is exactly why it belongs on a gravel bucket list.
This is the sort of ride where carrying enough food, water, clothing and navigation equipment matters. Check the weather before leaving and don't underestimate the remoteness.
For an overnight adventure, Bryn Derwen B&B in Rhayader offers cycle storage and sits close to the Elan Valley and Cambrian Mountains.
Rhayader's accommodation guide has hotels, B&Bs, cottages and cycling-friendly options around the Elan Valley.
5. Yorkshire: The Yorkshire Reiver
Yorkshire and gravel cycling were made for each other. It's located in Gods own county.
The combination of open moorland, ancient bridleways, forest tracks and huge expanses of beautiful countryside provides some of the most rewarding gravel riding in northern England.
The Yorkshire Reiver is a superb introduction.
The Komoot route covers 90.3km, climbing 1,250m, with an estimated moving time of 8 hours 7 minutes. It is rated Hard.
Ride the Yorkshire Reiver on Komoot
Distance: 90.3km
Climbing: 1,250m
Time: 8h 07m
Difficulty: Hard
The route heads through the North York Moors, with highlights including the Hole of Horcum, Levisham and Dalby Forest which now hosts several epic races and events throughout the year.
Around half of the route is recorded as unpaved, with a mixture of paths, singletrack, gravel and road sections.
The North York Moors can feel wonderfully remote. One minute you're rolling along a quiet lane; the next you're crossing open moorland with nothing but heather, sky and distant hills around you.
It's exactly the sort of landscape where a gravel bike makes sense. Again, make sure you go prepared with kit that covers all conditions and tools to fix a mechanical.
Plan the Ride. Then Ride It.
The great thing about gravel cycling in the UK is that you don't need an organised event, a closed road or a fixed date. You can ride these routes with your mates next weekend or ever tomorrow.
Or plan a two-day bikepacking adventure six months from now and invite a group.
You can start early, ride hard and finish before lunch. Or take a whole day, stop for coffee, take photographs, explore the trails and find a pub at the end or pitch your tent and bike pack.
That's what makes gravel different.
The UK has an extraordinary network of tracks waiting to be explored. The best gravel routes in the UK aren't necessarily the longest or hardest. They're the ones that take you somewhere you wouldn't normally go.
It allows you to explore and work out the landscape and how it all connects. Trails don't dictate like roads and you pick the direction and connect the routes you want to ride.
So pick a destination, load the route into Komoot, pack the essentials and go and find your own piece of gravel.
And if you're starting in the Chilterns, make Church Farm Café your first stop. The coffee is ready and the trails are waiting.
Ride more. Explore further. Ride GRVL.
Planning a two-day gravel adventure?
Route distances, climbing, times and difficulty ratings are based on Komoot route data available at the time of blog. Always check the current route before riding, as access, surfaces and conditions can change.
