Cycling holidays in Wales

Up for an adventure? So is Wales. With its epic cycling routes, the country has turned its amazing natural landscapes to its advantage.

I laid my bike against the side of the hill and collapsed, exhausted, into the heather so its little branches scrabbled against my helmet. I dozed, enjoying my springy bed, until I sensed that I was being watched. Sitting up, I made eye contact with a startled sheep. As it staggered away over the tussocks, I saw the view beyond it, out over a sea of empty hills.

I live next door to Wales, just across the Bristol Channel. Great things happen when I cross over – the hills get big, the houses whitewashed and pretty, the weather wilder, and every second dog I meet is a collie. The landscape keeps me coming back – especially on a bike.

Our cycling holidays in Wales are a fantastic way to engage with a landscape writ large, an impressive 20 percent of which is protected under three glorious national parks.

Sean explains that the shift from mining to mountain biking was integral to helping Wales adapt after pit closures: “South Wales got put on the cycling and mountain biking map because of the trail centres, in which there was heavy investment in the late 1990s and the 2000s to help rejuvenate the working forest and ex-mining communities.”

Today, cycle tourism is one of the most important types of tourism for Wales. In the whole of the UK, it generates around £500m a year, and more than a million overnight trips. Importantly, cycling particularly benefits small businesses.

Part of the charm of Wales is the contrast between its hulking hills – rendered stark and desolate from decades of grazing – and its small villages. The quaint and the epic meet on the valley floor: small whitewashed houses, thousands of small historic chapels built by religious nonconformists, plus tea rooms, pubs and shops and takeaways. Tourism brings more commerce: bunkhouses and perhaps a cycle shop selling bikes, spare parts, repairs, a bike wash service and sometimes a coffee, too. Bike shops can become community hubs.

“The community invest in the bike shop as they’ve seen that cyclists use them and will use other services in the village,” says Sean. “The villages don’t have to rely on themselves to keep those services intact.”

Tourism can turn the fate of a village post office around and keep services going. Cycle tourists are particularly attractive, tending to travel further and more remotely, and working up an appetite to get there. They also, as a generalisation, have money to spend.

So, with your pockets and panniers loaded, where should you go?

When the Brecons beckon, it’s hard to say no. There are striking-looking mountains, like the conical Sugar Loaf, and Pen y Fan, the tallest in South Wales. The area is also a Dark Sky Reserve. No longer wishing to be named after the act of burning, for climate-sensitive reasons it dropped the ‘beacon’ name and rebranded under its Welsh name in the 2020s.

The very spine of the country – yet strangely ignored by most tourists – Mid Wales has a small population and a big landscape. “It’s really beautiful and wild,” says Joe. There are traffic-free trails connecting small communities, as well as forest paths for cyclists. Take a wild swim in a small river and dry your swimsuit over your handlebars on the way back.

The crown of Wales, Eryri National Park is named after its highest mountain, but extends far beyond the peak. The park – the fourth largest in the UK – is adventure central. For cyclists, there’s a choice of long-distance road cycling paths and mountain biking. Expect some long ascents, yes, but these are invariably followed by beautiful long descents, too.

Highlights of the county include Pembrokeshire National Park, Britain’s only national park that’s found on a coast, and the colourful town of Tenby at its entrance. Coastal cycling is great if you want to swap Welsh cakes and bara brith for fish and chips and Blue Flag beaches.

Wales is all-terrain. There are gravel tracks, forest tracks, unsealed and sealed roads, and – for mountain bikers – dirt tracks, plus tracks on the bedrock on the hills. Up high, consider packing layers. The wind can whip up over treeless moorland and you can be quite exposed. The most important consideration for Wales’ terrain is that you stick to the trails; erosion is a serious issue on the treeless hills. Small acts, like paying for bike park car parks, or donating to trail associations, help not-for-profits and volunteers look after paths that aren’t maintained by local government.

It’s hard to go back to regular pedalling once you’ve experienced them. Electric bikes allow you to go further with confidence. Electric mountain bikes are incredible beasts that remove the need to push your bike uphill – though they are expensive to rent.

The late spring, summer and early autumn are the best seasons for cycling in Wales. Our small group tours tend to depart from May to September. Wales has a maritime climate, and with this comes often cloudy, wet and windy weather – but May is the sunniest month and July the warmest.