Welcome to part four of my five-part bikepacking adventure along the Old Chalk Way, a 358-mile journey from Lyme Regis on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast to Holme-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. This historic route loosely follows Britain’s oldest road—the Greater Ridgeway, a prehistoric pathway dating back 5,000 years—traversing rolling green hills, farmland doubletrack, tarmac back lanes, woodland bridleways, and forestry fire roads.
In this episode, I set off from Luton after a well-earned night of modern comfort at a Travelodge—recharged and ready to tackle the next leg of the adventure. The first challenge? Escaping the city’s busy streets and returning to nature.
Once back on the trail, I battle through overgrown paths, eventually emerging onto the busiest road of the trip—a less-than-pleasant experience. But perseverance pays off, and before long, I cross into Essex, where I discover a serene bluebell woodland—an idyllic spot to pitch my tent and settle in for the night.
Join me as I push further along this epic route, facing obstacles, embracing solitude, and soaking in the ever-changing landscapes of the Old Chalk Way!
right all sorted all charged up ready to go Let’s get our loot I spent a little bit too long here and I just want to get out into the nice peaceful beautiful countryside again We’re back on the old bus way My plan is to try and get out of Luton as quickly as I possibly can And then uh we’re going to do about 40 odd miles today I’m well ahead of my schedule so can slow down a bit and enjoy the scenery hopefully I’ve not ridden most of this section after Luton so it’s all going to be new to me Um definitely my favorite bit so far was um the Dorset section starting in Lime Reges It was just the most beautiful section done the ridgeware a few times before and I find it quite it’s very it’s very beautiful but it’s uh very sy and it can be quite difficult and hot So yeah hopefully this ne next section is um going to be going to be nice Never been in a Norolk before I think we made it out of Luton alive I mean to be fair to Luton it’s not too bad to cycle in There’s a lot of cycle paths so you don’t have to ride in the traffic and it’s fairly quick and simple to get in and out of I think it’s going to be um a lot flatter for the next few days It’s definitely as we head into Norolk we’re on the Ignil Way and then we’re going to get onto the Pedis Way once we get to Norolk and that should take us to the coast I’ve been saying we’re going to Wells next the sea We’re going home next to sea not Wales Uh we’re moving a lot faster today than we have been previous days Already done 10 miles Maybe it’s just down to the rest in the Travel Lodge or the fact that it’s a lot flatter I don’t know But yeah we’re making progress fast I think I’m probably going to get to the end before I expected to These are always fun I mean look at that Made it to the top Just got to get down the other side now I think it might be worse doing that Sorted Right let’s carry on riding This is absolutely lovely And then we got the motorway running alongside next to us Kind of ruins it a little bit Hello Hello Hello We gone from fields of uh rapesy to fields of nothingness Just just mud I guess something will be growing in these fields later on in the year Here we go I was missing it We’ve now got fields of rape Oh a hell It’s getting ridiculously hot now So hot I’m assuming that’s part of a a house by the looks of it that’s burned down Just stopped for lunch Uh a baguette a magnum an iced coffee and a muffin And we’re going to carry on The heat’s getting to me a little bit today to be honest I think this is the hottest day I have no idea how hot it is but it feels really hot although it’s really open as well with all these fields Anyway we’re near Cambridge sort of Um we’re not going through Cambridge but we’re sort of outside Cambridge A field with something else in other than rape seed Hey flat Very flat I actually quite enjoy a hill So sometimes I struggle on the flat a bit Not sure why I think it’s just cuz you have to consistently pedal At this hill you get a break down the other side and it’s fast and it’s fun But you’re just constantly just plotting along on the flat aren’t you all right we’re off the uh annoying grassy field now into the grally flat lands again Back on this stuff again When will it ever end hopefully it’s not All this way all the way to the coast I’ll go insane It is not good This Hello It’s going to be my new thing Let me know if you like it Oh a little secret main road track where you can enjoy the beautiful woodlands and experience the sound of a very busy a road You get to join onto the main road Lovely That was bloody dire Don’t bother with that bit of woodlands Just come on to the other side of the road here and just ride up this side of the road on the on the foot path It’s like a mile up there on that main road It’s insane Not for me though This section’s just not just not doing it for me I’m just hoping it improves cuz we’ve got about well just over 100 miles to go That’s a long way to riding crappy trails If you’re wondering what road it is it’s the A10 uh just outside of Royston It’s the A10 just outside of Royston It’s a bloody death trap So just be careful on there and do what I did and just come onto this onto this foot path I’m not going to lie that was absolutely the worst part of this route so far Hands down Without a question of a doubt here to not getting run over Just enjoying that view that I’ve been looking at the whole time I’ve been doing this God I’m Marty today Just want to get out of the way of London now into Norolk What the is this what the actual sake Well that was an interesting walk through some bushes Every now and again you’re faced by something like this when you do a route like this And you’ve just got to keep smiling and hope that one day sometime not too far in the distant future it’ll end and we’ll be smiling again As well as it being horrendously overgrown It’s a bit stingy There’s a lot of stingers down here So they’re getting their revenge for me eating them And for some reason it’s full of flies that I keep eating I keep expecting to come around the corner and just find a dead body or something Trying not to open my mouth cuz every time I do I just swallow hundreds of flies Hopefully we’re out of it feel like Forest Gump you know like when he just went “One day I just started running and you know what i didn’t stop and I just kept running and running and running and running.” And it’s like you can go your own way another day and just running down the road It’s like one of those It looks like one of those American crossroads It’s not I think we’re in Cambridge Sheer Cambridge Sheer Is that a place oxford Shear Cambridge I don’t know The heat’s killing me This is better This is more like it Come on This is what we like to see Nice fast flowing easygoing smooth ground Dirt farmers Dirt farmers We farm dirt We grow the best dirt there is in the dirt Jiggity joggedy Oh I’m the king of the swingers the jungle VIP We reach that’s top that’s what’s boing me It’s nice to be back on a smooth flowing quiet road again Actually it’s the straightest road I’ve seen all day I can’t see Oh I can see all the way to the end of it I think Less than 100 miles to go So celebrating with a double chocolate cherry magnum I tried one of these the other day They are good We are officially in Essex I just had to do a double take cuz I was like how far we got left we got 95 miles left and um 3,586 ft of climbing I think the least amount of climbing I did on one day was that So it’s going to be incredibly flat and hopefully it’s not going to be windy Back to the rape fields Yeah I’m just going to keep going for a little bit I want to keep going until I find somewhere nice to stop to be honest If I spot somewhere nice I’m stopping If not I’m just going to carry on Anyone know what are in those great big metal tanks i’m assuming it’s like grain or something but I really don’t actually know what it would be They’re quite imposing aren’t they maybe we’ll find out when we get a bit closer Massive This is a water tower apparently It’s the highest point around here for miles Just I just pushed up the hill if I’m honest with you I think I know where I’m going to camp So let’s go and have a look