Late August/early September this year I took a train from London to Lancaster and cycled The Way of the Roses. The official route is 270km, but after I’d added some extra sight seeing, plus the usual dilly-dallying, I totalled 325km across 5 days. My exact route with accommodation/camp spots listed is below:
https://www.komoot.com/collection/3783870/-way-of-the-roses-2025
After a self-planned route in Slovenia earlier this summer, I wanted something a bit more straightforward! Since this is a popular and well-planned route, I won’t go into that side of things so much. Suffice it to say that it was excellent- scenic yet frequently passing through places with shops, facilities etc, and barely any cars except in more urban areas of course. I used the cycle.travel site to find all of my camp spots, which made planning a version of the route which suited me a doddle.
I also used this page to find a few more local points of interest:
http://wayoftheroses.info/poi/category/poi
So I’m posting my pics and giving some personal recommendations which I discovered along the way 🙂
• The Great Stone of Fourstones (pic #3). Crazy massive boulder dumped by a glacier. Super cool spot with amazing views, worth a small detour.
• Bentham Auction Mart (pic #4). If you pass through Bentham on an auction day, go in and check it out. Can’t post a video but you can sit in and hear some very legit auctioneer patter.
• Bentham Auction Mart cafe (pic #5). Dinner and a show! Had a very fortifying 4pm plate of chips and cheese and onion pie, plus a cuppa. Cash only. Legit spot.
• Ribblehead Viaduct (pic #6). My biggest diversion from the standard route was to see this incredible bit of Victorian engineering (thanks Ian Nairn). Was too early for the visitor centre, but at 8.30am it was deserted and absolutely breathtaking. A beautiful undulating valley ride to get there.
• Three Peaks bike shop in Settle. Extremely well stocked shop for picking up any extra bits and bobs/fuel up in the cafe before the climb out of Settle.
• Brimham Rocks (pic #11). Free! And directly on the route. Do not miss.
• Accom recommendation: Linton Lock Inn (pic #14). Bikepackers and hikers are treated to this beautiful riverside spot right by the inn! Wendy who runs the inn and campsite was lovely. I really recommend staying here.
• Rudston Ancient monolith (pic #17). Made an impromptu diversion to see this after feeling a bit swindled by paying the £17 entrance fee to (the still family-owned -_-) Burton Agnes Hall. The tallest singular standing stone in the UK!
Overall, a wonderfully relaxing and visually stunning trip. The people were unwaveringly lovely and I recommend for a low-stress getaway within the UK!
by MrStuartRules