4 STARTER FOR 10
1 Waterside gravel
Elan Valley, mid-Wales
For first gravel forays, reservoir circuits are great because: (a) by keeping the water on the same side, you’re unlikely to get lost (as you might in forests); (b) they’re flattish but scenic; and (c) they’re usually a convenient, logical day-ride length. (And (d): good cafes likely.) Ladybower in the Peaks is a gem, Rutland Water is a family favourite, and there’ll probably be a local reservoir near you to try.
Wales’s chain of reservoirs in and round the Elan Valley (elanvalley.org.uk), by Rhayader, offers experiences from easy tarmac family waterside trundling to satisfyingly challenging ‘wild’ gravel riding through the middle of nowhere. Head west from Elan village on the north shore of Claerwen Reservoir, whose decent gravel track traces a shape like splayed fingers of a hand. Astoundingly, there’s an isolated farm here somewhere, but nothing and nobody else until you get to Ffair-Rhos village. Barely-trafficked tarmac roads loop back through mountainscapes to your reservoir chain: a day ride to remember.
Like the feeling? Britain’s forests, lakes and moors can offer you a lifetime of gravel thrills.
2 ‘England’s Ventoux’
Great Dun Fell, Cumbria
Get a taste
