holidays index page | Snowdon | Lake District | 7stanes mtb skills weekends
English off-road coast to coast
The riding
If you’re a mountain biker, the quality of the riding is first on the list of priorities, so we’ve chosen a route from St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay as we reckon it has the most exciting trails. We head through the Lakes to the Dales then the North York Moors. And yes, it’s compulsory to dip at least a toe in the water on each side of the country!
We hit trails like Black Sail Pass, Garburn Pass, the Pennine Way, Swaledale & the superbly named Fryupdale. As well as great trails, the route takes in some stunning scenery. We’ve gone for a pace that gives time to notice the surroundings, rather than head down & flat out. You’ll need to be OK with averaging about 35 miles a day. Bear in mind that off road miles are more strenuous than road miles. Coast to coast routes inevitably include some road riding as well, but wherever possible we’ve kept away from the tarmac
Guiding & Support
Fully guided, so if you usually only ride trail centres but fancy something different, you can experience miles from nowhere riding without needing to look at a map. And if you’re usually the navigator, take a break & enjoy the riding…
The trip is supported so all you’ll need to carry each day is your Camelback type pack with your usual stash for a day’s riding. Your evening/overnight stuff will magically arrive at the end of day accommodation
We do lots of skills coaching, so although that’s not the focus of the trip, you can still expect to pick up some riding tips if you feel the need to improve. There’ll also be repairs available at the end of the day if needed (hopefully not!) – all you’ll need to do is aquire the parts if it’s something major
What bike will be suitable?
Although a nice bike does make a difference to your speed, fitness & skill make a bigger difference. If you’re an older MTBer you might remember way back when a certain Mr Peat won the British DH series on a bike with no suspension & skinny tyres! You do need a genuine mountain bike though, which as a rough guide is usually something that retails at about £400 or more. If you want some advice please get in touch, and if you need a bike for the trip we can provide something that will do the job nicely
Accommodation & food
5 nights of B&B or higher end bunkhouse accommodation is included. Breakfast & packed lunches will be provided every day. You may well want to bring along whatever energy food/drink works for you – if the price of branded stuff hurts a bit, fig rolls are great, flapjacks are pretty good and Haribo are a favourite of many!
If you want to spend a few more nights in North Yorkshire, check out the links page for accommodation links
Transport
You just need to make your way to St Bees. If you need public transport there’s a train station at St Bees or if the times don’t match up then Whitehaven isn’t far to ride from
At Robin Hood’s Bay, transport to Scarborough Station is provided, unless you’ve got a willing volunteer to pick you up
Booking
You can book using the Paypal button or contact us to pay by online bank transfer or cheque. A deposit (or full payment if you prefer) is required to secure places. The balance is needed no later than 8 weeks before the start date, or full payment if you’re booking with less than 8 weeks to go
