By Rich W
Why “by Bike”? Until recently the NDW was mostly footpaths and restricted to walkers. That changed in 2018 after work by Sustrans and Cycle UK, who devised bridleway and lane alternatives to the bike-closed sections. And so the NDW Riders Route was born.
Long on my list of UK offroad rides I’ve wanted to do, good weather, no work or family commitments, a few weeks of dry trails plus possible imminent change to all those coincided this week. So I got on with it.
Starting in Farnham, The North is less well defined than the South Downs Way, and has a double end, the official being in Dover, but with a loop back all the way into Wye nearly rejoining the outbound route. The main distance is about 240km, if you go back to Wye it extends to 280. The elevation figures are about 3800m and 4500m respectively.
Credit: CyclingUK
So it’s lots further than the SDW and there’s a bit more climbing. It’s much faster rolling though and has nothing like as many of those darned gates! (100+ on the SDW). So average speed can be higher. That’s what led me to think it was still crackable in two days.
What’s the riding like? Well if you’ve ridden along the woodland path between Newlands Corner and the Ranmore common road , then you’ve already done a section of the NDW and seen what much of it is like.
That said, there’s plenty of bouncier sections, some proper off road including some frankly impossible climbs… I’m not sure it’s very gravel bike friendly, but certainly a gravel bike would be quicker on the tarmac, of which there is a fair bit. Off those fast well-made tracks, there are some rough descents and a few fallen trees and logs to hop over. As speed is generally above 20kmh, grip, control and vibration damping are worthy considerations. I had a short travel MTB, and it was perfect. I think the vibration on a rigid fork or an aluminium frame would have been pretty wearing over 9 hours a day so I was grateful for the comfort. My rear seat pack luggage made the dropper post useless, but I managed without it OK. Tyre pressures were higher than usual at about 40psi on my skinny 2.2” XC tyres, owing to luggage weight and wanting to avoid drag on the tarmac.
For route planning I used the cyclinguk website (they have a free GPX) and watched a YouTube video or two (KeepSimilingAdventures). I figured if he could do it in two days carrying a tent etc, so could I. But I booked myself a hotel in Sevenoaks (Premier Inns are not fussy about bikes in the room and it’s big/ cheap enough), noted the rail-bail options at Dorking, Oxted etc in case of mechanical or other disaster and hoped I’d get there. You can also cancel the Premier Inn up to 1pm on the day, and they serve food until 2045, so that was helpful.
Day One
Farnham is easy by train from Surbiton; direct takes 45 mins and I was there by 7.55. A quick spin into town for a pic with the castle and off I went. The trail isn’t well marked here so a GPS unit is essential, but it doesn’t take long to hit countryside, and soon I was in the classic Hampshire heathland near the Hogs Back. You don’t go into Guildford but drop south of it to the River Wey, at which point the signage improves dramatically. I chose to cross the river on the footbridge and take a direct route rather than add the official 4km loop down to Shalford and back. But there is a nice cafe I missed at Shalford, the Snooty Fox, so if you need a coffee it might be worth it. My short cut meant my coffee stop was Newlands Corner, 32km in. Two big hills were done to get up there, the one up to St Martha’s church is particularly tough owing to soft sand.
From Newlands it’s a fast leg along the wooded ridge to Ranmore Common, then down through Denbies and up Box. All lovely and very familiar! I chose to have a second espresso at Box, and a freshen up in the nice clean NT loos. Having started chilly it was becoming warm and muggy.
Along the Box Hill village road you don’t get as far as Destination Bike before dropping down to Headley Heath, this is a fun, fast section too. Soon I was well beyond our usual stamping grounds and looking down on Reigate.
There's plenty of view points in this section, including on a spin through Gatton park, and then the route twists and turns under/ over and around the M25 Jn 8. Lunch at a pub in Merstham (78km) was adequate and not much of a detour, but I might have fared better at the busy Jn8 Cafe, right by the trail and still up on the hill.
Post lunch there is always an uphill, and this one is quite a slog. Crossing north of the M25 it goes up to the tall ridge that you can see as you zoom along the motorway. The recently harvested cornfield I rode through was teeming with red kites, a spectacular distraction from the grind.
But once up it’s level and quick progress along the top to the descent down to Oxted. This was the only real MTB singletrack of the day, and great fun in a sketchy, rooty and fast kind of way.
I was in Oxted, a typical market/commuter town, just before 3. It seemed right to have a hot choc and cake at the excellent Bru and Bear before embarking on the next and final section of the day. Little did I know that it was to be the sting in the tail of an otherwise easy ride. Two major climbs, some impossibly steep sections (pushing a loaded bike is hard on tired legs, even cake assisted) and a brief detour into Churchill’s house at Chartwell didn’t really offer any respite. It’s just a very hilly area. Think Surrey Hills greensand stuff. The paths are quite rutted, in dense woodland so there’s not much view and you don’t get any sense of where you are. It feels a bit endless.
Eventually it eased off, and open countryside at Ides Hill, Bayleys Hill and then in a big fireroad loop around into Sevenoaks Weald was a pleasant end to the first days trails. Just a spin up the road into town to go then, for the hotel.
Ah… one more bugger of a hill stood between me and a hot shower and food… puff puff then…
Anyway, I was there soon after 5pm, 112km done - about 85% of which was off-road, and over 2000m of climbing. Quite a big day. Definitely justification for a beer and big dinner.
Day 2
My YouTube guide lied. Well maybe not lied, things did turn out faster, smoother and more tarmaccy later on as he said but I certainly felt misled. It started hard and slow.
The return slog back up out of town to Sevenoaks Weald was a downer; to ride for 30 mins only to find myself south of Sevenoaks again and about to start a long leg back to get North of it once more was not an ideal start either. And it was via a slow speed bump and fall thanks to SUV-man reversing out of his hedged drive! Thankfully no injuries or dents.
Two hours of hard riding on soft surfaces and some short brutal (purple on the Garmin) climbs followed. By 9.30, two hours later, I had gone a whole 26km, needed coffee, water, and looking at the map, appeared only about 10km east of Sevenoaks. It all felt very slow. With 110 km still to go I began to worry that I would run out of time/ daylight/ snacks.
At last the trail turned East after a dive beneath the M20. And the Bull Hotel in Wrotham fed me a large cafetière. Incidentally this looks like a nice stay option for a three day trip, a proper old coaching inn. Be warned tho’, there are no other cafes beforehand except the NT one at Ightham Mote which was closed when I went past at 8.30am.
Thereafter it felt like I was making progress. The GPS compass was at last pointing mostly East, and soon I was in Halling, about to cross the Medway, when I spied a coffee van - ah- real espresso beckoned! Plus a flapjack for later. And the sun was out. Smiles returned.
[Pic 8]
A huge steep hill. Push push again. More southerly riding again. I began to question the routing a bit- I was making about 10 km east for every 20km of riding. Not helpful.
I guessed the designers were trying to use the bits of the NDW they could but that results in some bizarre choices- the impossible climb (unrideable chalk rut at about 20% gradient) north of Boxley nets about 1.5km of ‘official NDW’ ridge riding before descending back down to the valley floor at Detling. The trail could more easily track along the Pilgrims Way for the same distance and end up at the same place, without any of the pushing and puffing.
And while on the subject, the overlapping use of the Pilgrims Trail (there’s even a signposted Pilgrims Cycle Trail) was great- it’s the best surfaced and maintained parts of the whole route. Very gravel bikeable.
Anyway, time to on on. I skipped possible early lunch options at three nice looking pubs in Detling, Thurnham and Holingbourne, and decided to push hard for lunch around 1300 near Wye. That would be at the 80 km point, and would need some speed. I was concerned my progress was far too slow, so poured in jelly snakes, Veloforte and whatever else I could find and pedalled.
You don’t actually get to Wye, unless you choose to do an unofficial detour and reverse the Dover-Wye optional leg in the interest of time. I did however get to Perry Court farm shop and tea room near Wye just after one pm. And a splendid choice it was! Big cafe, amazing cakes, home made chunky (real-man-size!) quiche and salad. Add crisps and a ginger beer… Perfect.
Of course there was a mandatory climb after lunch… up through hop fields but once up it was fast rolling paths again. Then down, through postcard pretty Chilham, and onto the Great Stour way. This is a fast and popular cycleway/ walkway running by the crystal clear river all the way into Canterbury.
I did my Pilgrims Duty and went to see the cathedral. And had an ice cream and bought some much needed lube for my dusty squeaking drivetrain at the only cycle shop I saw all ride.
Canterbury to Dover is a series of long trails through huge cornfields interspersed by short road sections. But its picturesque countryside and fast enough too.
A bench at Woolage (for that flapjack!) and a shop at Eythorne (for a coke and more water) were brief respites, but it was only a 35km leg so by now I just wanted to get there.
Arriving at Dover I found myself on another pointless climb. The walkers go straight in, riders are routed back up Castle Hill- a slog but, I figured, at least a view. Hmmm. The jobsworth at the gate said it was closed and wouldn’t let me even go up to the entrance for a selfie. So no view. Oh well. Back down the hill then…
Finally into town, under the subway, and oh… no ceremony, there’s the beach and a Start Finish marker for the NDW. Done.
The Garmin said 250km, 4200m. The extra will be the spin into and out of Sevenoaks then but still, that’s pretty good going off-road (mostly) in two days. I figured I fully deserved my next planned activity. Time for fish and chips.
Reflections…
It’s eminently doable over a weekend, although I guess there would be more walkers, so it could be slower. But yes, an option for a Waldy offroad trip for 2025.
Doing it with dry trails and good weather helps keep average speed up- which is essential given the distance to be covered each day. A slower average speed and allowing for multiple mechanicals etc might require a 2 1/2 day plan and two overnights.
There is not much support available beyond cafes, and even these are sparse on Day 2, so a decent tool pack, spares and food stash are essential. While never very far from houses or villages, this not a route littered with other bikers or bike shops. Self sufficiency is necessary.
I would spend more time looking for an overnight stay closer to the trail to avoid the schlepp into Sevenoaks and back out again. It is more tiring than I expected. But options are admittedly limited. Oxted comes too soon, Wrotham or even Ashford is too late unless doing two overnights.
Some of the routing needs sorting out. Or just modify your GPX according to your preferred level of sanity/ morale and take the low road.
Those things said, it’s a really good ride. I’m glad I have finally done it. Very glad too that I had no major issues, only one puncture (that sealed) and that my minor RTA was injury free! Which all meant that my schedule held too.
The train back to Waterloo East from Dover Priory takes just over 2 hours.
Enough time to edit my photos and write this blog
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