Looking for gravel rides around London? Hidden Tracks has mapped more than 50 gravel cycling routes around London, all starting within easy reach of the city by train.
Explore London’s hidden edges by bike
The purlieus of London hide some remarkable things.
I’ve watched kingfishers flashing along the last stretch of Heathrow’s flight path, stumbled across mysterious tunnels and mossy grottos, spotted giraffes peering over hedgerows, and found medieval maps to purgatory painted on church walls. There are creeks, forgotten bridges, palace estates, avenues of towering redwoods and views that suddenly open out across the city’s green edges.
And threaded through all of it is some surprisingly brilliant gravel riding.
London might be famous for its traffic and tarmac, but step just a little beyond the ring roads and a different landscape appears. Woodland bridleways, canal paths, old drove roads and quiet tracks weave through the outer boroughs like secret corridors.
Over the past months I’ve spent a lot of time riding and piecing together routes that explore these overlooked corners. Paths and trails stitched together into loops that reveal just how much off-road riding sits quietly around the capital.
A library of gravel cycling routes around London
What started as a few exploratory rides has grown into a library of more than 50 gravel routes starting in and around London.
Each one has been ridden, tested and refined on the ground. They’re graded from Easy through to Expert, so you can choose something that suits the day, the weather and the legs.
Some are short exploratory loops that slip quietly out of the city and back again. Others reach further into the countryside, linking long stretches of bridleway and woodland trail for a proper day out.
The idea is simple: pick a route, jump on a train, and go and explore a different corner of London’s hinterland.
London is surprisingly easy to explore by bike
One of the great advantages of riding around London is the railway network.
The Overground, Thameslink and suburban lines form a sprawling web that makes it remarkably easy to reach the city’s outer edges. Roll your bike onto a train, step off somewhere unfamiliar, and within minutes you can be riding gravel.
A ride might start in north London one week, the southwest the next, or out along the Thames corridor toward Essex or Kent. Each area has its own character and its own quiet network of trails.
Riding through the seasons
The routes shift with the seasons.
In winter, many natural singletracks become churned-up mud baths and heavily used bridleways turn into slow slogs. At that time of year the rides tend to favour firmer surfaces, compact gravel and towpaths. Perhaps not the most technical riding, but far more enjoyable than dragging the mud monster out of your drivetrain every half mile.
As spring and summer arrive and the trails dry out, the routes open up. Longer rides, more woodland singletrack and those flowing off-road sections that make gravel riding around London surprisingly good.
Do I need to be super fit?
Not particularly.
Most routes sit around 15 to 50 miles, which sounds daunting to some riders but is easily manageable at a relaxed pace. Spread across a few hours it becomes a gentle morning’s riding with plenty of time to stop for coffee, bakeries or simply to look around.
These rides are about exploration rather than speed.
What bike should I ride?
Any off-road capable bike will work.
A gravel bike, cyclocross bike or mountain bike is perfect. The important things are suitable tyres and a bike that’s in good working order. Much of the riding is on mixed terrain: gravel tracks, woodland paths, bridleways and the occasional quiet lane linking them together.
Discover a different side of London
What these routes really offer is a reason to explore.
A reason to head somewhere new rather than riding the same familiar loop again and again.
London’s edges are full of strange, beautiful and unexpected places. Sometimes all it takes is a train ride, a bike and a bit of curiosity to find them.
So pick a route, roll out on a Saturday morning, and see what you discover.
Gravel Riding in London
London is surrounded by a surprising network of off-road trails. Bridleways, woodland tracks, canal paths and old drove roads form hundreds of miles of rideable gravel across the outer boroughs and surrounding countryside.
Our route library maps more than 50 gravel cycling routes starting in and around London, helping riders discover quiet trails just beyond the city.