London Gravel
Day Rides

I took the train to Kingston upon Thames and joined the route there, crossing Kingston Bridge before quickly entering Hampton Court Park. The ride passed the golf course and Hampton Court Palace before joining the Thames for what would become a very long day of riverside paths and traffic-free trails.

It was a glorious Saturday morning and the Thames towpath was exceptionally busy. Everybody seemed to be outside enjoying themselves: rowers, canoeists, runners, cyclists and families filled the river and its banks. There was even a 100 km running race that had continued through the night. It was a lovely atmosphere, although the sheer number of people meant riding carefully and considerately.
I followed the river towards Molesey before the route briefly swung away onto local roads for around three kilometres. Looking at the map, it appeared possible to remain beside the river, so I am not entirely sure why the route diverted, although there may have been a good reason. I rejoined the Thames just below Walton Bridge and continued along the towpath towards the River Wey.
At that point, the route turned south and began following the Wey. I had not previously encountered the river and was surprised by how far it extended. Its excellent riverside path carried me for around 20 kilometres, beneath the M25 near Byfleet and eventually out into the countryside south of London.

Like the Thames towpath, the path beside the Wey was flat, attractive and busy. With the sun shining and families everywhere, it was a beautiful place to cycle.

Anyone hoping to set a fast time should probably avoid a sunny Saturday morning. The volume of walkers, runners and other cyclists required plenty of care and made it difficult to maintain much speed.

The first stop came at Guildford, where a small shop provided an opportunity to refuel.

My intention had been to manage my food stops more efficiently than I had on the previous week's ride to Oxford. It did not quite work out: I ate less well but still managed to spend a total of nearly an hour and three-quarters across my three stops.

From Guildford, I continued beside the river until close to Peasmarsh, roughly 50 kilometres into my ride. Here the character of the route changed as it left the waterways and joined the Downs Link.
Following the course of a former railway line between Guildford and Shoreham, the Downs Link is now a dedicated walking and cycling trail. It is remarkably straight, very flat and easy to ride.

Much of the trail is shaded by trees, making it particularly pleasant on a warm day.

The wooded Downs Link was flat quiet and easy to follow

The trail was quieter than the Thames and Wey towpaths, although there were still plenty of walkers, cyclists and horse riders. That once again made sustained speed difficult, but I was not there to race. These rides are really a form of off-road touring for me, and the Downs Link was a delightful way to spend the day.

The ride felt quite different from my previous trip to Oxford. On that route, there had been stretches where I felt almost isolated and a considerable distance from civilisation. Although the Downs Link was equally pleasant and largely traffic-free, I always felt that towns, villages and people were nearby.
Just beyond 75 kilometres, I made my second stop at a service station in Southwater, where Coke and Mars bars provided the necessary fuel. Once again, I seemed to spend rather longer there than intended before eventually setting off.
The route was never technically challenging, but I would estimate that around 90 percent of the ride was away from tarmac and motor traffic. That made it an absolute delight: a long, easy-going day of rivers, towpaths and old railway trails rather than a ride spent competing with cars.

The trail eventually emerged from the trees into the open Sussex countryside

With approximately 103 kilometres on the clock, I began to reach Shoreham. The route passed through some interesting older areas around the docks before turning east and following the seafront into Brighton.
Brighton was heaving on a Saturday afternoon and felt particularly lively after a long stretch with relatively few people or vehicles. It made for a lovely finish to the ride.
By the time I reached Brighton, my Garmin showed a total distance of 115 kilometres and just over seven hours of actual cycling. With nearly an hour and three-quarters spent across my three stops, it had been a long day out, but a thoroughly enjoyable one.
This is a great route. It is not technically demanding, nor is it one for riding particularly quickly on a busy weekend, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable and largely traffic-free way to travel from London to the south coast. I would strongly recommend it.
Fish and chips on Brighton seafront finished the day perfectly.

This was just adventure from start to finish, it was a complete blend of industrial brutality and stunning landscape of the river thames with wildlife striving all around you.

I did it with my 8 year old and we did it in day. Going across the dartford crossing has always been on my todo list but I've never known how to get across! After the fee roundabouts in purfleet after the bridge the North of the river was epic gravel riding with superb scenery especially as you pass under the iconic crossing.

The only thing this route lacks is the cafe or coffee shop (or we couldn't find one),!we would have appreciated it even rainham marshes had no tea bar at time!

I bought this GPX route for a relatively flat ride from London to Brighton and I’m very happy with the purchase. I’m still a beginner cyclist, and overall I found the route surprisingly easy considering the distance.
I started from East London rather than the official starting point in Clapham and finished in Brighton, so it took me practically the whole day. If you start from Clapham, where the route actually begins, it should be even more manageable.
Most of the route is quite flat and there are not many climbs for such a long journey. The climbs that are there are not particularly difficult. There are a few sections with sand and small loose stones which can slow you down a little, but nothing too challenging.
Overall, it was a fantastic route and a really enjoyable day out. For someone like me who is still a beginner, it was a great way to ride from London to Brighton without having to deal with lots of difficult hills. Definitely recommended!

This route provided a lovely day out cycling at a leisurely pace with many stop offs for refreshment. It was a perfect way discovering behind the tourist scene of London. Highly recommended. Will do another on the London list.

Myself and a friend did this route yesterday it was absolutely brilliant! We reversed it though and started in Oxford (as we live in Bicester) much better way of doing it as it’s mostly downhill after the Chilterns. I can highly recommend it .

Excellent route - using gravel sections where possible and quiet streets. Note that there are a couple of busier on-road sections, but these are very short, and the majority of the ride was excellent. I'll be using the route again to visit friends in St Albans.

As a roadie on knobbly tyres I lack confidence on the trails and knew Charlie from one of his organised rides, so was a go-to for me and a clubmate for an afternoon session of MTB training.
The booking process was simple and straightforward, with access to an online booking system, the communication before the event simple and easy to follow and the afternoon itself was exceptionally helpful.

From initial, repeatable drills to get us moving around on the bike more, to completing sections of the trail several times to improve confidence to takeaways about positioning, obstacle awareness the feedback throughout the session was delivered in a friendly and relaxed way. A session which I would highly recommend!

I wanted to improve my cyclocross cornering. Charlie was really flexible in arranging a time that worked for both of us, travelling out of London by train. He built a small course for me to practice on and immediately identified my main problem before giving me exactly the cues and drills I needed to fix it. I can’t believe how much difference we made in just a short time!

Rode this in reverse to take advantage of prevailing winds at the end of July. This route is FANTASTIC. Kudos to the Hidden Tracks team for knitting together this almost uninterrupted off-road extravaganza - It's a remarkable achievement. Stunning landscapes, constantly changing terrain - a real treat. Don't underestimate it though it is loooong. You want to be in good shape or split in two. I was 71/2 hours in the saddle ending in NW10... Recommend The Barley Mow and Little Latte for lunch at Tilford around the 60km mark. Enjoy!

I rode this from Windsor. Hard packed earth made for a cobble like ride at times. But a varied and excellent route in beautiful summer weather.

Really varied and interesting. Highly recommended.

Best Southern Grit ever (I’ve ridden all of them and they’ve all been excellent). Perfect gravel to tarmac ratio, just the right amount of technical and oodles of new trails looking and riding resplendent in perfect weather. And I loved the way the ride was front loaded with most of the climbing in the first half so the kms flew by nicely in the second half 

Charlie, Thank you for a fabulous day out, it was another great route.

I rode from London to Oxford yesterday using your gravel gps route. I just wanted to say, I thought the route was fantastic

Brilliant day out. I was surprised to find so many unknown trails in my local area. I would recommend to the route clockwise, especially in the weekend, as the Thames path can be pretty crowded. Thanks for creating a lovely route.