Where To Cycle In Nottinghamshire: Road and Mountain Biking Routes

Nottinghamshire offers a wealth of leafy countryside and urban cycleways for a cyclist to enjoy whatever their preference and fitness. Allowing the cyclotourist to see a huge variety of the county or the opportunity for competitive cyclist to train on quiet country roads.

The county is located centrally within the United Kingdom and was the home of the legendary Robin Hood throughout Sherwood Forest.

Geographically Nottinghamshire offers the variety of flat river valleys and rolling hills for cyclists to test their strength. There are no mountains in Nottinghamshire however there are many shorter climbs to test the legs.

Sustrans National Route 6 of the National Cycle Network runs through Nottinghamshire with the aim of offering traffic free cycling. National Route 6 cuts into Nottingham from Derbyshire from the Town of Long Eaton along the River Trent Valley.

National Route 6 of the National Cycle Network then heads North from Nottingham City Centre and flows through the legendary Sherwood Forest- once home to Robin Hood while skirting the town of Mansfield. National Route 6 cuts up the whole length of Sherwood Forest on gentle roads and wide forest trails which allow Mountain Bikers access to a myriad of cross country trails in Nottinghamshire amongst Sherwood Forest.

National Route 6 Then Cuts through the town of Worksop before cutting West into South Yorkshire and the City of Sheffield where it joins parts of the Pennine Bridleway.

The cycling route through Nottinghamshire offers a safer alternative to cycling on the main roads of the county. Especially for cyclists that wish to ride with their children and those that prefer quieter roads and cycle lanes.

The Vale of Belvoir lies to the Southeast of Nottingham and offers a large valley full of great cycling roads which lie around the small town of Bingham. The Valley then kicks up to Belvoir Castle and the Harby Ridge which offers great views of the valley and back towards Nottingham and Bingham.

Belvoir takes it's name from the French for 'beautiful view'. Belvoir Castle is the ancestral home of the Duke's of Rutland and is a very popular tourist attraction as well as offering an extremely stylish wedding venue.

Cyclists Love Food

The Vale of Belvoir is also famous as the home of Stilton Cheese production due to it having Protected Destination of Origin (Like Champagne only being able to be made in the 'Champagne' region of France). You can even visit the Colston Bassett Dairy to purchase. (Map below)

Sherwood Forest offers fantastic opportunities for Mountain Biking in Nottinghamshire. Starting at Bestwood Country Park there is the opportunity to cycle offroad North through Sherwood Forest up to it's most Northernly point on the edge of Worksop around 60 kilometres away with a few very short road sections which link sections of Sherwood Forest.

For the Mountain Biker looking for singletrack riding the best place to go is to Sherwood Pines Forest Park which falls within Sherwood Forest and features a 13 km singletrack trail named The Kitchener Trail as well as specialist cycling routes, a cafe, cycle shop and bike rental.

For the cyclist that likes to plan their cycle route from place to place or through beautiful villages Nottinghamshire has plenty of great towns and villages to cycle through.

Great Towns and Villages to Cycle Through in Nottinghamshire

Southwell

Best known for Southwell Minster this is a very quant small town to the East of Nottingham and was a favourite place of the poet Lord Byron. Despite many north Nottinghamshire towns Southwell is visibly affluent which is shown from the architecture when compared to other towns and has more of a cottage feel.

Southwell town centre also has a number of country pubs and cafe's for a cyclist to refuel and relax with a coffee while admiring their surroundings and is a firm favourite with local cyclists when planning their Nottinghamshire cycle routes.

Harworth former home of Tom Simpson

Lying in the North of Nottinghamshire is the old colliery town of Harworth and the former hometown of British Cycling legend Tom Simpson. The town is home to a memorial within the local Miners Welfare to the former world champion and many British cyclists travel to his grave in the town to pay their respects.

Simpson died on the Mont Ventoux in the 1967 Tour De France after having taken amphetamines to improve his performance which along with having taken alcohol acted as a diuretic with devastating effects.

Lying to the Eastern side of the River Trent in the East of Nottinghamshire is the Village of Collingham. The village of Collingham won the award for best kept Village in Nottinghamshire last year. The village name is derived from the Roman Saxon words Colla’, the name of the chief, ‘inga’ meaning ‘people’ and ‘ham’ meaning ‘settlement. Chief- people- settlement.

The affluent village of Ravenshead lies on the main A60 which runs from Nottingham up to Mansfield. The Village lies within Sherwood Forest and has a large network of local roads and paths for Road Cyclists and Mountain Bikers to explore the area.

The Village will be of interest to the Cyclotourist due as just off the A60 Road is Newstead Abbey and the road through the Abbey allows cyclists to travel between Newstead Village and Ravenshead on a quiet route with minimal traffic.

A regular award winner in Nottinghamshire's Best Kept Village Competition you might even see the Woodborough village 'Ninjas' preening and pruning while you cycle through. The village has charm in abundance and is an aspirational place to live for many people in Nottingham. (Including the author of this piece).

For the hungry cyclist Woodborough Hall has an opulent terrace and cafe to relax with a slice of cake and a coffee and the valley has two very nice public houses in The Four Bells and the Nag's Head serving good hearty food.

The village sits in a valley and offers cyclists a number of challenging climbs to test their fitness. Bank Hill is a challenging climb which goes on for 2 kilometres including a section mid way through the climb at over 10 % gradient. Bank Hill Woodborough is a regular climb for cyclists returning to Nottingham. The Foxwood Lane climb from Woodborough takes cyclists up to the top of Bonner Hill which drops down into Calverton Village from where you can plan a Nottinghamshire cycle route up through Sherwood Forest.