Riding King Alfred’s Way
Cycling UK has spent three years creating the King Alfred’s Way.
The 220-mile route officially starts and ends at the statue of the 9th-century king of Wessex in Winchester.
You pass great cathedrals and prehistoric barrows, castles, medieval farms and the remnants of second world war defences. You cycle across sandy heathland, through sunken tree-lined lanes, along chalky paths and on grassy open plains.
Some sections come with a warning: watch out for the tanks on Salisbury Plain, and you may have to get off your bike and push through muddy patches.
But most of the route is delightful: picture-postcard villages with ancient churches, orchid-dotted downland, hillsides with white horses etched into the turf. And a cafe or pub around just about every corner.
The charity Cycling UK unveiled a treat on Friday, a new 220-mile route called King Alfred’s Way. It officially starts and ends at the statue of the 9th-century king of Wessex in Winchester, and circles through parts of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Surrey.
Read the full Guardian article