A unique cycling holiday through the Shropshire Hills and Welsh borderlands, visiting small craft breweries, a vineyard and sampling the best local food, is proving popular this year.
Cycling holiday specialist Wheely Wonderful Cycling, based at Petchfield Farm, Elton, Ludlow, has responded to customer demand by devising a Slow Food Cycle Tour that focuses on the best food, beer and wine producers of the region.
Slow Food and Slow Travel are global, grassroots movements aiming to reconnect the pleasure of food and travel with a commitment to community and the environment.
The Italian founder of the Slow Food movement, Carlo Petrini, wanted to refocus on the pleasure in the buying, preparing and sharing of food and Ludlow was the first place in the UK to wholeheartedly embrace this Slow Food philosophy.
Ludlow and the Marches have a huge range of local food producers, which had unknowingly been following this tradition for generations. Wheely Wonderful Cycling’s new cycle tour is all about taking time to explore and enjoy this wonderful heritage of food and the landscape.
The five-night, six-day holiday, which costs £650, features easy to moderate cycling through the beautiful scenery of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Cyclists visit small craft breweries and a vineyard along the way whilst also sampling the very best of local food.
Accommodation is provided at the Baron at Bucknell on the River Teme, The Castle Hotel in Bishop’s Castle and The Feathers Hotel, Ludlow. Cyclists can choose to pedal between 94 and 153 miles during their break, which is available until October.
Places included on the route include Brampton Bryan, Bucknell, Clun, the Kerry Ridgeway, Bishops Castle, Kerry Vale Vineyard and Monty’s Brewery in near Montgomery, Walcot Hall, Oakly Park, Hopton Castle, Ludlow Food Centre and Ludlow Brewery, Corvedale, Heath Chapel, Stokesay Castle and Tenbury Wells with its orchards and hop fields.
Wheely Wonderful Cycling was established in 1992 by Chris and Kay Dartnell who escaped to the country to share their love of cycle touring along the Welsh border.
The business offers a wide range of cycling and walking holidays to suit all abilities and Mid Wales features prominently in its offering, with breaks of between two and eight days.
“Wales is a fantastic place for a cycling holiday,” said Chris.
“We’ve always really enjoyed cycling through Mid Wales – lots of trout streams to stop by and, of course, breathtaking views to the Brecon Beacons, Radnorshire Hills and Cader Idris on the Welsh coast. Lon Las Cymru (Welsh National Cycle Route) is a signed cycle route through the whole of Wales.”
Holiday options in Mid Wales include the Brecon Beacons and Radnor Ring and the Wye Valley. There’s even a three-day cycling and canoeing holiday based around the River Wye and a selection of “cycle challenges” of between 40 – 60 miles per day.
Just over the border, holidays include a Herefordshire Gardens cycle tour, Ludlow Country Estates tour and a Country House tour to name but a few.
Holiday prices include all accommodation, routes, luggage transported, quality bikes and equipment and award-winning customer service. Full details at: https://www.wheelywonderfulcycling.co.uk
