Following on from my Algarve cycling tips and routes, I'm going to try posting on some of the more interesting cycle rides we do. I will also try to include a GoogleMap image of the route, and perhaps a photo or two.
This bike ride is really quite a simple one - it's predominantly flat. It comes right out of the Ordnance Survey Cycle books (now Philips?) covering Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. I think it's ride number 13, listed as 34 miles. We added about another 12 miles to the route by starting just outside Gloucester itself (from Highnam), but subtracted about 4 by excluding one part that takes you down to the Severn at Arlingham. Look at the satellite image of the route here. I can also provide the track data for a GPS device if you'd like to mail me (I'm going to be building a library of these).
Highlights of the ride are the lovely villages of the Severn, including Elmley, Saul, Slimbridge and especially Frampton-on-Severn. There is also a stretch on the towpath of the Gloucester/Sharpness canal (you could do more on this canal as well). The photograph is of the tiny church - St Peters - at Frocester. It really is that tiny. There are pubs on average every mile or so and one or two tea rooms (check out Frampton-on-Severn), so you'll never be short of refreshment. If you start from Gloucester (where you could arrive by train), there is plenty to see there too. The ride out of Gloucester is a mix of bike path and road and is in flux due to building of a new bypass. You SHOULD be able to follow the canal towpath out for much of this, but that is also currently disrupted due to the bypass.
It would also be easy to make a stop in Slimbridge to visit the famous wetlands if you've got the time.
Tags: Cycling, Severn, Slimbridge
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