An amazing cycle route close to towns and cities but you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere!

King Alfred’s Way was a surprise that I was neither prepared or ready for!

In June 2023 Jamie came up with the suggestion of doing the King Alfreds Way bike route as a bike-packing trip, wild camping with all of our kit. How hard could it be? Over 4 days, easy!

As we were travelling from “UpNorth”, we decided to start our trip in Reading as it would be easier to park and get a hotel the evening before setting off. Our trip therefore began from the delightful Travelodge on the M4 West on Friday 29th September.

It was at this point I questioned the ‘Kitchen Sink’ and realised the next 4 days were going to be long and hard work.

Day 1 – Reading to Thursley

Day one started with clouds and dull sky but some great little gravel routes and roads going south of Reading and out towards Heckfield Heath where the sun decided to come out and made for a great day of riding. Doyle was unfortunately plagued with punctures and had decided in his wisdom to ride with tubes!

Hitting the forest trails around Hazely Heath is a delight to ride, we stopped for the obligatory pic at the gates of The Bramshill Estate and carried on our tour towards Winchfield. Its there for me I made my first mistake!

The Barley Mow pub looked too inviting as the sun was beaming and we needed refreshing, however cycling after a couple of pints on the upcoming terrain proved not my finest decision.

Entering the town of Farnham the “Halfords” sign in the distance raised Doyle’s spirits as he was on his last inner tube and we hadn’t even done half of the first day. We stocked up on tubes and gas and hit the road through to Hankley Common. The terrain was tough, sandy and the Army were on patrol, but the sun was shining and the views were amazing through the plains and into the woods before emerging in the beautiful village of Thursley.

We grabbed some food and a few drinks at The Three Horseshoes (highly recommended) and decided to find a secluded location for the night. 

Day 2 – Thursley to Winchester

The day started beautifully, sun shining and a brew before packing up and heading off to find breakfast. That’s where things started to get tough!

Someone, I won’t mention name’s (Jamie) found a cafe in the village of Elstead, 6 miles in the opposite direction to where we were due to head, for some reason I followed him and then we made our way back to Hindhead along the road, missing the famous Devil’s Punchbowl and tackling one of the worst climbs on a bike (as heavy as mine) that I think I have ever done.

After a rest in Hindhead and a restock of food, we headed through Bramshott Common and we were rewarded with some great terrain and trails through the forests, although I did drop my handlebar bag and didn’t realise for about 3 miles and had to go back to retrieve it! 

Joining the South Downs Way the going was really tough, try and travel as light as possible is what I found out the hard way, it was slow going and took a lot of energy as the hills kept coming no more so than the famous Butser Hill which seems to just keep going and its a tough climb, even when you do pop off the bike to push to the top, but the views from the top stretch to the coast on a clear day like we were blessed with.

A we got to the village of Exton I was done. The Boot pub looked welcoming, but we needed to press on and a decision (again not the right one) was made to head on and try and get to a pub in Owslebury for some tea and possibly camp close by. It was hell! The ride was one giant hill and a long ride off the route to the pub, we were in for a feast though and after filling our bellies couldn’t bear the thought of having to find a camp spot and setup, so the decision was made to hire a Yurt at the Marwell Resort, a few beers and get our heads down for the night. 

Day 3 – Winchester to Tilshead

On Sunday morning we headed from Marwell into the beautiful city of Winchester to grab some breakfast, stock up on fuel and get our obligatory picture with the man himself ‘King Alfred’. This is a wonderful city with so much to see, make sure you set aside some time to check it out. After a great breakfast at The South Downs Social, it was back onto the trails out of Winchester and heading towards Salisbury and then onto Amesbury, there are some great trails taking you on gravel tracks that wind through the countryside minutes from towns and villages but feeling like you are in the middle of nowhere.

Amesbury offered a well-earned stop to refuel and have a quick rest before heading onto the sights of Stonehenge and towards Salisbury Plains. Unfortunately, there were Army drills underway and a divert in place via Tilshead to Market Lavington and into Urchfont. We decided to stop at Brades Acre campsite in Tilshead for a night in a wooden hut, after a great Chinese take away we tackled a horrendous night of snoring and shouting at each other! 

Day 4 – Tilshead to Reading

Waking up on Monday morning with hardly any sleep and the weather starting to close in, we were unaware of how difficult the day was going to be. We headed out on the divert towards Urchfont and back onto the route and quickly hit some big hills, notably Tan Hill, a really big climb with some great views towards our next main stop Avebury. 

Famous for its stone circles and history, Avebury is definitely worth stopping off and having a good look around. It’s then onto Herepath leading to the famous Ridgeway, famous for being Britain’s oldest road, be careful! The chalk that leads up to the ridgeway when wet is super slippy, like trying to ride on ice. Be careful!

The Ridgeway was difficult to ride when we tried to tackle it, with wet, deep ruts and tough terrain. Your pedals get stuck on the ridges and it’s pretty hard and slow going. By the time we hit the Hackpen White Horse, we were into the afternoon and time was running out, based on the previous 3 miles we decided to head a more direct route back to Reading via Marlborough, Hungerford, Kintbury and through to Newbury in lashing rain.

Taking the railway crossing at Thatcham and a left onto the river path disaster struck, Jamie slid on the wet road and cracked a rib. After we filled him full of co-codamol he was ready to try and get through the last 6 miles back to base, and a long 6 miles it was. Down the river path back to Reading was bumpy and by the sounds coming from Jamie fairly painful. We arrived back at the van at 8:30 pm, cold, wet tired and some more than others totally destroyed. An amazing adventure but really tough.

In Summary

This is a tough but fun route packed with enjoyable terrain and taking in some of the best trails in the South of England. The hills are tough and some of the terrain is very difficult to ride at certain times of the year, I would advise packing as light as possible, keeping your bike as nimble as possible and making sure you have spare sealant or tubes.