Plan for Iona’s first Cycling Touring Adventure

Jul 26, 2022

For the last three years, Ewan and I have gone on a three day cycle tour each summer. This year, it’s Iona’s turn to start her cycle touring adventures (don’t worry Ewan will be doing one too, hopefully the new Cantii Way route from Cycling UK).

As it’s over a weekend, Iona was also very insistent that it included a parkrun to add to her parkrun tourism tally. So with much poring over train timetables, the NCN network maps, the parkrun events map and pitchup for campsites and some time spent plotting on Komoot, we have a plan for our adventure this weekend!

Iona’s Cycle Tour Route for 2022

We’re starting at Crewe and then cycling back through Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford and finishing at Wolverhampton.

Getting There and Back

We try to keep our trips “low carbon” and so we’re using Avanti trains to take us from Coventry to Crewe. For our return we’re inside the WM travel region and catch a local train to get us back to Coventry with no need to book us or our bikes. We have a Friends and Family railcard which saves us a good chunk of the ticket cost and has paid for itself many times over.

Accomodation

We’re camping for the two nights we’re away to keep costs low and to add to the fun. I normally find sites using PitchUp or UK Campsite, though finding low cost ones without bells and whistles is getting harder, if anyone has any other good tips on finding basic campsites (really just need a toilet, showers are a bonus) then please share.

Our Itinerary

If you’re around and fancy meeting us on the way or even riding a bit with us, here’s our planned route and stops:

Day 1: Friday, 29 July 2022

Day 2: Saturday, 30 July 2022

Day 3: Sunday, 31 July 2022

  • Cycle from campsite to Wolverhampton Station
  • Catch West Midlands train back to Coventry
  • Route on Komoot

We look forward to sharing the story and film of our adventure on here soon.