King Alfred's Way

King Alfred's Way

King Alfred's Way is a 353km (219 mile) waymarked off-road loop through historic Wessex, created by the charity Cycling UK and launched after three years of route development with local councils and landowners. It links the Ridgeway, the South Downs Way and the North Downs Way into a single circuit, starting and finishing in Winchester, and is built specifically with gravel and adventure bikes in mind. Riders typically cover it in three to six days, camping or staying in bed and breakfasts along the way, taking in Stonehenge, Avebury, Old Sarum and a string of Iron Age hillforts en route.

The Route

King Alfred's Way starts and finishes on Winchester's High Street, at the statue of King Alfred the Great on the Broadway, close to Winchester Cathedral. From Winchester the route heads west through the Test Valley towards Salisbury and Old Sarum, the Iron Age hillfort and former cathedral site that predates the present Salisbury Cathedral.

From Old Sarum the route crosses the edge of Salisbury Plain, a working Ministry of Defence training area. The official line skirts the live firing danger zones, so riders following the waymarked route stay clear of them, but this is still MOD land: if a red flag is flying over any field, do not cross it, and stay alert for armoured vehicles even when the flags are down. Beyond the plain the route runs through the Vale of Pewsey towards Stonehenge and on to Avebury, home to the largest stone circle in Europe, before climbing onto the Ridgeway, Britain's oldest road, past Barbury Castle hillfort and Uffington White Horse.

The second half of the route follows the Ridgeway east through the North Wessex Downs to the Thames Valley, passing through Goring and Pangbourne before reaching Reading and the Thames Path. From there the route swings south through the forests around Eversley towards Farnham in Surrey, home to Farnham Castle and the start of the North Downs Way, which King Alfred's Way follows before turning south again to join the South Downs Way. The final stretch crosses the South Downs back into Hampshire and drops into Winchester to complete the loop.

Winchester and Farnham are both commonly used as alternative start points, since each has good rail links, but the route is a continuous loop and can be picked up or broken at any point along it.

Gravel Riding

King Alfred's Way was designed by Cycling UK as a gravel-bike route, and around 80 to 85 percent of it runs on bridleways, byways and other off-road tracks, with the remainder on quiet lanes and short traffic-free connections. The surface mix includes chalk downland tracks on the Ridgeway and South Downs Way, wide gravel byways across Salisbury Plain and the North Wessex Downs, grassy field-edge bridleways, sandy heathland trails through the forests south of Reading, and canal towpaths along the Thames Valley sections.

Cycling UK grades the route blue, moderate, suitable for riders with some off-road experience rather than technical mountain biking skills, though it does include loose surfaces, ruts and some steep pitches, particularly on the Ridgeway and the downs. A gravel bike with wider tyres suits the route well in dry summer conditions, when the chalk sections ride hard and fast. After rain, chalk becomes notably slick and muddy, and many riders switch to a mountain bike or fit wider, more aggressive tyres for autumn and winter attempts.

Resupply and Accommodation

Winchester, Salisbury, Marlborough, Reading and Farnham all sit on or close to the route and have full services, including bike shops. Between these towns, villages along the way generally have at least a shop or pub, but two stretches need planning around: Salisbury Plain and the Ridgeway both run through open country with long gaps between services, so it is worth carrying enough food and water to cover a half day or more without a resupply stop.

Campsites are dotted along the whole route, including sites in Savernake Forest near Marlborough and around Pangbourne on the Thames, and bed and breakfasts and hostels are available in most of the towns and larger villages. Wild camping is only legal in England within Dartmoor National Park, which King Alfred's Way does not pass through, so camping anywhere else along the route requires the landowner's permission. Riders planning to camp should book campsites in advance or arrange permission ahead of time rather than relying on informal pitching.

Getting Here

Winchester has a mainline railway station with direct services from London Waterloo, Southampton and Portsmouth, making it a straightforward starting point for riders arriving by train. Farnham, the other commonly used start point, also has a station on the line between London Waterloo and Alton. Both towns are just off the A34 and A31 respectively for anyone driving to the start, with pay and display parking available in Winchester; the city council's parking office can advise on longer-stay options for riders leaving a car for several days. As with any point-to-point loop, download a route or use GPS navigation before you set off, since the route is not signposted as King Alfred's Way on the ground, even though it follows waymarked National Trails for long sections.

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