Scroll Down
.
Cycle Surrey Hills is a network of over 50 miles of off-road cycling trails in South West Surrey where you can get active, improve fitness and experience the spectacular scenery of the Surrey Hills National Landscape.
Largely traffic free routes, these are great for adventurous family rides, as well as experienced bikepackers and gravel riders looking for a day trip. The loops are broken down into five interlinking routes giving you the opportunity to choose either a long-distance ride or shorter loops.
We are in the process of improving these loops through better waymarking and interpretation, and traffic light routes from nearby train stations. Want to share your thoughts? Email us here – info@surreyhills.org
The Cycle Surrey Hills based out in the west of the county routes take you through some the rich varieties of heathland and woodland for which the Surrey Hills are famous for. It’s perfect terrain for exploring by bike, which will delight both people who are new to cycling and more experience riders.
While the iconic climbs of the “Surrey Alps” like Leith, Box, Holmbury and Pitch Hill dwell in the east, it wouldn’t be a day out without some gentle climbs. Each route page gives you an overview of what to expect – and if you do find you have to walk, there’s no shame in that. It just gives you more of an opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty around you.
The Surrey Hills National Landscape is also a living working landscape, and the Cycle Surrey Hills routes often pass through protected landscapes. Please keep to the designated Rights of Way and adhere to the Countryside Code.
The Countryside Code applies to everyone who wants to access the countryside, but as someone cycling you will have greater responsibility to look out for others you might encounter, whether they’re walking, cycling or riding a horse. If unsure what this might entail, charity Cycling UK has created a simple online guide https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/countryside-code-cyclists.
It is impossible to make a completely traffic free route in the Surrey Hills, so please be aware there will be sections where you may have to ride along the road, or cross busy junctions.
While you are never far from civilisation, it can still be a long walk back to the beginning of your route. Make sure to pack suitable supplies of food and water, as well as simple repair tools for common trailside repairs.
If you’re relying upon your phone for navigation, it’s worth bringing a spare battery pack. Also, it’s always worth bringing a white front light and red rear light that can fix to your bike, in case you find yourself riding in the hours after dusk when it is a legal requirement to have lights on your bike.
Charity Cycling UK provides a series of simple downloadable guides https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/simple-bike-maintenance-guides which we would recommend looking at before heading out.
Apart from road bikes with skinny tyres, these routes can be tackled by most bikes such as hybrids, gravel, touring, mountain and e-bikes.
With a mixture of woodland trails, open heathland, quiet lanes and byways, a gravel bike is likely to be the bike which will allow you to get the most out of the Cycle Surrey Hills loop routes, allowing you to ride all the types of terrain with ease. Ideally you’ll want tyres that are a minimum of 38mm wide and with some tread to give you traction in any sloppy sections. We would recommend you ride a bike that is more geared to off-road riding with wider and knobbly tyres.
Can I ride the loops on a mountain bike?
Yes – absolutely! Hard tail mountain bikes (ie with front suspension) are great on the off-road sections, and will be more comfortable. While you can ride the loops on a full suspension mountain bike, given how these routes are not especially technical, you might find the additional suspension overkill, and make the going a bit harder especially on the road sections.
Will my hybrid bike be up for the challenge?
Hybrids and touring bikes should be fine for much of the Cycle Surrey Hills, but we would suggest checking to see if you have off-road suitable tyres with tread for gripping, and ideally a minimal tyre width of 38mm.
There are no dedicated charging points on the Cycle Surrey Hills, but each route passes pubs and cafes which if asked may allow you to charge your bike while you do similar with your own batteries. You’ll need to pack your own charger and ask nicely. The routes however are no longer than 16 miles, which will hopefully be enough for you to leave home and return on a single charge.
As part of our wider work to encourage sustainable and active travel into the Surrey Hills, we are looking at how we can support businesses to be more cycle friendly, including providing charging facilities.
Yes…but with caveats. We would recommend that you use only off-road capable trailers, and are already comfortable using them off-road. The CSH routes use largely unmodified rights of way, and there are some sections which while passable on a bike, might be more difficult to navigate with your trailer. If in doubt, we would suggest riding the route to perform a recce to see what you are comfortable with before heading out with your trailer
You might be riding in sunny Surrey, but our weather is changeable! A waterproof jacket is never a bad idea, as it can also act as wind breaker even when there’s no rain. In the summer months, long sleeves can also be a good idea – not just to protect you from the sun, but also your arms from the enthusiastically growing undergrowth.
In the colder months, it’s also worth thinking about packing a warmer insulating top and hat in case you have to stop for any reason.
Full finger gloves are also a good idea at all times of the year to protect your hands from nettles and brambles that may grow into the path.
Every route will pass at least one pub or café, and many of the villages you pass through will have local shops and businesses which would welcome your trade. We’ve highlighted some of them on Komoot but would encourage you to stop off and enjoy any you encounter, as after all, what’s a bike ride like without a bit of tea and cake?
Absolutely! Your business is undoubtedly going to be one of the highlights on any of our routes, and simple things can make a difference. Top of the list is going to be having a secure location people can leave their bikes that is easily visible – and if you’ve locks they can borrow to secure them even better! Other things you can consider doing are having some simple tools and a pump available, being open to letting people charge their e-bikes (especially if you have an external power socket).
If you’re not a member already, we’d also encourage you to join the Surrey Hills Enterprises https://surreyhills.org/love-local/surrey-hills-enterprises/ , a local business community showcasing the very best of Surrey, which will also help promote what you do and offer.
Oh that’s annoying…but important to know. Unfortunately, waymarkers do go missing and we always appreciate being told. Drop us a line at info@surreyhills.org letting us know which route you were riding and with a What3Words https://what3words.com/ reference and we’ll take it from there.
Be nice, say hi! Most of us will have learned what to do when passing a horse when driving – pass wide and slow when it is safe to do so – but what about when you’re on a bike? It’s important to realise there will be at least three minds involved when encountering a horse rider: yours, the horse rider’s and of course the horse.
Horses are animals of flight, and can be easily spooked especially by someone coming from behind on a silent bicycle. Make sure to slow down and call out to the rider from a reasonable distance away alerting them to your presence. The horse rider will then usually let you know when it is safe to pass. If you’ve any flags on your bike (or trailer) you might want to remove these, as some horses can find them unnerving.
This helpful video produced by the British Horse Society and Cycling UK explains it all in a bit more detail.
How to pass horses safely off road – Be Nice Say Hi | Cycling UK (youtube.com)
Remember also the hierarchy of users on our rights of way network: walkers and then horse riders have priority over people cycling.