Review of Gravel Rides Peak District
Book: Gravel Rides Peak District
Author: Hetty Kingston
ISBN: 9781839812316
Gravel Rides Peak District is a collection of 15 gravel rides around the Peak District. The rides vary in length between 18km and the longest at 60km miles.
The distance however doesn’t tell the full tale as some of the shortest rides are the most difficult in terms of ascent and terrain. Some
of the harder rides even suggest that a mountain bike may be more appropriate.
There are 4 easy routes, 8 intermediate and 4 hard routes (including the bonus route). Whilst the routes cover the whole Peak District only 3 are south of Bakewell.
Each routes has an introduction to the route, an OS map and clear instructions. The instructions are useful to read though to envisage what you are going to encounter. There is also a gpx available for each route to import into your bike computer or phone which can be downloaded. The book is also small enough however to squeeze into your pocket so that you can refer to it if needed.
There is a bonus 105km route that joins some of the routes together across the Dark and White Peak.
I often get asked by friends why buy a book of routes when you can get them online? I don't buy a book of cycling routes for the routes; I buy it for the curation, the storytelling, the reliability, and the inspiration that comes from it.
I’ve completed a few of these rides now and they are well thought out and clearly meet the criteria that Hetty used to classify the routes.
Rating
5/5 : Quality gravel rides particularly if you have easy access to the north of the Peak District.
Links
- Gravel Rides Peak District at Abe Books
- Gravel Rides Peak District at Bookshop.org
