The bookmarks

Touring resources

Sites we actually use when planning and riding tours. No affiliations and nothing paid for a place on this list. If a link has gone stale or you know something better, tell us.

Getting there without flying

• The Man in Seat 61seat61.com

  The definitive guide to long-distance rail travel. If a train crosses a border, Mark Smith has written up how to book it.

• Direct Ferriesdirectferries.com

  Compare ferry routes and times across most of the operators in Europe.

• Eurostar bike ruleseurostar.com

  The current word on taking a bike through the tunnel, straight from the operator.

Routes and inspiration

• Cicerone Presscicerone.co.uk

  Guidebooks researched on the ground, including ours. The starting point for most of the curated routes on TourTrax.

• EuroVeloen.eurovelo.com

  The seventeen long-distance cycle routes that cross Europe. Variable signage on the ground, superb ambition on the map.

• cycle.travelcycle.travel

  Richard Fairhurst’s quietly excellent route planner, especially good for lanes and towpaths.

• bikepacking.combikepacking.com

  Route library and gear writing for the off-tarmac end of touring.

• Sustrans / National Cycle Networksustrans.org.uk

  The UK’s signed network. Mixed surfaces, but the numbered routes make joining places up simple.

People and beds

• Warmshowerswarmshowers.org

  Hospitality between touring cyclists. A bed, a shower and somebody who wants to hear about your day.

• Cycling UK forumforum.cyclinguk.org

  Decades of touring knowledge in the archives, and quick answers on anything from axles to Zagreb.

• CrazyGuyOnABikecrazyguyonabike.com

  Thousands of touring journals going back twenty years. Old-fashioned and completely irreplaceable.

Maps and data

• OpenStreetMapopenstreetmap.org

  The map almost everything else is built on, TourTrax included. Fix something you find wrong and every rider after you benefits.

• CyclOSMcyclosm.org

  OpenStreetMap rendered for cyclists: surfaces, gradients and cycle infrastructure made visible.

• OpenRailwayMapopenrailwaymap.org

  Every line and station in Europe. Useful for working out where the railway actually goes.

On foot

• Long Distance Walkers Associationldwa.org.uk

  The database of UK long-distance paths, maintained by the people who walk them.

• National Trailsnationaltrail.co.uk

  The sixteen flagship trails of England and Wales, with official route and access information.