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.

• Spain rail mapmaps-spain.com

  Regional and intercity

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.

• Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (Sustrans)walkwheelcycletrust.org.uk

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

• The National Bywaythenationalbyway.com

  The Trust aims to contribute to the quality of British Life by integrating the health, social, economic and environmental benefits to be derived through cycling.

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.