NCN 81 - Birmingham to Aberystwyth

NCN 81 - Birmingham to Aberystwyth is a 257.2 km road cycling route in West Midlands with 2367 m of climbing, about 18% of it off road, and it splits into about 3 days at a moderate pace.

River Severn at the Royal Hill pub
River Severn at the Royal Hill pub. Photo: Penny Mayes / Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The route runs west out of Birmingham through the continuous Black Country urban strip, Smethwick to Bilston, before the density thins past Heath Town and Oxley into the fields around Codsall Wood and Albrighton. The surface is mostly road throughout. Past Oakengates and Ketley the line crosses into Shropshire and follows a corridor through Shrewsbury's eastern fringe, touching Monkmoor, Porthill and Copthorne before heading into open country toward Ponthen and Wollaston. Beyond Belan and Penygloddfa the route climbs into mid-Wales, and the long passage through Llangurig and up to Pwllpeiran is the remotest and hardest section before the descent through Crosswood and Llanfarian into Aberystwyth.

Worth knowing before you go

The stretch from roughly Llangurig to Crosswood is genuinely isolated, with no settlements of any size for around sixty-five kilometres, so carry food and water before leaving Llangurig. Shrewsbury is the last reliable resupply point before the hills close in. Around eighteen percent of the route is off road, but no specific surface types are recorded here, so check conditions ahead if you are on a road bike.

NCN 81 - Birmingham to Aberystwyth in numbers

Water, food, campsites and stations along this route are shown on the interactive map.

Plan it and ride it

The map on this page carries the surface breakdown, the elevation profile and every point of interest. You can split the route into days against your own pace, see what it will cost to ride, and take it with you. Download the GPX.

Read the NCN 81 - Birmingham to Aberystwyth route guide.

Getting to the start without flying · Browse all routes

Route from Sustrans.

Compiled by Ed Hunton, Cicerone guidebook author, from TourTrax's own route data.