NCN 51 - Varsity Way
NCN 51 - Varsity Way is a 365.3 km road cycling route in Cotswolds & Chilterns with 1257 m of climbing, about 11% of it off road, and it splits into about 4 days at a moderate pace.
The route runs east from Oxford across low, flat midlands ground, threading through the Milton Keynes settlements before the terrain opens into the broad fields of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Surfaces are mostly road, with around eleven percent off road spread across the middle sections. East of St Ives the line crosses into Suffolk, where it stays flat through Stowmarket and on toward Colchester.
Worth knowing before you go
Resupply is straightforward through the Milton Keynes settlements and again around St Ives, Stowmarket and Colchester, but the stretch between Kempston and St Ives is long and rural. The route passes through Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB territory in its eastern stages.
NCN 51 - Varsity Way in numbers
- Distance: 365.3 km
- Climbing: 1257 m
- Off road: 40 km, about 11% of the route
- Riding time: about 22 hours, roughly 4 days at a moderate pace
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 51 - Varsity Way 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.