NCN 12 - The Great North Way

207.9 km 1020 m climbing About 3 days 18% off road Road cycling London & South East

The route runs north from London through the suburban fringe before the land opens into the low Hertfordshire hills between Hatfield and Codicote.

Beyond Stevenage the route flattens steadily as it crosses into Bedfordshire and tracks the Great Ouse valley through Sandy and Great Barford. North of Huntingdon the land drops further and the final third runs across the Fens into Spalding, almost without gradient. Around eighteen percent of the surface is off road, spread unevenly along the line.

The figures

Distance	207.9 km
Climbing	1020 m
Off road	37 km, about 18% of the route
Riding time	about 13 hours, roughly 3 days at a moderate pace
Region	London & South East
Route from	Sustrans

Worth knowing before you go

Spalding, Huntingdon, Stevenage and Hatfield are the main resupply points; the stretch between Alconbury and Stilton is thin for services. The Fenland section from Cardea to Spalding is exposed and largely without shelter. The route is tagged as road, but the off-road sections around Welham Green and south of Sandy carry surface changes that are worth checking after wet weather.

Put your own dates on this and TourTrax splits it into days at your pace, finds somewhere to sleep at the end of each one, estimates what it will cost and gets you to the start without flying.

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Other route guides

NCN 12 - The Great North Way is an official route from Sustrans (their website).