NCN 51 - Varsity Way

365.3 km 1257 m climbing About 4 days 11% off road Road cycling Cotswolds & Chilterns

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.

The figures

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
Region	Cotswolds & Chilterns
Route from	Sustrans

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.

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 51 - Varsity Way is an official route from Sustrans (their website).