Classic Wye Valley Cycling

• Discover the Welsh Marches, the Black Mountains and river valleys of Shropshire and Radnorshire
• Dine out in 'slow food' capital Ludlow, and browse Hay on Wye's kaleidoscope of bookshops
• Cider orchards, fields of hops, woodland bluebells and fragrant river meadows
• Explore Iron Age Forts, National Trust properties and Civil War battlefields
• Easy cycling with flexible routes between picture postcard villages

This popular independent cycling holiday (run by our local partners), takes in three counties - Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys, and explores the pristine natural beauty of the Welsh/English borderlands. These hidden valleys seem to exist in another time zone; rivers turn lazy waterwheels, and gypsy caravans trundle along a network of pretty lanes and bridleways below ancient hilltop forts.

After a night in the slow food capital of England, Ludlow in Shropshire, whose bustling markets and specialist shops thrive in narrow half-timbered streets, you head west along the sweeping Teme and Lugg river valleys into the Welsh Marches. You overnight in Presteigne - the old county capital of Radnorshire, where ancient drovers' trails converge, (still signposted by tall Scots Pine trees that you can see marching over the hills). From here you'll coast between bird-rich hedgerows through nature reserves spotting otter and kingfisher to spend two nights in Hay on Wye, world famous for its many bookshops and acclaimed literary festival. You then cycle back through Herefordshire's apple orchards via the C16 village of Kingsland, site of the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in the Wars of the Roses.

Throughout the tour you'll stay in the finest hotels and inns available, including some exceptional half-timbered and listed properties in Ludlow and Presteigne, and a gorgeous Regency coaching inn in Hay on Wye.