The UK might not be blessed with the continent-spanning forests of Canada or the sprawling taiga of Scandinavia, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fantastic opportunities for riding gravel roads through verdant valleys with giant trees looming overhead.
The forests we have are stunning in their own right, and it just so happens that there are a number of gravel roads that traverse them which are perfect for exploring on big adventure bikes.
With this in mind, we’ve devised a route connecting three of our favourite UK forest drives, which you can find in the latest issue of Adventure Bike Rider magazine.
We’ve called it the Three Forests Trail, and it’s one of the best UK routes we’ve ever featured in ABR. To give you a taster of what it’s like, we’ve handpicked some of our favourite photographs from the route.
You can find the full route in the latest issue of Adventure Bike Rider magazine, click HERE and we’ll send it to you with FREE UK postage.
Read on to get inspired by the beauty that you can experience on two-wheels, in our very own backyard.
Kielder Forest Drive
This road winds its way through Kielder Forest in Northumberland, where sprawling forests give way to epic views across the valleys of Northern England.
It’s also a wonderful place to camp, which is why we’ve started the route there. And if your days of crawling into a sleeping bag are over, there’s also plenty of pub hotels and B&Bs around to choose from.
Raiders Road
From Northumberland we move swiftly across the border into Scotland, following fantastic fast and flowing roads.
Entering Dumfries and Galloway, home to the UK’s largest forest park, we find ourselves on Raiders Road, a superb gravel road that takes its name from S.R. Crockett’s 18th century novel, The Raiders.
You’re unlikely to encounter any brigands or smugglers today, but you can ride along the rivers that carve through the lush forest just as Crockett would have seen it all those centuries ago.
Three Lochs Forest Drive
The Trossachs is one of the most picturesque areas of Scotland, with wooded glens, cloud-skirted mountains, and glass-sheet lochs around every corner.
And being home to both the thrilling turns of Duke’s Pass as well as the meandering gravel of the Three Lochs Forest Drive, there’s more than enough corners to keep you entertained.
The three lochs are Lochan Reòidhte, Loch Drunkie, and Loch Achray, and each one is more impressive than the last as you trace the shoreline on your bike.
When the gravel runs out, you’ll find yourself on Duke’s Pass, and you’ll be able to ride the twisties down to Loch Venachar and into the small town of Callander for a coffee and sausage roll.
It’s the perfect way to end this adventure through some of the UK’s most scenic and sparsely populated areas.
Find the route in the latest issue of Adventure Bike Rider
You can ride this route for yourself by picking up Issue 77 of Adventure Bike Rider. Inside, you’ll find the entire route with a description of all the roads you’ll ride, the places you can stay, and the history of the area.
You’ll also gain access to the waypoints to plug into your phone as well as a downloadable GPX for your SatNav.
Get the route along with all the adventure biking knowledge, inspiration, and entertainment to kickstart your next adventure by clicking here.