Enjoying a Suffolk Cycling Holiday While Staying at Windmill Lodges
The Tour of Britain cycle race comes to Suffolk early next month – which means that hundreds of competitors will be racing along the streets of the county, passing just a few miles from our site here in Saxtead.
Suffolk welcomes social cyclists as well as professional ones – and county is full of great views of the picturesque countryside and the coast. Here we take a look at some of the race, some of the local cycling routes and facilities and which are relatively close to us, if you want to enjoy a healthy holiday in the heart of East Anglia.
The Men’s Tour of Britain 2024
The aforementioned Tour of Britain race starts on Tuesday, 3rd September in Kelso, Scotland and ends in Felixstowe on Sunday, 8th September here in Suffolk. The race will also pass through North Yorkshire, Sheffield and Northamptonshire en route to East Anglia.
Famous names expected to take part include current Olympic road race champion Remco Evenepoel of Belgium and Tom Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers (formerly Team Sky). Pidcock won the recent Olympic cross-country mountain bike event in Paris.
The final day’s racing on the Tour of Britain starts in Lowestoft, then heads inland, then back out to the coast again (including an intermediate sprint in Lowestoft) before finishing in Felixstowe. The champion will be crowned in the town’s Sea Road.
Among the other Suffolk locations, the race will whizz through include Beccles, Bungay, Halesworth, Framlingham, Saxmundham, Snape, Wickham Market, Kesgrave and Martlesham. More details can be found on British Cycling’s website.
The race will be screened live on ITV4 if you can’t watch it in person – and if you are, or if you’re just planning to be out and about on the day, watch out for rolling local road closures which have been put in place by the police.
Cycling in Suffolk
There’s plenty of options if you feel inspired by the cyclists passing through the county.
Suffolk and Essex Coast and Heaths has a number of cycle guides which include information on routes through Dunwich, Minsmere and other places across the county. Suffolk has two National Cycle Network Routes:
- Cycle Route 1 is the main north/south route through Suffolk, running from Stratford St Mary to Beccles, before entering Norfolk.
- Cycle Route 51 goes west/east, travelling from Cambridge to Felixstowe; these are dedicated, traffic-free routes which are suitable for walking as well as cycling.
There’s also a separate, well-marked Suffolk Coast Cycle Route which runs almost 90 miles between Lowestoft and Felixstowe.
Other cycling options include the Sandlings Walk between Ipswich and Southwold, Dunwich Heath and Forest (which has plenty of trails, paths and tracks) and the Blyth Estuary near Southwold (where the trails are a mix of gravel paths and grassy tracks).
If you fancy something more adventurous, then both Rendlesham and Tunstall Forests offer mountain biking and off-road trails.
On this type of healthy holiday in Suffolk, if it’s too difficult to bring your own bike with you to Windmill Lodges, you should be able to hire one locally – Suffolk Cycle Hire will deliver one to our site, and you can also hire bikes at Rendlesham Forest.
Hot Tub Holidays in Suffolk at Windmill Lodges
And what better way to relax after a hard day’s cycling (or a day watching it) than a soak in your own private hot tub?
At Windmill Lodges we can offer you this, as well as your own fully equipped kitchen, en-suite bathrooms, TVs and sound systems, and many other facilities, including communal ones – for instance, our swimming pool is open until the end of September.
All our lodges are rated either 4- or 5-star by Visit England. To check on our latest availability follow this link – it’s also worth checking out the blog as we sometimes offer late discounts.
Image: MIKE KNELL/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS