West Kernow Way

The West Kernow Way is a new bikepacking route from Cycling UK. It takes a figure of eight route centering on St Erth, with the Western loop covering the quiet lanes from Penzance to Land's End and off road over the moors on the Tinners Way back to St Erth. The Eastern loop follows the Coast down to Lizard Point on a mixture of road and bridleway, then North via the Helford Estuary to Portreath on the North Coast and back South to Marazion on a mix of gravel (old mining tramways) and lanes. There is stunning scenery on route, with Coastal viewpoints, 19th Century tin mines, pre historic stone circles, Land's End, St Michael's Mount and Lizard Point. The route can be cycled in 3-6 days and you can choose to tough it out with all your gear on board or use the very convenient luggage transfer service and stay in style in comfortable inns.

Recommended Bikes: West Cornwall is hardly the Alps, but we do alright by short steep hills. The overall route has over 4km of ascent, 60% of the route is on paved roads and a reasonable portion of the unpaved is on tricky bridleways prone to ruts, roots, rocks, loose stone and prickly gorse. At different stages of the route you are going to wish you had a gravel bike, hardtail bike, full sus bike and eBike! You are also more than likely to spend a bit of time playing hike a bike. So the choice comes down to personal preference. Of our rental bike fleet, we usually recommend our gravel bikes (Forme Monsal 2), hardtail mountain bikes (Forme Curbar Pro) and full sus eBikes (Haibike AllTrail4).

Recommended Route/Stops: There are many different ways to skin a cat, our recommended option is either to push yourself over 4 days of riding or take your time over 6 days of riding. If you are put off by some of the harder off road sections and climbs, then take it easy, book some nice hotels hire an eBike and we can suggest good alternative routes for where the going gets tough. Luggage Transfers are available from Luggage Transfers

When to do it: We get a lot of rain and wind down here in Cornwall and the bridleways get very muddy in winter and overgrown with gorse in late summer. The best time of the year to ride the West Kernow way therefore is May, June and July, these are the dryest months and also when the trails are less overgrown. Next best is April, August and September when there is more chance of getting caught in a rainy spell, muddy trails (in April) and overgrown trails (in September). We get mild winters in this part of the country, so Nov - March is absolutely doable, but maybe leave booking until the last minute when you have a good forecast clear of Atlantic storms! If planning for July and August (or the school hols in May Half Term) then book well ahead for accommodation.