GREAT VALUE TOURS

TOUR 2023 TOP-VALUE ROUTES
Shutterstock Images
Straddle the
French/Spanish
border in the
Pyrenees
Ring of Kerry
offers great riding
and hospitality
TOUR
2023
9 GREAT
GETAWAYS
THAT WON’T COST
THE EARTH
From weekends away to European runs, tour
smart and save money with RiDE’s best-value
routes in 2023 — don’t can it, plan it!
Words Simon Hargreaves Pictures Bauer Archive
Provence in
France offers huge
variety in roads
Enjoy some wild
conditions on the
Antrim coast
Exmoor offers
seclusion and
stunning roads
Luxembourg is
about more than
just roads
The top of
Scotland is pure
riding heaven
It’s hard to get
to but Norway is a
dream location
DOWNLOAD
THE ROUTES
www.ride.co.uk
IF YOU’RE THINKING of sacking-off your
planned 2023 tour because money’s a bit
tight, hold on! Fuel and hotel prices may
have made the proposed two-week jaunt
around southern Spain a bit salty for now
but there are plenty of cheaper touring
alternatives and budget-conscious ideas to
cut the cost of putting in the miles next year.
We’ve chosen nine of our favourite trip ideas, broken
down in cost from £500 to £2000 all-in, including
accommodation, food and fuel (we’ve only counted fuel
from the start to the end of the ride — you’ll have to
factor-in the fuel to get there yourself).
And yes, it’s possible to get into Europe and
spend some time there without breaking the
bank! So here are some of RiDE’s ideas about
the best-value places to ride, what it’ll cost
and what to expect when you’re there.
Simon Hargreaves, RiDE touring expert
Stunning
scenery in the
Scottish Borders
40 FEBRUARY 2023
FEBRUARY 2023
41

TOUR 2023 TOP-VALUE ROUTES
UNDER
£500
‘MILE AFTER MILE OF
STUNNING RIDING’
When it comes to smiles per pound, the Borders
has the best combination of roads, scenery and
biking hospitality this country can offer
‘The best-kept
secret in biking
destinations’
SCOTTISH
BORDERS
2.5 days 355 miles
Fantastic roads and scenery
THIS TRIP IS one of the best three
days you can spend on two wheels
in the UK. Long the best-kept
secret in biking destinations, over
the last 15 years the Borders has built a
reputation as a formidable motorcycling
magnet. It’s traditionally seen as somewhere
you pass through on your way north or
south, framed on either side by the A68 and
A74(M) which guides the heaviest traffic
away from the region of high hills, lush
valleys, bloody history and slinky tarmac.
Our recommended ride starts on Friday
afternoon at Carter Bar on the
English/Scottish border on the
A68. From there you’ve got a
60-mile, two-hour belter to
kick the weekend off,
peeling away from the A68
heading down to
Bonchester Bridge on the
A6088, then through a
helter-skelter of bends into
Hawick, birthplace of road
racing legend Steve Hislop.
Just south out of the town, nip onto
the B711 across broad fields of gently rolling
farmland, fading to a moor-ish, scrubby
landscape as the road crosses Alemoor
reservoir. The road narrows to a thin, remote
strip tracing through heaving green hillsides
like a finger drawing in grey paint, skidding
onto the B709 and round a right hander to be
presented with a magnificent view along the
length of Glen Altrieve. And we’re not even
at our evening accommodation yet.
A few more miles along the A708 runs us
into the town of Moffat and its jewel, the
Buccleuch Hotel run by GS-riding Dave
THE COSTS
Smith and his sons Polly and Clint. Over the
20-odd years at running the hotel, Dave has
turned Moffat into a motorcycling hub; bike
sheds next to beer tables in the back garden
and cleaning gear at the ready if you need it.
An upstanding member of the Moffat
community, there isn’t much Dave can’t
arrange to be sorted out if you need help.
After breakfast, Saturday is the area’s
greatest hits — a series of loops, starting with
a short (but leisurely) spin around the
eastern side of Moffat. Back up the
A708, cut across the mountains
hopping between reservoirs
FUEL
(some incredible views), then
down the A701 through the
Devil’s Beeftub. Here, the
dramatic hollow allowed
locals to hold off probing
Roman raiding parties.
That’ll do for the morning — in
the afternoon, dive over the other
side of the A74(M) and into a 120-mile
figure-of-eight route criss-crossing back
and forth over passes and low hills between
the motorway in the east and the A76 in the
west, including crossing the Mennock Pass.
You ride the same roads the other way round
a few times, which is okay — they look
different from the opposite direction!
After another evening at the Buccleuch,
the last day is a 150-mile classic zig-zagging
back south across the Borders, re-visting
Hawick from another direction, before
heading around Kielder reservoir for the
final run back to Hexham.
365 miles @ 45mpg, £60
ACCOMMODATION
Two nights, £140
FOOD & DRINK £120
TOTAL £320
Enjoy the road to
yourself alongside
still lochs
KILMARNOCK
THE
ROUTE
DAY1
60 miles from Carter Bar to
Moffat via Hawick, two hours.
Roads A68, A6088, A698 from
Carter Bar to Hawick, then B711
and B709 to pick up the A708.
Then all the way into Moffat.
DAY2
160 miles looping around
Borders, five hours.
Roads A708 to Cappercleuch,
then left onto unnamed road
heading past Megget and Talla
reservoirs, and right onto the
A701 back to Moffat. Then take
the B7076 alongside the A74(M)
to Cold Chapel, B7078, then B740
to Crawick. A76 to Mennock,
then B797 to Abington. Back on
the A702, then B7040 and B797
back to Mennock. A76 to
Carronbridge, then A702 back up
to the B7076, and back to Moffat.
DAY3
145 miles back via Hawick to
Hexham, four hours.
Roads A708 to right onto B709,
into Langholm, then A7 to
Hawick, pick up the B6399
almost to Newcastleton, then left
onto B6357. Head for Kielder at
Saughtree, over the
border and down
the B6320 to
Hexham.
M74
A72
A74M
A76
CARTER BAR
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THE ROUTES
www.ride.co.uk
BUCCLEUCH
ARMS HOTEL
A7
HEXHAM
Map data © 2022, Google
FEBRUARY 2023
43

TOUR 2023 TOP-VALUE ROUTES
UNDER
£750
‘The Grand Duchy
makes a great
long weekend’
‘EXPERIENCE MORE
THAN JUST RIDING’
Take a relaxed weekend break diving into the heart
of Europe through the French Ardennes to
Luxembourg to find new roads and new flavours
ARDENNES,
LUXEMBOURG
AND BASTOGNE
3 days 620 miles Castles
WITH ITS MULTI-LAYERED,
picturesque landscapes
shifting between gentle,
rolling farmland in the west
to steeply forested river valleys in the east,
Luxembourg isn’t the top of many biker’s
lists of places to visit because it hasn’t got
grand Alpine passes or Pyrenean peaks. But
the Grand Duchy makes a memorable long
riding weekend — especially if you plot a
route to take you there and back through the
verdant majesty of the French Ardennes.
At 60 miles tall and 40 miles
wide, Luxembourg is the same
size as an average English
county but it’s greener,
cleaner, isn’t choked with
fat, angry holiday traffic and
has better food, wine and
beer. And its roads — even
back lanes — are mostly
billiard-smooth. Luxembourg
is Europe done right.
To get there from Calais, pick up the
A25 and A23 Autoroutes to Valenciennes,
then drift through the Avesnois regional
park’s slowly unwinding country roads in
the general direction of Belgium. Cross the
border, then back again into the French
Ardennes and pick up the Meuse river.
Dodge either side of the Semois valley in a
scribble of narrow tarmac, cross into
Belgium again, and stop in Neufchâteau;
confusingly, this is in the Belgian province of
Luxembourg, but not actually in
Luxembourg. Blimey, borders, eh?
Day two is pure Luxembourg the country,
though. The day’s distance is around 90
miles but it’s all easy-going bend-swinging
on an asphalt surface that would shame a
brand-new racetrack. Minor and major
roads are quiet, well-maintained (with
bike-‘friendly’ crash barriers) and although
no epic rides — in terms of topography,
Luxembourg is more Wolds than Highlands
— instead a network of relaxed, drawling
roads glide beneath shimmering arched tree
foliage. Or stop and bask in the historical
splendour of Luxembourg’s castles and
stately homes perched on rocky outcrops.
Not many of those in Lincolnshire, to be fair.
Every town and village is an excuse for a
coffee and a wander; you can lose the day
THE COSTS
FUEL
650 miles @ 45mpg, £110
ACCOMMODATION
Two nights, £220
TUNNEL £108
FOOD £120 TOLLS £50
TOTAL £608
enjoying the region’s food, architecture,
history and lifestyle. It’s a chilled, laid-back
biking vibe — the bike is a vehicle to
experience more than just riding.
Like most of Europe, Luxembourg
welcomes riders and their wallets, with
loads of hotels, inns and B&Bs posting
biker-friendly signs, many equipped with
wet rooms (it has been known to rain
sometimes) and secure parking (crime is
low anyway). Language is no barrier;
Luxembourgers are friendly and engaging,
and happy to be as fluent in English as they
will also be in German, French, Flemish
and Luxembourgish.
Must-see sights of a slightly
rushed one-day loop (or
make it two!) would include
the winding Moselle
vineyards (you should stop
for a night, for a proper taste
of several bottles), the
Mullerthal’s stunning rock
formations (pack walking
boots), and castles at Vianden,
Beaufort and Clervaux (which also
includes the world-famous Family of Man
photo exhibition — well worth the time).
The final day is a re-tread of the first, but
with yet more back-road chicanery across
the heart of Luxembourg before diverting to
visit Bastogne, scene of incredible American
bravery and resistance in WW2 (visit the
memorial). Then trace a steady crosscountry
stretch back up towards
Valenciennes and Calais on arrow-straight
rural Belgian N-roads. You’ll come back
slightly poorer but so much richer.
CALAIS
DUNKIRK
A25
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THE ROUTES
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Roads switch from
open countryside to
narrow gorges
Lille
E42
BRUSSELS
THE ROUTE
DAY1
290 miles from Calais to
Neufchâteau along the
Franco-Belgian border,
six hours.
Roads A16, A25 to Lille, A23 to
Valenciennes, D649 and D951
through the Avesnois national park,
then follow the Meuse and Semois
through the French Ardennes, then
on multiple Route Nationale N-roads
into Neufchâteau.
DAY2
88 miles looping around
Luxembourg, all day.
Roads N40, N802, N825, N848
across the border, then a long loop
taking multiple roads snaking
alongside the Sûre to Esch-sur-
Sûre, north to Wiltz, then Clervaux,
loop round to Marbourg, then across
to the German border alongside the
Our to Vianden.
DAY3
270 miles from Vianden, across
Luxembourg, Belgium and
France, back to Calais, seven
hours.
Roads Multiple minor roads – 322,
320, 348, 322 again and the 25 to
Wiltz, then 12 and 329 into Belgium.
N874 from Longvilly into Bastogne,
then N834, N889 to Tellin, N846 to
Wellin, N40 through Givet in France.
N40 through Phillipeville, D649 to
Valenciennes, A21 to Lens and A26
to Calais.
NEUFCHÂTEAU
VIANDEN
LUXEMBOURG
Google map data ©2022
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TOUR 2023 TOP-VALUE ROUTES
UNDER
£1000
‘THIS IS A SLICE OF
RIDING HISTORY’
Five days exploring the Route Napoleon, Provence,
the Côte d’Azur, and a few Alpine passes. It’s a
long week but the riding is sublime
‘A stunning rift
cutting through
the countryside’
BEST OF
SOUTHERN
FRANCE
5 days 1700 miles Sea & mountain
T
HE ATTRACTION OF a week’s
fiddling about in the fabulous
mountain scenery of the Alps,
dropping down through fragrant
Provence to the French Riviera for a mooch
along the sparkling Med, then winding
gradually back north again, is easily
explained. The roads are amazing, the food
sensational, the weather perfect and the
hot air smells of pine needles and
citrus fruit. It’s riding heaven.
Brit bikers have migrated
to the Côte d’Azur every
autumn for a long time.
Every October in the late
70s, 80s and early 90s,
thousands of British,
French, Dutch, German and
Belgian riders would flock
south to the Bol d’Or 24hr
endurance race at Paul Ricard for a
few days’ racing, camping, bad food and
rock music. Back then, it was Autoroute all
the way, as the gendarmes opened up the
péages to wave the bikes through (often
with a nod and a wink at the lunatic speeds
— how times have changed).
But these days, the Autoroute’s speeds are
more tightly governed and, like all deep
Continental rides, motorways are a
necessity to get to the good stuff (unless
you have too much time). So from the
Eurotunnel, pick up the A26 and hoof it
— it’s a day’s ride to Grenoble, gateway to
the Alps, 500 miles south. Kip the night,
then the fun really starts. The N85 Route
Napoléon climbs rapidly from the town,
twisting upward towards snowcapped
mountains, then begins a languid sprawl
south through small towns and farms. And,
as it winds south, the landscape and
vegetation shift to a Mediterranean style,
from broad-leaved woodland to pine and
scrubby undergrowth.
South of the town of Gap, the N85 is
shunned because it’s been turned into a
stretch of motorway — divert instead
through pretty mountains and river valleys
— then reconnect in Digne. And now we’re
THE COSTS
FUEL
1705 miles @ 45mpg, £300
ACCOMMODATION Four
nights, £320 FOOD £130
TUNNEL £108 TOLLS £90
TOTAL £948
in Provence proper, dodging around
limestone outcrops and through canyons.
Head for Gorges du Verdon, a stunning rift
cutting deep through the heart of the
countryside and terminating in the surreal
blue Lac de Sainte-Croix. The roads are
fiendish but fun. Draguignan is a perfect
Provençal town and a good place to stop for
a second night — you’ll need a rest.
Day three takes us the to the Med,
heading first for the bright, colourful old St
Tropez, then along the Côte d’Azur to
Cannes (busy and slow-going but an
experience), then head north to Grasse
and the sweeping blacktop of the
bottom end of the Route
Napoléon. Then follow the
D6085 meandering back
north towards Castellane.
From here, you’re within
easy striking distance of
any number of drop-dead
Alpine passes — the D64 and
Col de la Bonette are closest.
Turning north, the choice is
whether to trace your way back
along the N85, skirt a more direct route to
the west or enjoy more of the Alps to the
east — it depends how you want to divide
your time up on the return ride. Either way,
Grenoble makes a good stopping point
before the ride back to Calais the next day.
DOWNLOAD
THE ROUTES
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Les Rosbeefs
sont arrives —
bikers welcome
CALAIS
PARIS
A26
A6
THE ROUTE
DAY1
537 miles from Calais to
Grenoble, all Autoroute, over
nine hours .
Roads A26, A5, A31, A6, around
Lyon, then A48 to Grenoble.
DAY2
265 miles from Grenoble to
Draguignan via Digne,
Castellane and the Gorge du
Verdon, eight hours.
Roads N85, D900B, D900C, D900,
N85 again, D4085, D952, D957, D71,
D955, D54.
DAY3
140 miles from Draguignan to
Castellane via Saint Tropez,
Cannes and Grasse, six hours.
Roads D555, DN7, D558, D559,
D6185, D6085, D4085.
DAY4
227 miles from Castellane to
Grenoble, six hours.
Roads D955, N202, D902, D2202,
D902 again, D900, D902 again, N94,
D1091.
DAY5
536 miles from Grenoble to
Calais, nine hours.
Roads A48, A6, A31, A5 then A26
to Calais.
DRAGUIGNAN
GRENOBLE
CASTELLANE
Google map data ©2022
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TOUR
2023
TOP-VALUE ROUTES
Here are six other great trips that won’t cost the earth
3 days 210 miles Sea views & scones
210 miles of Somerset, Devon
and Cornwall coastal
chicanery, steeped in history
and dramatic views. Not
always the best riding though
there’s great stuff across
Exmoor and down into
Cornwall. However, with so
many places to visit, it pays
to get off the main roads and
take you time to explore the
ALSO WORTH
TRYING...
EXMOOR AND
ATLANTIC HIGHWAY
THE COSTS
FUEL
210 miles @ 45mpg – £36
ACCOMMODATION Two
nights – £240 FOOD £120
TOTAL £396
villages, cliff-tops and
beaches scattered along the
coast. The ride is a day if you
just ride it, an easy three
days if you take your time
and explore. It’s not far, so
fuel won’t cost you but you’ll
spend on souvenirs. If you
can, book early and stay at
the Sloop Inn in St Ives; the
best atmosphere in Cornwall.
LAND’S END
BRIDGWATER
DOWNLOAD
THE ROUTES
www.ride.co.uk
‘It pays to get
off the main
roads’
Map data ©2021, Google
THE COSTS
FUEL 1350miles @
45mpg – £231
ACCOMMODATION
Five nights – £400
FERRIES £500
FOOD £200
TOTAL £1311
ANTRIM COAST
3 days 230 miles Guinness & hospitality £460
A Friday morning ferry from
Liverpool puts you in Belfast
for the evening. A ride along
the Antrim coast, doing the
Game Of Thrones sights,
Giant’s Causeway and the
NW200 course is a good
150-mile all-dayer, with
Saturday night in Derry. Up
early on Sunday to blast to
Belfast for the 10.30 sailing
back to Liverpool.
RING OF KERRY & BEARA
4 days 650 miles Stunning sea vistas & great hospitality £600
Sampling the finest roads the
Pyrenees has to offer is only a
ferry crossing away
Forget the NC500; this is the
Scotland 800. Start at Loch
Lomond, head to Fort William
through Tyndrum and Glen
Coe, then to Skye. Lap the
island, then head up to
Applecross, under Torridon,
Gairloch, to Ullapool. Head
north to Tongue, then south
to Inverness, Loch Ness, then
finish with a run through the
Cairngorms. Heaven.
RING OF NORWAY
7 days 2500 miles jords & fun £1200
PYRENEES
PERFECTION
6 days 1350 miles Outstanding
riding & scenery £1300
Myriad roads, routes and
ways to get to and from the
Pyrenees – take the Brittany
Ferry to northern Spain,
thread your way east, then
home across France. The
Pyrenees are a ride of your
life — everything from steep
broad-leaved hills, open river
valleys, canyons, rock faces
and waterfalls. It’s twowheeled
heaven.
SCOTLAND’S BEST BITS
5 days 850 miles Amazing beaches & ace views £650
Atlantic Highway in
summer is just perfect
The best of the Wild Atlantic
Way on west-coast Ireland.
The Rings of Kerry and Beara
are two stunning back-toback
loops in the southern
end of the island. The roads
aren’t classics but the sea
views — and hospitality — are
worth making the most of.
Use Killarney as a base for
the Ring of Kerry on one day,
Beara the next.
Norway isn’t cheap and
getting there from the UK isn’t
easy — there’s a couple of
days of riding each way
across Holland, Germany and
Denmark, then kick back on
the ten-hour ferry from
Hirtshals to Stavanger. From
there, the riding is probably
the best in Europe, swooping
around breathtaking fjords
and through landscapes that
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