Cycling in Monmouthshire

United Kingdom6 destinations7 rides7 with GPX

Monmouthshire offers seven road cycling routes from six towns, with total distances up to 92 km and climbs reaching 837 m across varied terrain.

Monmouthshire has seven road cycling routes starting from Abergavenny, Llancayo, Llantrisant, Monmouth, Llanvetherine and Mathern. Route lengths range from 17 to 92 km with climbing between 98 m and 837 m, featuring routes like Cycle Across the Beacons (92 km, 837 m climbing) and National Cycle Route 42 (58 km, 770 m). The routes are all point to point, focusing on road surfaces largely paved and including minor roads, cycle paths and main roads.

Terrain varies from flat sections to significant climbs, with 11.5 km of roads above 5% gradient and some stretches peaking at 13.6% gradient over 500 m. The region has 30.6 km of cycle paths among the routes. The climate is moderate with daily highs from 8°C in January up to 21°C in July, with best riding conditions from May to September.

What the riding is like

The riding is mainly on minor roads (75%) with some cycle paths (9%) and main roads (7%). Routes have a moderate amount of climbing, with up to 837 m on the longest route over 92 km. Average surfaces are 95% paved. Nearly half the routes are flat sections, a quarter is climbing, and steepest gradients can reach 13.6% over 500 m. Typical route length is 47 km. No major roads are included, but 45.6 km of roads have speed limits of 80 km/h or more.

Cycling infrastructure

Cycle path total is 30.6 km across the routes. Main roads without cycle lanes account for 21.5 km, and 45.6 km are roads with limits of 80 km/h or more.