Gravel Culture: Travel Gravel – Killer Kielder
Posted By Gravel Union
On 13 July 2020
Olly heads to the northern border of England in search of perfect gravel riding in Europe’s largest manmade forest.
Kielder Forest, on the border of England and Scotland, is thought to be Europe's largest man-made forest. It's famous for changeable weather conditions, man-eating midges and most importantly for us - gravel. Miles and miles (and miles) of fantastic gravel riding. There's everything from man-made lakeside singletrack to wild forest roads in the middle of nowhere.
The forest got its nickname during the 1980s when it was a frequent home to the annual RAC car rally. The reputation of the forest in chewing up competitors' vehicles and spitting them out in pieces has lived on to this day, only now it’s more likely to affect gravel bikes rather than rally cars.
If you look up Kielder Forest on a map, you’ll notice that it’s a hell of a long way from anywhere. Even from Newcastle upon Tyne, the nearest big city and home to the UK office of Gravel Union, it’s almost a two-hour drive. It’s definitely not somewhere you’re likely to be passing through, but once you get there, the attraction is obvious.
The perfect ride conditions means that Kielder is home to an array of bike events each year. The most famous (infamous?) is the Dirty Reiver – Europe’s first mass-participation single day gravel event, but there’s plenty of choice – 24hour MTB races, endurance MTB races and run-bike-run style events.
The big thing that Kielder offers is space – the forest itself covers around 650km2 but there’s also plenty of open moorland which are criss-crossed with a network of manmade trails.
For riders seeking out “pure” gravel, the 40km lakeside trail should be your go-to option. A well graded gravel surface, great scenery and just twisty enough to be fun. It’s surprisingly undulating though – nearly 500m of climbing in the full circuit.
If you’re seeking solitude, remoteness and a bigger challenge though, you want to head away from the lake and climb up on to moors and forest. With a high point of 600m, this isn’t big mountain terrain by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s remote and with practically zero mobile/cell phone coverage, you’d need to be properly prepared and self-reliant.
The trails away from the lake comprise crushed stone forest roads, ancient cross-border bridleways, man-made MTB trails (including some spectacular boardwalk sections) and some super-quiet paved roads.
Although it’s temporarily closed due to logging activities, the cross-border trail opens up the potential for a huge loop or multi-day trip. It heads over Buck Fell and descends into Scotland, arriving into the small border town of Newcastleton. Depending on your preferences, skill level and bike-set-up, you could then access the amazing swooping man-made MTB trails of Newcastleton – some of it is pretty gnarly, but if you’re up for a challenge, then this is definitely worth thinking about.
One of the best things about riding a gravel bike is the ability to explore and get away from the crowds. If you make the effort to head to Kielder, the space, remoteness and amazing riding will be the perfect reward – it really is some of the finest gravel riding in the UK. Just be sure to pack your midge repellent and your waterproof jacket ;-)
If you’d like some more inspiration, check out our short film about the gravel riding in Kielder here.