Badlands Gravel

The Chilterns are a near perfect mix of roads tracks and trails for gravel riding and MTB. Badlands spins out its route at the north of their range, allowing us to explore some of the darker, grittier folds of these deceptively demanding hills. While the Chilterns might enjoy a genteel reputation today, their hidden history recalls them as a hotspot of dashing villainy, and for awhile at least, the dark hills north of the Thames were justifiably known as the badlands. Coaches loaded with cargo from trading vessels that docked at Henley had to make their way through the wooded hills where robbers watched and waited. The truth of these robberies were usually far from the romantic image of the gentleman robbers we have today, making this part of the country a forbidding proposition for tradesmen and travellers. And the very things that made this area perfect for highway robbery, make it ideal Gravel/MTB riding today. The densely folded and wooded hills conceal a network of lanes, tracks and trails the wind and climb and fall continuously. It’s a surprisingly harsh corner of the home counties; where the crumbling tarmac on the back roads can prove perilous for skinny road bikes, but where gravel bikes come into their own. 29ers and 27.5in hardtails will eat up the miles on the dirt, and the constantly switching surface provides an entertaining ride and acts as a great leveller between the variety of bikes on the route.