Bikepacking London to Brighton
Take on one of the UK's most iconic cycle journeys to the coast via backroads, gravel tracks and secluded woodland
What's Included?
Small Like-minded Groups
Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 15 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people…
…
What's it like?
Learn all about bikepacking and test out riding a high-spec, fully-loaded adventure bike
Bed down for the night in a secluded woodland bunkhouse, fuelled with freshly made pizza
Pedal the chalky tracks of the South Downs National Park all the way to the sea for a celebratory dip
Key Information
Day 1
Roll through the Surrey Hills
Cycling
Get set up with your bike and bikepacking bags in Richmond Park, a mecca for all London cyclists. Hear a bit more about the journey ahead from your expert guides before heading south towards the Surrey Hills. Passing through a wiggly 40km route on mostly quiet lanes, you’ll arrive at Leith Hill mid-afternoon with plenty of time to dump your bags at the bunkhouse and explore some local trails by bike or by foot. There’s a pub nearby for those who fancy grabbing a drink before you settle down for a pizza making extravaganza.
Day 2
To the sea
Cycling
A relaxed start to the morning as you grab breakfast and a coffee before loading up your bikes again and setting out for the coast. Winding through undulating hills and woodland, you’ll join a gravel track that will take you to Shoreham-on-Sea. Hitting the coastal path, you’ll continue onto the finish line at the iconic Brighton Pier, a celebratory dip in the sea awaits for the brave! Say goodbye to your trusty steed and fellow crew here - or hang out for sunset and fish and chips on the beach if you'd rather.
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Richmond Park Cafe
10:00 on Day 1
Ends
Brighton Beach
16:00 on Day 2
Transfers
You'll ride out of London on Day 1 and end in Brighton on Day 2 where there are numerous trains back to London and the South East.
Travel options
Your host will confirm the exact meeting point before your adventure begins.
Day 1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
There'll be lunch stops on both days at local cafes so you can fuel up and rest your legs. Dinner at the bunkhouse will be a communal affair with everyone having a go at making their perfect pizza topping and chucking it in the outdoor wood-fired pizza oven. Breakfast will be provided on Day 2 as well as cycling snacks throughout to keep you going. Vegetarians and vegans can be catered for, just let your host know on your passenger info form.
What is the accommodation like?
Bunkhouse
You'll spend the night in a 1920's chalet-style bunkhouse nestled deep in the Surrey Hills. You will have the bunkhouse exclusively for your group and share the three bedrooms in bunks between you. There is an open fire if warmth is needed and numerous showers.
Upgrades
There is no option to upgrade to a single room for the night, they are not available at the bunkhouse.
We’re still waiting to collect any reviews from other travellers on this trip. However, all our hosts go through an extensive vetting process to ensure that your adventure is awesome.
Guides
Expert cycling guides and bike mechanic
Accommodation
1 night in a woodland bunkhouse
Meals
1 camp dinner and 1 breakfast
Equipment
Surley Straggler bikes and Ortlieb bikepacking bags provided
Our trips are hassle-free by design. We include all the activities and equipment, as well as many of the meals, so you can simply rock up with your rucksack and share the adventure with your new pals.
Personal Expenses
You know your own spending habits best, so please budget an appropriate amount for things like optional meals and drinks, shopping, optional activities, and laundry.
What's included?
- Adventure bike hire for the weekend
- Bikepacking bags
What do I need to bring?
Keeping your kit minimal is the key as you will be carrying it all, so pack light. As a good rule, only bring a small backpack of things (including your sleeping bag) and this should all fit on the bike.
Sleeping
- Sleeping bag (2-season should be enough)
- Sleeping bag liner if desired
- Travel inflatable pillow
Clothes
- Cycling clothes
- Cycling shoes (if used)
- Cycling helmet
- Off the bike clothes – layers for the evening
- Something to sleep in
- Waterproof jacket
- Warm gloves
Other
- Washbag and toiletry items
- Towel (optional)
- Cash for alcoholic drinks at the bunkhouse if required
No optional extras are available for this trip.
We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre program, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 19kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000 miles/1609km would be approximately 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person, if there were two of you in it).
- A return economy class flight between London and New York would be approximately 1619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approximately 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
The bikes provided are Surly Straggler adventure bikes. These are highly versatile, with disc brakes and drop handlebars that provide the comfort of a road bike with the stability of an off-road one. You are welcome to bring your own bike, but if you do please make sure it’s suitable for the tour. You will need a bike with a minimum tyre width of 38mm to handle the gravel sections. Please note that this trip is not suitable for road bikes.
This trip is designed so that you can turn up with a rucksack and re-pack what you need for the 2 days into bikepacking bags. You can leave your empty rucksacks/bags/anything else in Richmond Park where they will be transported and ready for collection in Brighton.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.
Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers review the practical information available on the UK Government’s FCDO website, where you can find up-to-date advice by searching for your destination(s).
If you are based in the United States, you can also check the latest travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State.
For customers joining from other international locations, we recommend checking the official travel advice issued by your country of residence, as guidance may vary.
We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates daily, so prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.
You're always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
- 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
- 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
- 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
No Reviews yet
This trip is brand new
We’re still waiting to collect any reviews from other travellers on this trip. However, all our hosts go through an extensive vetting process to ensure that your adventure is awesome.
We've got your back
Book with confidence and peace of mind.
DEPARTURE DATES
Don't see a date you like?
Get an email alert when new dates are added.
