Beyond the Dyke

Over and across Offa's Dyke we go.

• Distance 211km
• Climbing 2445 m
• Start and Finish Belbroughton, Worcestershire
• Control Locations Craven Arms and Presteigne + two information controls at Dolau and Shelsey Beauchamp.

No expensive fees, no headline sponsors, no goodie bags, no numbers, no gold standard times, no broom wagons and no pretending at the finish to have looked into the jaws of hell and survived.

Beyond the Dyke is cycling at its best. It’s about a good distance in a day, riding at a sensible pace with good company, travelling through quiet and pleasant countryside in the orange glow of an autumn day before winter arrives.

Soak in the autumnal colours of Worcestershire, Shropshire and Mid-Wales as you cross The Marches and the border with Cymru. The ‘free-controls’ are located in three cafe rich and cake laden market-towns with plenty of opportunities to share a coffee with fellow audaxers.

This last ran in 2018 on a very wet and windy day yet it was enjoyed as a great route. The first section undulates to the side of Brown Clee before making a rapid descent to the frontier town of Craven Arms. From here on you progress through the Marches and across the border to pass under the spectacular Knucklas Viaduct. It is then a hilly section through the rolling hills of mid-Wales to Presteigne via Dolau. The return is then gentler albeit a harsh climb out of Shelsey Beauchamp.