Tour the Ribble Valley and Forest of Bowland by E-bike
The Ribble Valley and Forest of Bowland offer some of the most idyllic scenery anywhere in England – and an electric bike is the best way to explore it.
Outstanding Scenery
500 square miles to explore
Both destinations are overwhelmingly rural in character, with quiet country lanes connecting pretty villages like Waddington, Dunsop Bridge, Newton and Slaidburn with the larger towns of Clitheroe, Whalley and Longridge.
The combined area of these two destinations is more than 500 square miles, so there is plenty of room for everyone without things getting crowded — but this does mean the distances between the main rural hubs can be significant.
This is where an e-bike comes in. With the electrical assistance offered by an e-bike, a 20-mile ride becomes a bit of a breeze for anyone with an average level of fitness. This makes an e-bike the perfect way to explore the Forest of Bowland or the Ribble Valley without the hassle of finding a parking space or negotiating narrow country lanes.
With an effective range of 40–60 miles depending on the model and how much assistance you use, an e-bike allows you to explore further afield without any ‘range anxiety’ — and you'll be keeping your environmental impact and carbon footprint much lower than if you used a car. Find out more about riding an e-bike in our FAQs.
By travelling at a slower pace, you'll also see more scenery and spot more wildlife as you discover beautiful new vistas around every corner — and by choosing an e-bike, you'll be doing your bit to keep Bowland beautiful.
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Our hire shop in the pretty village of Dunsop Bridge is at the heart of the Forest of Bowland and within easy reach of some superb on and off-road routes — and a safe, largely traffic-free bridleway for families to explore.
Within a couple of miles' riding, you'll soon discover another benefit of e-bike touring: they make climbing hills a doddle. Both the Forest of Bowland and the Ribble Valley are very hilly, which makes touring on a standard push bike quite a challenge.
But dial in a bit of extra electrical assistance and an e-bike will get you up pretty much any hill in the area without breaking too much of a sweat — plus you'll be rewarded with amazing views from the top!
E-bikes still require a bit of pedalling and you'll burn a few calories during the course of a typical ride, which is a good thing, because you can then replace them at one of the many friendly pubs, cafes and country inns you'll find in pretty much every village along your route.
If you decide to make a weekend of it, we can arrange delivery of e-bikes to your accommodation so you can enjoy a ride direct from the door. And if you're looking for the ultimate car-free adventure, we can also arrange two or three-day rentals where we'll look after luggage transfer while you cycle from inn to inn.
Choose Your E-bike
A Sustainable Choice
Touring Bowland by e-bike is a sustainable choice. By choosing to use an e-bike, you'll reduce traffic and pollution in this environmentally sensitive landscape and reduce your carbon footprint.
The rural country roads that criss-cross the Forest of Bowland were designed for drovers or horse-drawn vehicles, and exploring by zero-emission e-bike places less pressure on these narrow byroads.
By stopping at local cafes, inns and artisan producers, you're supporting the local rural economy, which increasingly depends on tourism to supplement declining incomes from farming.
Guided and Self-Guided Tours
We've devised a collection of circular e-bike routes which showcase the best rides and scenery — and local hospitality — in the Forest of Bowland and Ribble Valley.
We can provide paper printouts of these routes when you collect your bikes, or alternatively, for more technologically advanced riders, we can supply GPX routes for upload to your smartphone to equip you with a ‘cycle satnav’.
For families and larger groups, we can also arrange ‘e-bike safaris’ with an experienced local guide, who will take you to the most amazing beauty spots and viewpoints and provide technical support and advice on getting the most out of your time in the area.
Choose from meandering road rides which incorporate plenty of stops at local points of interest, or more challenging off-road routes which get you even closer to nature in some of England's most breath-taking scenery.
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