The Friends Life Tour of Britain is over, the trophies won and the crowds have gone home. If you were inspired by the scenery and places you may have seen while watching, this is the post for you!
The next two blog posts will highlight the eight areas of Britain visited by the tour. From Liverpool to London in eight stages. We’ll discuss the places visited, the ride and the fact that holidaycottages.net has quite a range of quality holiday accommodation near all the places you’ll visit.
If you want to see exactly where the professionals rode, or want to download the .gpx file of the route to your satnav, you’ll find them here.
So without further ado, let’s get started!
Stage 1 Liverpool
The first stage of the Tour of Britain was made up of laps of Liverpool city centre. It stretched for 104.8km and showcased the city well. The weather was good, the crowds large and good humoured and the stage was an enjoyable one. Marcel Kittel won this round after a fantastic sprint finish that saw tired legs pushed to their limit until the very end.
Liverpool is a lovely city with a lot of history, culture and appeal. Renting a holiday cottage within easy reach of the city can give you the best of both worlds. While you might not get the closed-road racing when you visit, the rest of the city is yours for the taking.
Stage 2 Knowsley to Llandudno
Stage 2 was a 201km ride from Knowsley in Liverpool to Llandudno in Wales that took in some stunning scenery. The race passed round Chester, through Wrexham, through Mold, round Conwy and into Llandudno town centre to finish.
This is a lovely area that mixes urban sprawl south of Liverpool with some lovely north Welsh coastline. It’s ideal ground for cycling or just enjoying time away from home.
Stage 3 Newtown to The Tumble
Newtown to The Tumble was a 179.7km from mid-Wales to southern Wales near Ebbw Vale. This was a challenging stage that takes in the best of Wales including the hills! This stage isn’t for the faint hearted but repays your efforts in kind with some fantastic scenery.
Mid-Wales has some fantastic surroundings, plenty of National Parks, forests and Welsh towns to take in. Whether you visit to follow the stage or take in the region, we have plenty of holiday cottages within easy reach.
Stage 4 Worcester to Bristol
Stage 4 of the Tour of Britain was from Worcester to Bristol, across 184.6km of undulating countryside. The route took in some of the best of the city of Worcester, the county of Gloucestershire and Bristol and showcased the region exceptionally well.
This is another region of the UK that is blessed with some amazing scenery, lovely countryside, National Parks and forests. It’s perfect for a weekend break whether you’re following in the footsteps of the Tour of Britain or not.
Use the search area of the site to find some excellent holiday cottages along these routes or build your very own Tour using local accommodation featured here. Join us next time for the final four stages of the of Britain!