The Kemble Round & The White Horse Round

24/03/2026

Amazing to see this storming attempt on the White Horse Round. But come on Global Cycling Network, give the website a link on your write-up, so we can get a few more donations coming in for Great Western Air Ambulance Charity!!

Simon takes on the "White Horse Round," a brutal 190km gravel route in the southwest of England, in an attempt to set a new Fastest Known Time. Battling rele...

08/03/2025

Both the 'rounds' are coming nicely into condition after great weather in the West Country in the last couple of weeks. This morning we were out making a recce of the Birdlip section of The Kemble Round, keeping an eye on access through the major road build of the A417 'Missing Link'. Full details are on www.thekembleround.uk but the good news is that the route, for the time being at least, is completely unaffected. The Birdlip/Barrow Wake viewpoint is still closed, but access past it out to the east is clear. Then, what was a remote, quiet road/track is now smoothly surfaced, for construction traffic. And a huge new bridge is going up, that should eventually carry a rejigged TKR route. Beyond, the same as ever, down Shab Hill, and on to Coberley Mill, Upper Coberley and Needlehole. The video shows highlights of this entire section, and gives an idea of the riding conditions as of this morning. Not bad for early March.

23/03/2024

Gravel-riding friends - as the weather slowly improves here’s a first shout out in 2024 for two self-guided ~100 mile challenge routes in the West Country, The Kemble Round & The White Horse Round. Both are ideally suited to one or two day efforts, and all mapping and GPS routes are available for FREE! We encourage donations to Great Western Air Ambulance Charity. More on our FB Page, or at www.thekembleround.uk and www.thewhitehorseround.uk

Route update, February 2024If you’re planning to tackle the Kemble Round in 2024 be aware there is some potential for disruption and diversions due to the construction of the new A417 ‘Missing Link’ road. More information on the Route page. The Kemble Round is a challenging 100 mile (160Km) se...

31/12/2023

We got some nice news before Christmas - £366 raised through donations by the many intrepid riders who took on The Kemble Round, The White Horse Round, or in a few cases both in 2023. These routes have raised nearly £2000 for Great Western Air Ambulance Charity now, and I really hope they'll generate more well into the future. Thanks again to anyone who generously donated. If you haven't done these routes before, 2024 could be the time!

28/05/2023

You won't need us to tell you how great the trails are running in this super weather. But just to prove it, here's the Churn Valley section of the Kemble Round, ridden today, from North Cerney into Cirencester. It's near the end of the round, around the 90 mile mark, when the legs could be tiring, but it has brilliant flow and ever-changing landscapes. Get GPS routes, info and tips at www.thekembleround.uk

20/05/2022

The Kemble Round is riding great at the moment, but if you're looking for another challenge, here's its brand new sister route, just launched: www.thewhitehorseround.uk Suggested start point is Bradford-on-Avon, and the route is almost entirely in Wiltshire, but it stretches up to (almost) Kemble, and can be tackled from there, or many other places.

Like before, GPX files, OS mapping, route variants and loads of additional info is freely available at the website. We encourage small donations to the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.

Riding next to the Wansdyke near Milk Hill, Pewsey Downs, 68 miles into the full route The White Horse Round is a challenging 105 mile self-guided gravel/MTB cycling route for experienced cyclists. Almost entirely located in Wiltshire, Bradford-on-Avon makes an ideal start and finish point, but bec...

01/04/2022

Well, it might have been SNOWING today here in Kemble, but the conditions for riding the Kemble Round are in general pretty good right now, and suddenly we've got loads more daylight to play with. April and May can be superb for taking on this brilliant gravel cycling challenge - GPX files, mapping and info at www.thekembleround.uk

26/07/2021

Pretty good, fast-running, not-too-hot conditions right now for having a stab at the new 100 mile Cotswolds route The Kemble Round, or one of the shorter (80 and 60 mile) alternatives. Nettles? What nettles?... GPX, maps and more at www.thekembleround.uk

27/06/2021

Here's a 2 minute video about The Kemble Round, including lots of footage from the very first completion on 19th June 2021. We're starting to publicise the route now, and are excited about other gravel/adventure riders getting out there and doing it. If you ride it please let us know, and tell us how you got on! GPX file, mapping and other info is freely available at www.thekembleround.uk 🚵🌤

20/06/2021

We made it!
Yesterday, June 19th, three of us made the inaugural attempt on The Kemble Round and came back smiling. It was a bit of a grey day, but the cool temperatures helped enormously with keeping hydrated. We also suffered a few 'technicals', including a stick severing a hydraulic brake line on one of our bikes about 60 miles in. But in every other respect it all went just as well as it could. Amazing landscape, the route lived up to expectations, there was a great sense of morale in the group, and our legs were working almost as well at the end as the start. A huge thanks to the brilliant support team of Jackie, Julian, Matt and Annabel, who met us at several points en route and provided food, water fill-ups and encouragement. And thank you again to all of our generous sponsors - we've raised more money for the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity than I dared hope, and I'd like to think there could be more in the future as other cyclists take up the challenge.

13/06/2021

One week to go before the first attempt on the Kemble Round route, and time for some training around Wotton-under-Edge today, in the baking heat. Steep climbs and fast descents, on dusty tracks - what's not to like? 😃🚵