Bikepacking Croydon to Hastings
Ian asked for a blog post on my first bikepacking trip, and it’ll be a good thing to read again before future trips. Here it is!
Photos at the bottom.
The route
A 65-mile (100km) gravel ride from Croydon to Hastings on the coast. It’s quiet country lanes with gravel and off-road sections. The journey was split into two sections over two days.
Day one was flatter than day two, and both have plenty of hills, but there were punishing climbs on day two. These were always rewarded with a fast blast down a hill on the other side!
The London section to the edge of the M25 is surprisingly rural, but I’m always telling people about the South London Alps and its beauty. If you’re familiar with the Vanguard Way or North Downs Way, this route passes through similar country.
After Edenbridge you hit the High Weald National Landscape. It’s Winnie the Pooh country, with lush woods, sandy soils and postcard villages. It’s not hard to imagine horses and carts trundling along the lanes.
The gravel and off-road descents are technical, with lots of flint, big rocks and crushed hardcore. I’m brand new to gravel cycling so took it reeeeeeal slow going downhill. My disc brakes got hot from overuse/over-reliance! It was never that muddy, thanks to well draining soil and a week without rain (it has been a very wet summer).
The campsite
Rather than risk getting slurry sprayed at me, and despite ample viable wildcamping spots, I decided to stay in one of High Weald’s fine campsites.
Because it was about halfway, Campfire Weekends hosted me for one night. And it was damn good! It’s a back-to-basics site: compost toilet, watering-can shower, one tap. It’s one up from wildcamping, which I loved.
The site is big with ample space, picnic benches for eating, fire pits to hire, but it’s quiet and everyone was asleep by 10.30 p.m.
Dinner at The Lazy Fox was incredible. Rye Bay scallops with charred corn and a salsa, cooked perfectly and really tasty. The spatchcock poussin was delicious too. All washed down with a glass of local rosé.
The gear
I’m not one for gear lists but my new Brother Kepler bike was a dream to ride. I love it.
Reflections
My legs were definitely feeling it, 2 days later! So a little more training between now and the next trip would be good. I was climbing hills seated too, so I need to get better at standing up to give more power on the downward stroke.
I don’t have bottle cages, I carried two soft flasks in a Janji running pack. That actually worked fine and doubled as a small musette, so I’m not sold on bottles yet (or adding anything to the forks). I could have stopped more often on the first day though, it helped to refill water on day two.