Quick answer: The Old Chalk Way runs 358 miles (576km) from Lyme Regis in Dorset to Holme-next-the-Sea in Norfolk, roughly 54% unpaved, with most of the climbing front-loaded into the first 50 miles. We rode it over four days plus a ride home, averaging around 90 miles a day, on gravel bikes with full bikepacking kit. This is what we found, day by day, including the exact sections on Strava, where to stop for food, where to camp, and the parts that caught us out.

If you want the lessons we took away from the trip rather than the logistics, that's a separate post: 6 Bikepacking Lessons I Learned the Hard Way. This one is just the route.

Before you go

• Terrain: more than half off-road, and "gravel" is doing some of the work here. Long stretches are genuinely rocky rather than smooth gravel, which costs you traction on the climbs. Be ready to walk sections, we did.
• Water: carry more capacity than you think you need. A hydration pack on top of bottles made a real difference for us, especially through the Ridgeway and Salisbury Plain, where stops thin out fast.
• Salisbury Plain / Larkhill firing times: the route crosses the Larkhill training area. Check firing times before you go (gov.uk, or call 01980 674763). Red flags up means you take the alternate route around the right-hand side, no negotiating, and you never camp on the plain itself.
• Wild camping: technically illlegal in England. Arrive late, leave early, no fires, no litter, stay clear of houses and livestock, and if there's an obvious landowner nearby, make sure they've finished for the day before you pitch.

Day 1: Lyme Regis to Lower Ansty: 70km, 1,587m elevation

Strava: Day 1

The brutal one. Plenty of climbing straight out of the gate, on and off road, with some genuinely steep sections where it's rocks rather than gravel underfoot. We ended up walking a few of them. The views make up for it, and around Cerne Abbas you'll pass the Cerne Abbas Giant on the hillside (worth the detour to see), with a small town nearby that has a shop and a pub if you need supplies.

We camped at Brewery Farm, Lower Ansty. No booking needed, just a message and a bank transfer, and the campsite owner was genuinely helpful. There's a pub directly opposite for an end-of-day pint, and the facilities were properly good: showers, toilets, and a communal fridge with a plug socket, handy for charging a power bank overnight.

Day 2: Lower Ansty to south of Wantage: 160km, 2,010m elevation

Strava: Day 2

Our favourite day of the whole trip, and the longest. From Lower Ansty it's around 37km to Shaftesbury, where you hit Gold Hill, the steep cobbled climb from the Hovis advert. It's a proper effort with loaded bags, but there's a café at the top worth stopping at for breakfast. Walk around the back of it and you go from a quaint, cobbled old English village straight into a modern high street, which is a genuinely strange transition worth experiencing for yourself.

From there it's more rocky gravel and road on to Stonehenge, which you pass close enough to get a proper view of without leaving the route, then Larkhill, your last reliable water stop before Salisbury Plain. If you need to resupply, there's a slight detour off-route near Larkhill (junction you turn left but shops to the right) worth taking before you commit to the Plain, because there's nothing out there. It's a strange, bleak, beautiful stretch, mostly military land, and the route takes you right through the firing range area when it's not active. Stick to the right-hand side if you need the alternate line around it.

After the Plain you join the Ridgeway, which means more off-road and fewer stopping options. This is where we did our first ever wild camp, just below Wantage, tucked next to some hay bales. It wasn't a great night's sleep (see the lessons post for why), but it was memorable. If you're planning the same, there's a water tap on the Ridgeway itself close to Uffington Castle worth knowing about, useful given how sparse the options are out there. For food, Chiseldon has a garage with a Subway and Starbucks, just off-route near Badbury, and it's about the only proper resupply point on this stretch.

Day 3: South of Wantage to Dunstable: 116km, 1,438m elevation

Strava: Day 3

An early start with no breakfast, after being turned away from a golf club café for being too early. We found a proper spot instead: a hotel at Goring-on-Thames, sat out on the decking overlooking the water for coffee and breakfast (they wouldn't let us use a room to wash, worth asking anyway if you're in the same boat). More punchy, steep climbs through this section, on top of a big day the day before, so pace accordingly.

Lunch was at Bucks More End Farm Kitchen, right on the route, then on through the rest of the Chilterns to Beacon Hill, which has genuinely great views over the valley and a chalk figure worth stopping for. We camped at Kensworth, just off-route south of Dunstable. Outside shower (with a door, at least), and a pub about ten minutes' walk away for a proper meal. If you're staying in this area, the view over the gliding centre at Dunstable Downs, just off-route, is worth the short detour.

Day 4: Dunstable to Norwich: 190km, 1,391m elevation

Strava: Day 4

The longest day, and the one with the most road, starting right from the centre of Luton. Not the most scenic stretch of the whole route, but there's a decent cycle track through, and you pick up pace here compared to the technical days before. We stopped at Letchworth Garden City (just off-route) for a McDonald's breakfast, then continued through south of Cambridge as the flat of Norfolk starts to take over.

By Thetford, the terrain turns properly sandy, worth knowing if you're riding it, since it catches you out after four days of chalk and gravel. This is also where the official Old Chalk Way continues north to Hunstanton via the Peddars Way. We'd done that section before, and time was tight, so we cut the ride short at Thetford and rode home to Norwich instead, about 25 miles, into a headwind the whole way.

What we'd tell you before you go

• Book campsites ahead in peak summer if you want a proper pitch rather than wild camping: Brewery Farm (Lower Ansty), Court Hill Centre and Bridge Villa (Wallingford area) all get busy.
• The Ridgeway and Salisbury Plain are the sections to plan food and water around. Everywhere else, you're rarely more than a few hours from a shop.
• The gravel is rockier than "gravel" suggests in places. Don't expect a smooth surface throughout, and be ready to walk the steepest, loosest sections.
• If you're doing the full route to Hunstanton, budget an extra day beyond what we did. We stopped at Thetford on day four; the full route continues on to Holme-next-the-Sea via the Peddars Way.

If you want to know exactly what we packed to make this work, that's here: My Bikepacking Setup: Tent, Sleeping Bag and Mat.