The Great Tour takes place over 64 days, covering over 6,800 kilometres of Britain’s beautiful coastline by bike.
Starting and finishing from Ryde on the Isle of Wight, the route is planned in an anti-clockwise direction, divided into nine week-long blocks of riding.
The route takes in quiet roads and cycle paths, keeping away from busy roads and traffic as much as possible. There may be times when we head inland for short sections due to geographical elements or road infrastructure. There are also minimal ferry crossings included along the way.
Our 2023 route, including the start and finish point, will be unveiled shortly, but here’s how the Great Tour unfolded in Summer 2020.
Great Tour 2020 route map
Great Tour 2020 daily schedule
| Day | Date | Route | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat 4 July | Ryde to Cowes | 88.1km |
| 2 | Sun 5 July | Southampton to Brighton | 139.7km |
| 3 | Mon 6 July | Brighton to Rye | 92.6km |
| 4 | Tue 7 July | Rye to Broadstairs | 106km |
| 5 | Wed 8 July | Broadstairs to Chatham | 100km |
| 6 | Thu 9 July | Chatham to Southend | 99.1km |
| 7 | Fri 10 July | Southend to Clacton | 100km |
| 8 | Sat 11 July | Clacton to Southwold | 100km |
| 9 | Sun 12 July | Southwold to Cromer | 100km |
| 10 | Mon 13 July | Cromer to King’s Lynn | 100km |
| 11 | Tue 14 July | King’s Lynn to Grimsby | 186.8km |
| 12 | Wed 15 July | Grimsby to Scarborough | 174.9km |
| 13 | Thu 16 July | Scarborough to Hartlepool | 105.3km |
| 14 | Fri 17 July | Hartlepool to Alnwick | 122.1km |
| 15 | Sat 18 July | Alnwick to Berwick | 68.9km |
| 16 | Sun 19 July | Berwick to Edinburgh | 111.1km |
| 17 | Mon 20 July | Edinburgh to Dundee | 134.2km |
| 18 | Tue 21 July | Dundee to Aberdeen | 125km |
| 19 | Wed 22 July | Aberdeen to Fraserburgh | 93.3km |
| 20 | Thu 23 July | Fraserburgh to Lossiemouth | 104.6km |
| 21 | Fri 24 July | Lossiemouth to Inverness | 78.3km |
| 22 | Sat 25 July | Inverness to Dornoch | 96.6km |
| 23 | Sun 26 July | Dornoch to Wick | 107.5km |
| 24 | Mon 27 July | Wick to Tongue | 135km |
| 25 | Tue 28 July | Tongue to Scourie | 86.5km |
| 26 | Wed 29 July | Scourie to Ullapool | 104km |
| 27 | Thu 30 July | Ullapool to Gairloch | 90km |
| 28 | Fri 31 July | Gairloch to Applecross | 100km |
| 29 | Sat 1 August | Applecross to Mallaig | 108.5km |
| 30 | Sun 2 August | Mallaig to Oban | 140.1km |
| 31 | Mon 3 August | Oban to Dumbarton Castle | 128.8km |
| 32 | Tue 4 August | Dumbarton Castle to Ayr | 114.7km |
| 33 | Wed 5 August | Ayr to Port Patrick | 93.2km |
| 34 | Thu 6 August | Port Patrick to Newton Stewart | 107km |
| 35 | Fri 7 August | Newton Stewart to Dumfries | 119.7km |
| 36 | Sat 8 August | Dumfries to Carlisle | 70.3km |
| 37 | Sun 9 August | Carlisle to St Bees | 93.8km |
| 38 | Mon 10 August | St Bees to Barrow in Furness | 96.6km |
| 39 | Tue 11 August | Barrow in Furness to Morecambe | 103.6km |
| 40 | Wed 12 August | Morecambe to Lytham St Annes | 89.9km |
| 41 | Thu 13 August | Lytham St Annes to Liverpool | 73km |
| 42 | Fri 14 August | Liverpool to Colwyn Bay | 97.7km |
| 43 | Sat 15 August | Colwyn Bay to Holyhead | 149.4km |
| 44 | Sun 16 August | Holyhead to Aberdaron | 128.7km |
| 45 | Mon 17 August | Aberdaron to Barmouth | 92.4km |
| 46 | Tue 18 August | Barmouth to Aberystwyth | 78.5km |
| 47 | Wed 19 August | Aberystwyth to St Davids | 144.1km |
| 48 | Thu 20 August | St Davids to Pembroke Castle | 108.9km |
| 49 | Fri 21 August | Pembroke Castle to Llanelli | 140.9km |
| 50 | Sat 22 August | Llanelli to Porthcawl | 111.4km |
| 51 | Sun 23 August | Porthcawl to Newport | 93.3km |
| 52 | Mon 24 August | Newport to Bristol | 80.7km |
| 53 | Tue 25 August | Bristol to Porlock | 153km |
| 54 | Wed 26 August | Porlock to Clovelly | 118.3km |
| 55 | Thu 27 August | Clovelly to Padstow | 106.6km |
| 56 | Fri 28 August | Padstow to St Ives | 102km |
| 57 | Sat 29 August | St Ives to Penzance | 63.4km |
| 58 | Sun 30 August | Penzance to Falmouth | 97.1km |
| 59 | Mon 31 August | Falmouth to Eden Project | 91km |
| 60 | Tue 1 September | Eden Project to Plymouth | 90.4km |
| 61 | Wed 2 September | Plymouth to Dartmouth | 133.2km |
| 62 | Thu 3 September | Dartmouth to Seaton | 116.1km |
| 63 | Fri 4 September | Seaton to Poole | 133km |
| 64 | Sat 5 September | Poole to Ryde | 121.1km |