PN Tour of Flanders

Flanders by bike, the unhurried version

The cobbled climbs that define the professional Tour of Flanders make a brief appearance here, but they are firmly optional — a final-day flourish you can ride, walk up with the guides, or skip altogether. The rest of the week is something different: a nine-day passage from Dunkirk to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven, with most of the riding flat, at least half on off-road cycle paths, and the cities given enough time to be properly looked at rather than ticked off. It is a cycling holiday with a sightseeing habit, or a city break with a saddle.

The landscape and the riding

The terrain shifts more than you might expect from northern Belgium. The opening days hug the coastal dunes north of Dunkirk, then cut inland along poplar-lined canals through villages that don't do much to perform for visitors. As the route works east, the flat polders give way to the rolling hills of the Flemish Ardennes — modest by Alpine standards, but enough to register, and the setting for those Tour of Flanders climbs in the closing stages. Riders chasing extra distance get GPX files for end-of-day loops; riders who'd rather sit in a square with a beer are quietly accommodated.

Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp are the obvious draws and the trip leans into them — quiet roads in, time to wander, and Belgian food and beer (with or without alcohol) to round off the days. Leuven, the smaller of the four, is the kind of stop you'd otherwise miss. The big skies and lines of poplars are a constant.

Bookings, bikes and the practical side

Pedal Nation run two departures: 25 July to 2 August 2026, led by Lucy Burnett and Ruth Noonan, and 24 July to 1 August 2027, led by Lucy Burnett. Both are £1,695 per person on a twin-share basis, with a £395 single supplement available at booking.

Accommodation is bed and breakfast in a mix of comfortable chain hotels and family-run properties — air-conditioned rooms where possible, secure bike storage throughout. Breakfast is provided by the hotels and lunch is a pack-up assembled by the support team from local bakeries (sandwiches, pasties, grab-and-go items, with a café fallback if the weather turns). Evening meals are at your own cost and usually eaten communally, though no one will mind if you'd rather slip off and find your own table. The support van carries emergency gels and bars, plus water refills and fruit, but riders are encouraged to bring their preferred sports nutrition along.

Bike logistics are unusually generous. Drop your bike at Pedal Nation's Sheffield office up to a day before departure and they'll pack it in the support van, take it to Dunkirk via Dover, and return it ready for collection. Pick-up somewhere along the Sheffield-to-Dover route may be possible by arrangement; anything further afield is for an agreed fee. The trip sits comfortably within most riding levels, with the cobbles there as a challenge for those who want one and easily sidestepped for those who don't.