Love Her Wild
Golden Valley Cycle Pilgrimage - June
Unique cycle touring adventure
golden valley cycle Pilgrimage
Dates – 11th – 15th June 2025
Cost – £425 (60% deposit payable on booking, balance due January 2025)
Optional Bike Hire – £175 or £185 for electric
Duration – Five days (Four days cycling)
Accommodation – 4 nights sleeping in medieval churches
Group Size – 6-8 Women
Distance – longest day 27 miles. Total 82 miles
Location – Hereford
The Golden Valley cycle pilgrimage is a unique journey, linking medieval churches in Herefordshire’s Golden Valley into a multi-day cycle pilgrimage. Bring your own beliefs (or none at all!) as we travel between these ancient churches, sleeping each night inside the church just as medieval pilgrims would have. The final night is perhaps the most exciting of all when we will stay overnight in the cloisters of Hereford Cathedral (the first time that pilgrims have been able to stay overnight in Anglican cathedral precincts since medieval times).
If you don’t have your own bike, or would rather hire one, we are able to offer this as an optional add-on. Hire bikes come with rear panniers ready to pack your kit into.
Trip Overview
This is a trip with a difference! Rather than camping outside in a tent, on this journey we will be sleeping inside the churches (which is sometimes known as champing or church-camping!). You’ll need to carry your roll mat and sleeping bag on your bike to make each church we stop at into a comfortable overnight sanctuary.
Each day we will cycle along quiet countryside lanes, with great views of the Black Mountains in the distance.Â
Expand each section below for more detail…
Itinerary
Day 1
On day one, we will meet at Hereford Rowing Club Campsite which is close to Hereford Cathedral. (Parking options here)  We’ll do our introductions there before setting off for our first day’s cycling – an eighteen-mile ride through the countryside along quiet country roads, from Hereford to Ewyas-Harold. The pace will be gentle to allow everybody to settle into the trip, with plenty of stops to get to know each other or explore interesting sites as we pass.
Our sanctuary for the night is St Michael and All Angels church in Ewyas-Harold, a 13th-century church with a massive bell tower housing six bells and we will eat out together at a local pub.
Day 2
Day two on the pilgrimage is a 21-mile ride along the edges of the Black Mountains (the border between England and Wales). The day will be slightly hillier than day one, so we’ll take it slowly, and have time off the bikes to explore some of the other churches, forts and castles as we pass.
Our accommodation for the night is in St Michael and All Angels Church in Michaelchurch, a small 1000-year-old church with a Roman altar. We will eat out together at the Bridge Inn next door.Â
There will be an option to have a shower at the pub campsite.
Day 3
Day three of our journey is hilly but short, at just 16 miles. Today we will pass through Hay-on-Wye, famous for its plethora of second-hand bookstores and boutique cafes. We will take a good chunk of time off the bikes in Hay-on-Wye to explore and refuel, before continuing to our church accommodation at St Faiths’ church in Dorstone, where we will spend the night. This church has cooking facilities, and we will share a meal, the ingredients for which we will purchase in Hay-on-Wye earlier in the day.
Day 4
Day four’s ride is our longest at twenty-seven miles, although thankfully it’s a much flatter route! Our route takes us along the beautiful Wye Valley and back to Hereford, where we get to spend the night IN Hereford Cathedral Cloisters. To celebrate the end of our trip we’ll eat out together in Hereford before retiring to the Cloisters for the night.
Day 5
No cycling today! Instead, we will wake up inside the cathedral before packing our kit for the final time, exchange contact details with all the new friends we’ve made, and say our goodbyes, happy after a successful and unusual adventure!
What's Included
The trip price includes
- Four days of guided cycling around the Golden Valley Pilgrimage Ride.
- A qualified and experienced female ride leader.
- Ride in a group of up to eight women.
- Three nights church-camping accommodation in medieval churches.
- One night church-camping in Hereford Cathedral Cloisters.
- Support and advice before the trip to help you choose equipment and food.
The trip price does not include
- A bike or panniers. If you indicate you would like to hire a bike we will provide details after final payment in January.
- Equipment – although we may be able to arrange hire of camping equipment from the Gloucestershire Women’s Adventure Group (Love Her Wild) for a small donation – please email us to check.
- Food or drink for the duration of your trip.
- Car parking or transfers to Hereford. Hereford has a train station and there is the potential to park at Hereford Rowing Club. There is also a campsite there if you want to arrive the night before.
- Personal Travel Insurance.
Equipment
This is a cycle touring journey and we will carry all the kit we need as we ride.
You will need
- All of the equipment listed on our cycling kit list.
- A bed mat, sleeping bag, camping pillow (optional) and spare clothes. Please check the camping kit list for other items you may wish to carry. You will NOT need a tent, ‘kitchen’ stuff, stove or water filter.
- Spending money for daytime cafe breaks and to buy dinner out (nights 1, 2 and 4) and money to contribute to food on night 3.
You can find all our sample kit lists here, and detailed kit lists will be sent out by email after you have booked your adventure with us.
Booking terms and Conditions
Before booking your adventure with us please take a few minutes to read our Booking Terms and Conditions which you can find here.
Your trip leader is Chloe
“I love cycling, it fills my soul and is also my de-stress activity. Life always seems different at the top of a hill, worries forgotten, heart beating and a new perspective. So to combine cycling with sleeping in a spiritual place is filling me with excitement. I think the last night in Hereford Cathedral will be extraordinary. I look forward to sharing this with you”.Â
Find out more about Chloe.
“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike”
John F. Kennedy, Former Presient of the United States.
Hereford Cathedral
Visit Hay-On-Wye's famous bookstores
Cycle Quiet Country Lanes
Sleep in Medieval Churches
