Electric dreams

Could this new cycling route in the Shropshire Hills become a star of Britain's bikepacking scene? Matt Baird mounts an electric bike to navigate the hills, thrills and basilicas of the Marcher Castles Way

- Matt Baird

The tartan-covered shopping trolley. Fleece-lined slippers. Jazz music. Electric bicycles have long been something that my ego won't succumb to just yet, a purchase like those listed above that I'll save for retirement, even if I'll secretly enjoy the benefits right now.

My stubborn resolve, like my hairline, however, is receding by the day.

Having torn a knee ligament in 2024 (refereeing an under-9's football match), my fitness has steadily declined and I now wheeze climbing the office stairs. Yet when the charity Cycling UK (cyclinguk.org) launched the Marcher Castles Way in Shropshire last October, one of my favourite UK counties, I nudged aside my resistance to assisted cycling and left the door ajar. It was time to become a member of the 21st century's e-generation.

Marcher is the medieval word for borderland and the bikepacking route highlights the history of the strongholds that cyclists will encounter on the 180-mile loop. After starting in the county town of Shrewsbury, the multi-terrain trail on roads, bridleways and former railway tracks crosses the English and Welsh border eight times. Along the way it visits the Roman remains at Wroxeter, the World Heritage Site of Ironbridge, the foodie haven of Ludlow and crosses Offa's Dyke, the earthwork from circa 784CE that largely runs along the border.

While shorter than Cycling UK's King Alfred's Way, which became a huge hit after its launch in 2019 and boasts Winchester, Stonehenge, Avebury and more on its 217-mile route, the Marcher Castles Way is a hillier devil, with a thigh-busting 5,000m of elevation gain over the loop.

Which is why, on a snow-dusted Friday, I'm attempting the 60-mile 'taster' route, which cuts the climbing down to 1,391m, atop an ebike from British brand Pashley.

LITTLE SWITZERLAND