Great Rides – Sheffield Fox Valley

At the heart of the Peak District, outdoorsy Sheffield Fox Valley has a buzzy bike culture.

Tucked into the eastern foothills of the Pennines – fully one-third of the city is considered part of the Peak District – and sitting at the confluence of five rivers, Sheffield is a true outdoorsy city.

It’s home to a vibrant mountain biking culture that takes advantages of the area’s natural topography, from the whoop-de-doos and berms of Blue Steel and Cooking on Gas, to the huge features of Steel City DH, to the gnarly Wharncliffe Woods to the city oasis of the Parkwood Trail.

Three National Cycle routes come close to town (the 6, 67 and 627) glance off the city limits – a wonderful family-friendly option is the greenway along the pretty canal, following the River Don Valley to Rotherham. If you’re a billy goat climber, you’ll find hills galore here: Kent Road, Woodfall Lane and Cote de Bradfield (a Tour de France section), Jawbone Hill (also TdF), the Dale, Fiddler’s Elbow and the list goes on. For gravel grinds, head straight for Peak District National Park – especially the reservoirs of the Upper Derwent Valley, Hope Valley and the trails near Stanage.

Keen on a local sportive? Many of them head to the hills, too, including the lumpy and glorious Peaks Tour (160 km, 120 km, 74 km), the mammoth Way of the Roses in a Day and the Newark Castle 100, which hits the best of the Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire countryside on the way to a riverside afterparty.

Past Ladybower to Mam Tor

Distance: 45.9 mi:
Elevation: +/- 5,260 ft

Sheffield

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Stanage Edge and through Ringinglow

Distance: 44.4 mi:
Elevation: +/- 4,300 ft

Sheffield

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Dunford Bridge and Cawthorne via the Trans Pennine Trail

Distance: 51.4 mi:
Elevation: +/- 4,169 ft

Sheffield

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Langsett and Strines Loop

Distance: 30.5 mi
Elevation: +/- 3,472 ft

Sheffield

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Out to Dunford Bridge

Distance: 29.4 mi
Elevation: +/- 1,890 ft

Sheffield

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Bradfield and Wigtwizzle

Distance: 15.3 mi:
Elevation: +/- 2,311 ft

Sheffield

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Tour of the Strines

Distance: 56.2 mi:
Elevation: +/- 7,156 ft

Sheffield

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Tour of South Yorkshire Climbs

Distance: 79.7 mi:
Elevation: +/- 9,409 ft

Sheffield

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Jackson Bridge and Holme Moss

Distance: 64.3 mi:
Elevation: +/- 7,926 ft

Sheffield

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Meltham & Fenay Bridge Loop

Distance: 45.2 mi:
Elevation: +/- 4,404 ft

Sheffield

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Out to Winscar Reservoir

Distance: 36.9 mi:
Elevation: +/- 3,605 ft

Sheffield

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Hathersage via Ladybower

Distance: 37.4 mi:
Elevation: +/- 4,249 ft

Sheffield

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Hebden Bridge and Cragg Vale

Distance: 75 mi:
Elevation: +/- 8,178 ft

Sheffield

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White Peak to Matlock and Bakewell

Distance: 88.6 mi:
Elevation: +/- 8,049 ft

Sheffield

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South Through the Peaks to the Cat and Fiddle Inn

Distance: 89.8 mi:
Elevation: +/- 8,878 ft

Sheffield

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Newmillerdam Route

Distance: 48 mi:
Elevation: +/- 4,044 ft

Sheffield

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Glossop and Holmfirth

Distance: 79.9 mi:
Elevation: +/- 7,625 ft

Sheffield

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Ride to York

Distance: 116.2 mi:
Elevation: +/- 5,126 ft

Sheffield

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Ride to North Yorkshire

Distance: 69.3 mi:
Elevation: +/- 4,435 ft

Sheffield

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Goyt Valley Southern Loop

Distance: 94.9 mi:
Elevation: +/- 9,998 ft

Sheffield

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Around Derwent Reservoir on the Kinder Loop

Distance: 10.4 mi:
Elevation: +/- 685 ft

Sheffield

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Trans Pennine Track to Penistone

Distance: 9.1 mi:
Elevation: +/- 603 ft

Sheffield

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Grenoside via Trans Pennine Track

Distance: 9.6 mi
Elevation: +/- 790 ft

Sheffield

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Trans Pennine Track to Penistone Old

Distance: 8.9 mi:
Elevation: +/- 604 ft

Sheffield

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Trans Pennine Track to Tankersley

Distance: 6.5 mi
Elevation: +/- 695 ft

Sheffield

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Oughtibridge and Kirk Edge Road

Distance: 10.6 mi:
Elevation: +/- 1,368 ft

Sheffield

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