Venice to Oxford
A three-stage bike ride from Venice to Oxford with various options for your group to get involved a little or as much as possible. Our route includes a visit to Brugge, an ascent up a Tour de France Climb, cycling alongside Lake Constance and of course celebrations in Oxford!
This route offers plenty of flexibility and isn’t limited to the example shown here. There are many different ways to do this journey, and we can adapt it to your requirements. The options are endless, what you’ll find below is simply a typical itinerary.
Venice to Oxford Itinerary
Stage 1 – Venice to Bruges
Starting from Venice, everyone boards a boat bound for the port of Punta Sabbioni as we say goodbye to the floating city, St Mark’s Square and the Bridge of Sighs. When we arrive in this small port village, our bicycles will have been set up and will be ready for the ride. There will be a chance to meet the bike guides before the Grand Depart commences. We start this leg of the event by cycling around the Venetian Lagoon and through quaint Italian villages as we follow the Piave River north towards the Alps. We finish the day’s ride in the late-medieval city of Trento.
In the morning, we board a coach bound for Merano and start riding into the Alps and across the border into Austria. We finish the day in Landeck near the ski resort of St Anton.
Today sees everyone ride west through the ski resort of St Anton and up to 1788m as we pass over the Arlberg Pass. Thankfully, what goes up must come down as we get to enjoy a 30km descent down to the village of Ludesch. We then start riding towards Lake Constance and catch the ferry towards Konstanz.
The following morning, we take a short coach journey to the German-French border and ride into the Black Forest. Today’s challenge will be the ascent of the Grand Ballon or the Petite Ballon.
We ride through the Alsace region north towards Strasbourg, where we celebrate the end of the first stage of the event. We then board a bus bound for Bruges to commence stage two.
‘Simply the best. Brilliant routes, charming support staff, knowledgeable guides, great coffee stops, good lunches, spot on hotels.’ – Tim, Badgers
Stage 2 – Bruges to Cambridge
At the start of this day, we welcome the cyclists who are joining for stage two of the event. We depart the cobbled streets of Bruges, leaving the medieval buildings as we head towards the Netherlands. We will ride through the province of Zeeland, which largely lies below sea level. The end of the day is at the Hook of Holland ferry, where we will board the overnight ferry bound for Harwich.
The penultimate day of riding sees us waking up on the shores of the UK and departing from Harwich. The journey takes us through Constable country, where we can enjoy the same views that John Constable had when he painted The Hay Wain. We continue riding until we arrive in the historic city of Cambridge, where we meet the new arrivals for the final day’s ride and share tales of the journey so far.
Stage 3 – Cambridge to Oxford
Our final day will take us from Cambridge, which has its own Bridge of Sighs, through 80 miles of countryside towards the centre of Oxford, where we will have a celebratory meal for all our riders to mark the finale of our 500-mile bike ride across 7 countries. The obligatory celebration photograph will be taken underneath the Hertford College Bridge of Sighs, capturing our achievement.
