Women only guided bikepacking weekend in the Cotswolds
Challenge yourself with your first multi-day cycling adventure
Created for beginners who are confident cyclists!
Learn technical skills on a mountain bike and build confidence on the trails
Explore the Cotswold hills by bike
Wild-ish camping and campfires
All the gear you need is provided including bike hire!
Unplug and reconnect with nature
Challenge yourself with your first multi-day cycling adventure
Meet like-minded women! 95% of our guests join solo
Join Gutsy Girls for our exclusive women only bikepacking weekend adventure in the beautiful Cotswold hills. Created especially for beginner mountain bikers, this two day, one night expedition is the perfect introduction to multi-day mountain biking and wild camping!
We’ll be loading up our bikes for a women only cycling weekend of exploring hidden valleys, secret trails, rural roads and beautiful countryside with new friends. We’ll camp under the stars, eating in the great outdoors, enjoy great conversation around a campfire and reconnect with nature!
You don’t need any previous mountain biking experience to join us (but you should be a confident bike rider) and we provide top quality mountain bikes, helmets, bikepacking luggage and wild camping gear.
The Adventure
This is a two day guided experience, led by friendly and passionate British Cycling qualified guides. We’ve planned and tested a route that is perfect for beginner mountain bikers, that will allow you to develop technical skills on the bike and build your confidence in riding over the weekend.
It’s an undulating route, with a few challenging sections to test your new skills. Each day we’ll ride between 6-8 hours (approx 45 km a day) with stops for coffee, cake and lunch with a view!
Our sociable riding style is focused on enjoyment and adventure - and newcomers to mountain biking are more than welcome on this adventure.
The overnight camp will be in a wooded wild’ish’ campsite. Keeping things lightweight, we’ll be sleeping in bivvy bags under tarps (more details below). Our guides will help you set up your camp, making a wild adventure as comfortable as possible.
WHat is Bike Packing?
Bikepacking is the same as self-supported overnight hiking trips, just on two wheels! Combining the freedom of multi-day backcountry hiking, exploring off-road trails with the ability to cover more ground. It’s about exploring places less travelled, via singletrack trails, bridleways and ancient tracks and paths, carrying the essential gear and not much more.
You will be provided with specialist bike packing luggage - lightweight bags that fit on your handlebars, within your frame and behind your seat, and you will carry all your kit in these - making you completely self-sufficient.
CAMPING
Our overnight camp will be a wild‘ish’ camping experience in a woodland area; we will have access to a toilet and running water.
Since lightweight is the name of the game, you will be bivvy-ing overnight.
This is an amazing opportunity to sleep out under the stars and feel completely connected to the nature surrounding you. You will be supplied with a sleeping mat, a bivvy bag - essentially a waterproof outer layer for your sleeping bag, and a tarp to set up above you if you need one - don’t worry if you’ve never done this before - help and support will be provided!
You’ll need to bring your own lightweight sleeping bag for this adventure; check out our packing list here.
LOCATION
We’ve chosen Bath and the Cotswolds for its stunning landscapes and its super accessibility via public transport! Our meeting point is just an 8 minute walk from Bath Spa train station with frequent trains from London and many other UK train stations.
One of the Cotswolds’ greatest secrets is how good the area is for off-road cycling. The network of good tracks and the variety of terrain - from rolling green hills, to woodland tracks, bridleways between distinctive local yellow limestone villages and rocky by-ways makes mountain biking one of the best ways to discover the area.
EXPERIENCE LEVEL
Gutsy Girls prides itself on creating a welcoming environment, taking the intimidation out of learning new sports in a non-competitive and super supportive setting!
This adventure is perfect for confident riders with a good base level of fitness. You don’t need any previous mountain biking experience to join this adventure; however, we do ask that you can ride a bike confidently over a variety of terrain and for a extended period of time, and the Cotswold hills mean you may need to dig deep occasionally!
We will be cycling for 6-8 hours (with plenty of breaks for snacks and lunch, possibly even a cafe or pub!) on varied terrain.
WHAT TO EXPECT
This trip is rated as moderate to challenging. To fully enjoy and make the most out of this experience, a good to high level of fitness is essential.
Required Experience: You don’t need prior mountain biking experience, but you must be a confident cyclist.
Duration: Gear up for 6-8 hours of cycling each day, including time for breaks.
Distance: On day 1, expect to cycle up to 40km, followed by up to 35km on day 2.
Loaded Bike: Your bike will carry all essentials, plus a backpack for additional needs. This setup improves stability but will increase the effort needed for uphill climbs.
Paths: Our journey takes us through country lanes, bridleways, byways, and cycle paths, offering a mix of rocky and narrow terrains with minimal traffic.
Terrain: The route includes hill climbs; you must be comfortable with both ascents and descents on your bike. Expect a variety of surfaces.
Consecutive Days: Prepare for 2 consecutive days of biking, which may be physically challenging and a bit tough on the posterior!
Camping: Experience a night under the stars, sleeping in a bivvy and under a tarp. Compost toilets are available at the campsite.
GUIDED EXPERIENCE
We’ve teamed up with passionate guides who will happily provide mentoring, tuition on any aspects of bike packing, bike skills, repair & maintenance, equipment, first aid, navigation, bush craft, personal security, wild foods and just about anything else related to living off two wheels.
Itinerary
ARRIVAL | DAY 1 & NIGHT 1
Arrival and briefing; learning how to pack our kit and load the bikes
Set off for the day’s ride - building confidence on the bike and learning new skills, with plenty of stops for photos along the way!
Picnic in the hills (bring your own lunch)
We aim for a pub or cafe stop along the way, if there’s time!
Final ride to woodland campsite
Getting ourselves set up for a night under the stars - learn how to set up your tarp and how to choose the best bivvy spot
Warm yourself by the campfire while eating your well-deserved expedition dinner and enjoying great conversation!
DAY 2
You’ll be up with the birds; enjoy a camp coffee or tea and your expedition breakfast at the campsite
Pack up your kit and re-pack the bike, leaving no trace
Head back out on the trails, with lunch and coffee stops en route
We aim to be back at the start point for a 5 pm finish
You’ll have plenty of stories and a whole group of new friends to take away from this full weekend of adventure!
Dates
Sat 29 - Sun 30 June
Sat 6 - Sun 7 July
Sat 17 - Sun 18 August
PRICE £300
Full payment is required at the time of booking.
What’s Included
2 day, 1 night adventure
British Cycling qualified guide
Bike hire, helmet and bikepacking luggage
Wild camping equipment
Top-quality expedition dinner day 1
Top-quality expedition breakfast day 2
Tea and coffee
Emergency and first aid equipment carried by your instructor
Storage of clothing and equipment not required for the expedition.
Gutsy Girls beanie
Gutsy Girls camping mug
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED
Sleeping bag
Personal cancellation and injury/health insurance
Lunches - bring a packed lunch on day one and we’ll stop at a cafe, pub or farm shop for lunch on day two
Transport to and from the adventure
-
We’ll be providing top quality expedition meals for your dinner and breakfast. We have options that are vegan, lactose and gluten-free. These are tried and tested, the best we can find!
If you have any other dietary requirements, please check with us before booking so we can ensure we have enough time to source great food for you.
You’ll need to bring lunch with you for days 1 and 2, along with plenty of snacks! Check out our FAQ for ideas.
-
Full payment is required at the time of booking.
-
This trip has a maximum of 8 spots. You’ll be accompanied by a Gutsy Girl ambassador and experienced British Cycling qualified guide for the weekend.
We need a minimum of 5 bookings for this trip to run. If we do not reach the minimum numbers 7 days before the trip, we will cancel your booking and refund you, or reschedule your booking to a later date.
-
We will meet at 9am at Bath Outdoors, in Bath. Here we’ll pack our bags, load our bike and get ready for our adventure
Bath Outdoors
Unit 8
Broadway Court
Miles Street
Bath
BA2 4HX
It’s an 8-minute walk from Bath Spa train station, so you can catch a morning train from London Paddington and many other UK train stations.
-
This trip is rated as moderate to challenging. To fully enjoy and make the most out of this experience, a good to high level of fitness is essential.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Required Experience: You don’t need prior mountain biking experience, but you must be a confident cyclist.
Duration: Gear up for 6-8 hours of cycling each day, including time for breaks.
Distance: On day 1, expect to cycle up to 40km, followed by up to 35km on day 2.
Loaded Bike: Your bike will carry all essentials, plus a backpack for additional needs. This setup improves stability but will increase the effort needed for uphill climbs.
Paths: Our journey takes us through country lanes, bridleways, byways, and cycle paths, offering a mix of rocky and narrow terrains with minimal traffic.
Terrain: The route includes hill climbs; you must be comfortable with both ascents and descents on your bike. Expect a variety of surfaces.
Consecutive Days: Prepare for 2 consecutive days of biking, which may be physically challenging and a bit tough on the posterior!
Camping: Experience a night under the stars, sleeping in a bivvy and under a tarp. Compost toilets are available at the campsite.
PACKING LIST
We provide:
Bike
Helmet
Sleeping mat
Bivvy bag and tarp
Bikepacking specific luggage: saddle bag, frame bag, and bar bag
(This will be enough space to carry a few extra warm clothes for the evening and night time, some toiletry essentials and your camping equipment. Lightweight is the name of the game though! )
Cooking equipment
Dinner and breakfast expedition meals
You will need:
Warm, lightweight sleeping bag (2 or 3 season)
Warm dry clothes for the evening and overnight
Lightweight warm coat (down or synthetic)
Warm hat
2 x 750 ml Water bottles or 1.5 litre hydration pack (please note there are no bottle cages on the bikes so you’ll need to carry water in your backpack)
Cycle clothing (padded shorts recommended!)
Gloves for cycling
Waterproof jacket (waterproof trousers if the forecast looks wet!)
Basic toiletries
Sun screen
Sunglasses
Prescription medication
Insect repellent
Electrolytes
Trainers for cycling in
Flip flops (for the evening!)
Money - we will stop at at least one watering hole to enjoy something to eat and drink, and a pub, cafe or farm shop for lunch on day 2. You will need cash as well as a card due to some of the more remote locations only taking cash.
Headtorch
Packed lunch for day 1. Carbs are good!
Snacks! (There will be stops along the way but you should bring enough to get you through the weekend). Snacks should be high energy foods like flapjacks, cereal bars, nuts, dried fruit etc.
Backpack to carry snacks, lunch and water and anything which doesn’t fit in the bikepacking bags. We recommend a bag of about 30 litres.
You can leave a small bag with a change of clothes at our start point, please make sure it is soft sided and easy to store; there isn’t much space.
QUESTIONS?
Our FAQs are packed with details and probably have your answer! If not, drop us a message below and we'll respond within 48 hours, Monday to Friday.