The route for the 2025 edition of London Edinburgh London - Britain's biggest organised long-distance cycling challenge - has been unveiled.
The next edition of London Edinburgh London will take place on 3 August 2025. The new 1,530km (950 mile) route sees some significant changes from the last edition in 2022, visiting four new towns and taking in some of the UK's most iconic cycling roads.
London Edinburgh London takes place every four years and attracts 2,000 riders from around the world. The goal is to complete the round trip between the two cities in under 125 hours. It is not a race but a test of physical and mental stamina; just completing is the main target for most riders.
Most of the 2025 riders will begin their five-day journey from the new start point at Writtle (outside Chelmsford) in Essex. A City of London Guildhall start is also on offer for riders who want to roll out through the centre of London and through the suburbs.
The route takes riders to control points in Northstowe in Cambridgeshire (new for 2025), Spalding and Louth in Lincolnshire, Hessle, Malton and Richmond (new for 2025) in Yorkshire and Brampton in Cumbria. In Scotland, riders will visit Hawick (new for 2025) and Moffat before reaching the Scottish Capital.
On the return leg, the mandatory route takes in Innerleithen and Eskdalemuir before retracing through Brampton, Malton, Richmond, Hessle, Louth and Spalding. After returning through Northstowe, riders will head through the centre of Cambridge and Henham (new for 2025) before finishing at Writtle.
The control points will offer support including hot food and a place to sleep and have been placed to give riders a range of options when planning their rest strategies.
Building on the successful trial in 2022 of refreshment stops between controls, 14 are planned in 2025. These community-run venues will guarantee, around the clock, that riders will find a place to refuel - an especially valuable support during the night when shops may be shut and when a friendly face is most needed.
Although there are over 600 km of new roads on the 2025 route, old favourites including North Yorkshire and Cumbria along with climbs like Yad Moss are still in the mix. In Scotland, riders will take a new route climbing to Hawick, the moorland traverse and Devil's Beeftub climb to Moffat and then to Edinburgh via the cycle track from Roslin.
Overall, the route offers 12,800 metres of total climbing, a decrease of around 1,500 on the 2022 course.
"We've rethought quite a few aspects of the event from 2022," says LEL Event Director Danial Webb, "and we've taken the opportunity to build on some of the experiences.
"In particular, we've started seeing communities come out and support the riders along the way and we hope that our new refreshment stops and early publicity will encourage spectators and inspire more people to get out and ride.
"We've designed a route to provide a challenge which appeals to long distance cyclists for whom completion rather than competition is the goal. The aim of the organisers and the 1,000 volunteers is to get people around within the 125 hour time limit whilst exploring some of the best cycling country in the world."
General entries for the 2025 edition of London Edinburgh London open in January 2025. A ballot for early bird entries opens on 3 November 2023. Places are limited for the event which does not require prequalification.
Details of the route and entries can be found on the event website at londonedinburghlondon.com.
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