Just a few things about skating in the countryside from our experience:

Road Surfaces

These are very variable, sometimes we encounter long stretches of rough surface, or maybe there will be some smoothish surfaces. Surfaces will change with time. A recently re-surfaced road with loose chippings is no fun at all, especially if it’s steep going down.

Hills

Many of the routes involve hills – some can be really steep – a heel brake is a really good idea (and knowing how to use one) I guess – I wouldn’t attempt these skates without one (others might … in this case, try to keep close to urban areas which generally have a larger range of hospitals).

Traffic

Country lanes a little bit away from major towns are more likely to be quieter. We skate on the lanes as traffic (there is rarely a pavement option). Drivers are generally likely to be reasonably slow/cautious – especially where two vehicles cannot pass, or in areas where cyclists or horses on the road are common.

Maps

We use the OS Landranger maps, and try to stick to the “yellow” minor roads, occasionally going onto an “orange” B road for a mile or two. These are also available in the form of downloads in an app.

Traffic and surface ratings in the route lists

Traffic – refers to the average busyness of the roads at the time of the skate (usually the weekend). * – generally busy or fast (and no pavement option), ** – average, *** – generally quiet or pavement option.

Surface – the average quality of the surface at the time of the skate (will vary over time), * – generally difficult surface, ** – average surface, *** – good surface.