The North-South Divide

The North-South Divide (NSD) is an unusual but interesting route spanning west to east across the central belt of the UK that takes in a contrast of landscapes from the Cambrian Mountains in Wales to the Fens in East Anglia and everything in between.

Starting at the well-known university town of Aberystwyth on the west Wales coast, then finishing at the quintessentially British, old-fashioned seaside town of Southwold on the Suffolk coast. 

Some of the many highlights include the wild and remote Welsh mountains, the equally sparse Kerry Ridgeway, the Shropshire Hills including the Long Mynd and Wenlock Edge, the Ironbridge Gorge, Cannock Chase, the National Forest and the UK's largest lowland pine forest at Thetford in the heart of East Anglia.

This 360 mile (579km) route with over 20,000 feet (7,000m) of elevation gain will take you through Ceredigion, Powys, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.