Bath looks like it should be an easy cycling city, it's compact and much of it is flat along the river, but the truth is more mixed. The historic centre climbs steeply towards Lansdown, the Royal Crescent and Bathwick, and a casual rider on a standard bike will feel it. The good news is that Bath's best cycling routes deliberately avoid those hills, running instead along the river, the canal and a former railway line. Here's how to actually do it.
Hiring a bike
The main hire operator is Bath Narrowboats, trading as Bath Bike Hire, which runs from two bases: Sydney Wharf in the city itself and Brassknocker Wharf just outside town. Between them they have around 80 bikes, including children's sizes, and hire is first-come, first-served with no need to book. It's a flat £23 a day for an adult bike or £18 for a child's bike, including a lock, and £45 a day for a tandem. They don't hire helmets, so bring your own, and at the time of writing they don't offer e-bikes either. Hire hours run 9.30am to 4.30pm from April to September, and 9.30am to 3.30pm the rest of the year.
If you'd rather have electric assistance, useful given the hills around the edges of the city, Bath Ebike Hire is a separate company offering e-bikes, standard bikes and gravel bikes, plus stand-up paddleboards and kayaks if you want to swap wheels for water later in the day.
The Kennet and Avon Canal towpath
Starting right in the centre of Bath, the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath is flat, mostly traffic-free, and runs for miles out towards Bradford-on-Avon and beyond. It's an easy, scenic route that doesn't demand much fitness, passing pleasure boats and countryside rather than roads. If you're planning a longer day out, our Bradford-on-Avon day trip guide covers what's worth seeing once you get there, whether you arrive by bike, train or on foot.
The Two Tunnels Greenway
The Two Tunnels Greenway is built on a former railway line and includes Combe Down Tunnel, the longest cycling tunnel in the UK, fitted with a light and sound installation that makes riding through it a genuine minor attraction in its own right rather than just a means of getting somewhere. The Greenway connects into the Kennet and Avon towpath, so a lot of riders combine both into one loop out of the city and back. See our dedicated guide to the Two Tunnels Greenway for the full route.
Cycling to Bristol
There's a well-established cycle route between Bath and Bristol, largely following the Bristol and Bath Railway Path, a flat, traffic-free trail built on a disused rail line rather than shared with cars. It's a different route from the canal towpath, which heads the other way towards Wiltshire, so decide your direction before you set off. Our Bristol to Bath Railway Path guide has the route detail if you're tackling it from the Bristol end.
How the routes compare
| Route | Terrain | Distance from centre | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennet and Avon towpath | Flat, traffic-free | Starts in the city | Easy, scenic riding towards Bradford-on-Avon |
| Two Tunnels Greenway | Flat, traffic-free, includes a lit tunnel | Starts in the city | A shorter, novel ride with the tunnel as a highlight |
| Bristol and Bath Railway Path | Flat, traffic-free | Starts in the city | A longer ride all the way to Bristol |
| City centre streets | Hilly, shared with traffic | N/A | Only if you're confident on a bike and don't mind gradients |
A few practical notes
Bath's city-centre streets are cobbled or narrow in places, and some of the best-known Georgian streets, the Circus and Royal Crescent among them, sit on a genuine hill, so don't expect to cycle everywhere flat just because you're following a canal for part of the day. If hills aren't for you, stick to the towpath and the Greenway and treat the centre as somewhere to walk or lock up and explore on foot instead. For getting around the rest of the city without a car more generally, see our guide to getting around Bath without a car.
Prices and opening hours for hire companies do shift with the seasons, so it's worth a quick check of the operator's own site before you turn up, especially outside the summer months.