tour of britain route cirencester

Tour of Britain route map, timings and where to watch near Bristol

It's not coming to Bristol itself but there are areas in nearby South Gloucestershire that are part of the route

• 05:00, 2 SEP 2023
• Updated 06:01, 9 SEP 2023

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More than 100 of the world's best cyclists will ride past crowds near Bristol today in the Tour of Britain. The eight-day race started last weekend, following a huge route from Manchester to Caerphilly.

Today (Saturday, September 9) marks stage seven, which will follow a route from Tewkesbury to Gloucester via South Gloucestershire . Riders will cover a distance of 170.9 kilometres (106.3 miles) during the penultimate stage of the 'UK’s leading cycle race'.

The closest it will get to Bristol is the section between Tetbury and Dursley, which will arc round just north of the M4 . In South Gloucestershire, these are the locations that are on the map:

Read more: The pretty West Country village now home to a Michelin-recommended pub

• Chipping Sodbury
• Rangeworthy

The route then goes further north into Gloucestershire. View the interactive map of stage seven below:

What time will it pass?

Stage seven takes place on Saturday, September 9 and is due to start in Tewkesbury at 11am. Riders will be introduced to the crowd from 10am on the podium in Church Street, and the race is due to finish in Gloucester at around 3pm.

There will be family-friendly entertainment at the start and finish lines, but many spectators will want to line the route closer to home. The timetables can all be viewed here for each stage of the race, which has a road-by-road breakdown.

Timings for South Gloucestershire are listed below, with three different predictions on the right hand side - depending on the average speed that the cyclists end up riding at, between 38kph and 46kmph.

The predicted speed for the 2023 race is 42kph, which is the middle timing in the table, but it might be best to get there earlier just in case. It looks like the earliest they will arrive at Chipping Sodbury is just after 1.30pm.

Councillor Claire Young, leader of South Gloucestershire Council , added: “We are excited to welcome the Tour of Britain to South Gloucestershire this September. The event is a great way to bring communities together to spectate as the riders pass through our countryside, towns, and villages and will also showcase our wonderful area to its global audience of millions.

"The excitement of the race has the potential to inspire more people to get out on their bikes in the local area and enjoy the benefits of cycling and travelling sustainably.”

The route – which also takes in Bishops Cleeve, Winchcombe, Cirencester, Tetbury, Dursley, and Stroud – was originally scheduled to feature in last year’s Tour of Britain until cancellation following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

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See the Tour of Britain as it races through South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire is preparing to welcome the arrival of the 2023 Tour of Britain cycling race on Saturday 9 September when the world’s top cyclists will be racing through the area.

Stage seven sets off from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire at 11am and covers 170.9 kilometres (106.3 miles) before riders finish alongside the historic Gloucester Docks. The route – which takes in Bishops Cleeve, Winchcombe, Cirencester, Tetbury, Chipping Sodbury, Yate, Dursley, and Stroud – is the same as was originally scheduled to feature in last year’s Tour of Britain until cancellation following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Race leaders will cross the border into South Gloucestershire on the A46 at Dunkirk (near Hawkesbury Upton) shortly after 1.20pm. The riders then drop down through Horton, into Chipping Sodbury and Yate, and out towards Iron Acton and Rangeworthy, before exiting the district from Charfield around 2.20pm. For more details visit www.southglos.gov.uk/ToB

The best viewing sites for the free-to-watch race are Chipping Sodbury High Street and Rangeworthy. Find your safe spectator spot early and enjoy the build up to the peloton arriving. There will be an advance vehicle 15 minutes ahead of the race, keeping you up to date with what is happening.

To help promote the Tour of Britain, the council has positioned around 20 yellow bikes along and near the route. People are encouraged to take a selfie next to the bikes and email it to the council via [email protected] to share on social media.

Councillor Claire Young, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, said: “We are very excited to welcome the Tour of Britain to South Gloucestershire on Saturday. The event is sure to have a fantastic atmosphere and is a great way to bring communities together to spectate as the riders pass through our countryside, towns and villages.

“We hope that the excitement of the race will inspire more people to get out on their bikes to enjoy the local area and support the Big Switch to more active travel.”

Residents have been informed that rolling road closures will be in place to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum along the stage seven route on Saturday. This means roads on and around the race route will be closed to traffic for a short period (usually around 30 minutes) to enable the race to pass through safely. There will also be parking suspensions along the route at Horton Hill, Horton, Chipping Sodbury High Street and Rangeworthy.

The Tour of Britain is escorted along the route by trained police officers and escort motorcyclists. If you are asked to stop by an officer, please listen carefully and follow their instructions.

Respect the riders – everyone is encouraged to support and cheer on the riders but please remember this is a major international race for them. Please don’t block their route, run alongside them or impede their progress. Keep children back from the edge of the road and animals on a lead, away from the roadside. Residents are encouraged to wave flags, but please keep flags, objects and photography equipment out of the road.

The full timings for the stage and an interactive stage map are available on the Tour of Britain website www.tourofbritain.co.uk/stages/stage-seven/

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Tour of Britain 2022 route

The 18th edition of the modern Tour of Britain set to take place between September 4 - 11

Tour of Britain 2022 Route

The Tour of Britain returns September 4, after a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, for eight days of racing as a UCI ProSeries event, making it one of the most prestigious sporting events of Great Britain.

Now in its 18th edition, 18 teams, five of them WorldTour level, will begin on the first Sunday of September in the city centre of Aberdeen and travel southward to the finale on September 11 in the historic Needles on the Isle of Wight.

First four days

Stage 1 opens in Scotland for 181.3 kilometres from Aberdeen, which is the most northerly overall start for the Tour of Britain. Last year Aberdeen hosted the race finale. It becomes the third Scottish city to host the start of the race, while Glenshee Ski Centre becomes the first-ever opening day summit finish. A trio of intermediate sprints and KOM climbs sprinkle the route to reach the approach to the final climb, which is uncategorised. To reach the finish line, the route will follow the 9.1km Old Military Road from Auchallater, facing an average gradient of 4.8% on the final five kilometres.

The second day of racing rolls south of Edinburgh across the rolling hills and rural areas of Scottish Borders, which hosts a full stage for the second time in three editions. From Hawick, the route will cover 175.2km to a first-time finish in Duns. The middle section of the route offers two intermediate sprints - Morebattle and Coldstream - as the roads skirt the North Sea at Eyemouth. Then the final intermediate sprint at Reston leads to a succession of three categorised climbs in the final 30 kilometres - Wanside Rigg (2.1km at 5.7%), Mainslaughter Law (1.7km at 5.9%) and Hardens Hill (1.9km at 4.7%). From the summit of Hardens Hill, the route descends 5.5km to the finish in Duns. 

Stage 3 takes on 163.6km on English soil with a first-time start in Durham and winding in a counter-clockwise direction to Sunderland. The route heads west through the North Pennines AONB, with two categorised climbs in the area - first-category Chapel Fell (4.1km at 7.8%) followed by second-category Billy Lane (1.8km at 7.1%). There is one intermediate sprint in the opening 29km, at Stanhope, and then a pair on the road back toward Sunderland, Bishop Auckland and Ferryhill, only 9.5km between the two sprint points. A small category 3 climb at High Moorsley (1.2km at 5.3%) stands in the way to the fast finish outside Sunderland’s new City Hall.

Just a short distance south on the coast will be the start for stage 4 at Redcar, an inaugural host borough. The149.5km route goes through the popular sea-side town of Whitby, which will stage the first intermediate sprint of the day. Following are two short classified climbs at Robin Hood’s Bay and Egton Bank. Once through the next sprint line at Stokesley, with 33km to go, the route heads into the North York Moors National Park with two climbs, opening with the cat 1 Carlton Bank (1.9km at 10.2%). There next climb offers intermediate sprint points at the top, not KOM points, at Newgate Bank (1.3km at 7.3%). The final 85.km descent into Duncombe Park in Helmsley, one of Yorkshire’s finest estates.

Second four days

The longest day of the Tour of Britain is Thursday, September 8 on stage 5 with 186.8km in Nottinghamshire. Like the race did four years ago, the start will be in West Bridgford and the finish is set for the Civic Centre in Mansfield, but the route has changed. From West Bridgford, this year’s route takes in Cotgrave, Gedling, Southwell, Retford and Worksop before heading into Mansfield via Clumber Park and Sherwood Forest. It is a flat day with a trio of intermediate sprints - Edingley, Retford and Clumber Park - and two small classified climbs - at Keyworth (1km at 3.4%) and Sparken Hill (.4km at 8.5%). 

All 170.9km on stage 6 roll through Gloucestershire, beginning in the mediaeval market town of Tewkesbury. Only 10km separate this town from the cathedral city of Gloucester, but the route takes the peloton in a clockwise direction into the Cotswolds. In the first 45km there are KOM points at round Hill (1.8km at 9.4%) and Withington Hill (1.5km at 6.9%). A trio of intermediate sprints unfold at Cirencester, Rangeworhty and Dursley before the final categorised climb at Crawley Hill (1.7km at 8.1%). The peloton will then have 25km to go and approach the finish by the historic Gloucester Docks, the country’s most inland port, from South Gloucestershire.

The race reaches the English Channel for stage 7, with a start in West Bay. The route run parallel with the West Dorset Heritage coast as it winds 175.9km on mainly inland roads towards Dorchester, Wareham and Knowlton, all with intermediate sprints. The classified climbs at Daggers Gate (1km at 3.1%) and Whiteways HIll (1.5km at 7.1%) strike as a tandem after the first 55km, the two separated by 8.5km. The final stiff climb comes with 46km to go at Okeford Hill (1.7km at 7.1%). The stage concludes with finishing circuits in Ferndown.

The Isle of Wight hosts the final day of racing, 148.9km from Ryde to The Needles. In between are a sequence of tourist towns - Sandown, Yarmouth and Cowes with intermediate sprints. Scattered among those are three classified climbs - Brading Down (1.9km at 5.8%), Cowleaze Hill (1.7km at 6.1%) and Zig Zag Road (1.4km at 6.3%). 

The final 20 kilometres will take the peloton along Military Road, which offers stunning panoramic views out across the English Channel, towards The Needles Landmark Attraction. This year’s race culminates with a two-kilometre climb up to Tennyson Down, the final 400 metres averaging 9.6%, making it the toughest ending to any Tour of Britain in modern history.

• Stage 1 - Aberdeen to Glenshee Ski Centre, 181.3km
• Stage 2 - Hawick to Duns, 175.2km
• Stage 3 - Durham to Sunderland, 163.6km
• Stage 4 - Redcar to Duncombe Park, Helmsley, 149.5km
• Stage 5 - West Bridgford to Mansfield, 186.8km
• Stage 6 - Tewkesbury to Gloucester, 170.9km
• Stage 7 - West Bay to Ferndown, 175.9km
• Stage 8 - Ryde to The Needles, 148.9km

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Tour of Britain to pass through Cirencester

Stage seven of the elite cycling Tour of Britain will come to Gloucestershire next month with road closures planned to allow the race to go ahead safely.

On Saturday, 9 September, the 170.9km race will begin in the shadow of Tewkesbury Abbey, on Church Street in the medieval market town, and head east into the Cotswolds before heading south. The riders will then race north through the Stroud valleys before finishing on Southgate Street in Gloucester.

In addition to Tewkesbury and Gloucester, the riders will race through Winchcombe, Cirencester, Tetbury, Wotton-under-Edge, Dursley and Stroud, showcasing some of the best scenery the county has to offer in front of a global television audience.

The race will pass through Cirencester at 12:40 pm.

Residents are encouraged to cheer the riders on at the roadside as it passes by their doorstep. Residents and visitors travelling to the race are advised to allow plenty of time for their journey and to use active travel and public transport where possible. Those driving to the race should ensure they are parked legally. In addition, all spectators should watch from a safe position and not on the road itself.

The race will start in Tewkesbury at 11 am and is estimated to finish in Gloucester at around 3 pm. There will be events in Tewkesbury before the start and in Gloucester during the day.

The county council has sponsored the 2023 Tour of Britain in line with its commitment to supporting tourism, the local economy and active travel. It will be the first time the men’s race has held both a stage start and finish in Gloucestershire after the Women’s Tour came to the county in 2022.

The Gloucestershire stage of the Tour of Britain had originally been scheduled to feature in last year’s Tour of Britain until cancellation following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

The race will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK and around the world by Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network (GCN), with an hour-long highlights show on ITV4.

Cllr David Gray, Cabinet member responsible for the environment at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “The Tour of Britain will put the spotlight on Gloucestershire and showcase our fantastic county on both the national and global stage.

“I would encourage residents across Gloucestershire to take the opportunity to watch as some of the world’s best cyclists race through our county, but apologise for any inconvenience caused by the related road closures.”

Tour of Britain 2023: The Cotswolds towns and villages that will be showcased on the race route

S tarting in Tewkesbury and ending in Gloucester , the seventh stage of the 2023 Tour of Britain will be the first time that Gloucestershire has hosted a full stage of the annual event, which brings some of the world's best cyclists to British roads.

A picturesque county full of charm and hidden gems, there will be plenty on offer for TV viewers to see from the race helicopter that captures so much of the scenery the riders will be travelling through.

A thrilling race lies in wait, the riders won't be too focused on the scenery, but with the Tour of Britain coming to our county, we've put together a collection of the locations the race is passing through.

READ MORE: Tour of Britain: Top tips for Gloucestershire spectators ahead of race arriving in county

Taking in Tewkesbury at the start, before a trip into the Cotswolds , South Gloucestershire and then the finale beside Gloucester Docks .

The event is entirely free to watch, with spectators on the roadside encouraged to support the riders and cheer them through.

Below are the towns and villages the race will be visiting.

16.2 km into the stage and Winchcombe will feature as the first Cotswold town on the race route.

Much of the town's history comes from its very early importance as a Saxon town when Offa, King of Mercia made Winchcombe his own capital with an abbey, which was a pilgrims paradise for paying homage to the shrine of St Kenelm, a young Saxon king who was murdered in the 9th century.

The town has many fine buildings, independent shops, pubs and is also an important hub for walkers when the Winchcombe Walking Festival comes to town every year. Awarded a Walkers are Welcome status, six long-distance footpaths converge on Winchcombe High Street including the Cotswold Way.

Nearby Sudeley Castle , which was once home to King Henry VIII's sixth wife Katherine Parr, is one attraction not to miss as is Belas Knap, a green mound overlooking the town. Dating to about 2,500 BC, it is one of many settlement remains including early tombs which you'll find in the Cotswolds.

Guiting Power

The name Guiting comes from the Saxon word gyte-ing or 'torrent' and the village itself is not the only place with the word as nearby Temple Guiting is close too.

The current name dates back to just 1937 and in the 1086 Doomsday Book, it noted that Guiting Power had just 'four villagers, three Frenchmen, two riding men, and a priest with two small-holders. It was in 1330 when a weekly market was given permission to be held, which might explain why you can see the current arrangement of houses on the village green.

There are still two pubs in Guiting Power called the Hollow Bottom and the Farmers Arms, and it still has a post office, a single grocery store, a village hall and St Michael & All Angels Church. The riders will pass the village 25.2 km into the stage.

Sitting in a secluded woodland stretch of the Coln valley, Chedworth Roman Villa is the main attraction for this Cotswold village. It was one of about 50 roman villas in the Cotswold and one of nine in a five-mile radius discovered in 1864.

Chedworth dates back to around 120 AD is is open daily from mid-February to the end of mid-November under the care of the National Trust. The surrounding land was most likely used for cultivating crops and raising animals, with produce being distributed on the nearby Fosse Way, which is now the A429. 46.3 km into the stage is when the Tour will come through Chedworth.

Cirencester

A busy market town situated on the river Churn and often referred to as the capital of the Cotswolds, Cirencester has such a fascinating history, especially from Roman times when it was known as Corinium.

Arriving into the town at 64.4 km into the Tour's stage, Cirencester was the second largest town in Roman Britain at the time and it was a major crossing of three Roman Roads that gave it a significant status - Ermine Way, The Fosse Way and Akeman Street.

The Cirencester Ampitheatre and Corinium Museum are two attractions not to be missed but also take in one of the best places for a photo at the town's market square where you'll get the church of St John the Baptist in the shot.

A welcome activity to do in Cirencester is a walk through town to Cirencester Park, which is part of the Bathurst Estate, a beautiful landscape designed by Alexander Pope.

The early prosperity of Tetbury came down to the wool trade but industrial demand in the 18th century and a lack of fast-flowing water led to the town's decline.

Today though, the small town is really attractive because of its streets filled with houses reflecting different styles and ages. The Market Place is where everything is centered and the Market House with its pillars dominates the best architecture built in 1655.

84.8 km into the stage, TV viewers may get to see the town's parish church with is totally different to others you'll find in the Cotswolds with its 18th-century Georgian Gothic architecture and a tall spire with an interior that is very delicate.

Tetbury is also perhaps well known as being the nearest town close to Highgrove Gardens, a royal estate and private home of both King Charles III and Queen Camilla . The house isn't open to the public but the gardens are between April and October every year.

Wotton-under-Edge and North Nibley

A historic market town that just about sits within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Wotton-under-Edge has an untouched feel about it. The 'edge' refers to the Cotswolds escarpment which the town quietly nestles underneath, but within the town is definitely well preserved and handsome to visit.

Plenty of independent shops, with 130.1 km into the stage, Wotton will be the first Gloucestershire place the riders will come through after a small venture into South Gloucestershire. Two big attractions the town has to offer is the Wotton Electric Picture House, which is an all-digital cinema, and an open-air swimming pool which is ideal for hot summer days.

A little further along the B4060, the riders will also pass through the village of North Nibley, which on the edge of the Cotswolds is most famous associated with William Tyndale, the father of the English Reformation, who translated much of the Bible into English. The tower on the hillside above the village is called the Tyndale Monument and can be viewed for many surrounding miles and from the passing M5 between junction 13 and 14.

Surrounded by Cotswolds hills and a major hub for the Cotswold Way leading southwards towards Bath, Dursley is your typical Cotswold market town and just like Winchcombe has Walkers are Welcome status.

There are plenty of scenic walks you can do here including Stinchcombe Hill, Cam Peak and Cam Long Down, where all three hills offer breathtaking views not just of the Cotswolds on one side but also the River Severn on the other.

Dursley itself also has a charming 18th-century market house, which also acts as a Town Hall. There are plenty of small shops, cafes and pubs in the town, including the Old Spot, an 18th-century pub with low ceilings and the building dating back to 1776.

The town will be hosting the only intermediate sprint of the Tour of Britain stage with 31 km to go.

Uley is just pretty, where you have a very wide village street right at the foot of Crawley Hill, which the riders will be climbing with 26.6 km remaining of the stage. The race is likely to get really intense here through a village that even has its own brewery, producing beers such as Uley Bitter and a very strong beer called Pigs Ear.

It also once specialised in the production of 'Uley Blue' cloth, which was used in military uniforms, and then you also have Uley Bury - one of the finest Iron Age hill forts in all the Cotswolds. Covering 38 acres, it can be classed as an inland promontory fort and was built in the 6th century.

Tour of Britain: Stage six preview!

Following a thrilling stage three in the 2022 Women’s Tour, elite-level cycling once again returns to Gloucestershire. Tewkesbury and Gloucester will once again provide the start and finish points in a race that will see the riders battle it out through the Cotswolds, giving fans at the start-line ample time to travel the short distance to the finish in Gloucester Docks and catch the climax of stage six.

Lorena Wiebes riding to victory in Gloucester during stage three of the Women's Tour, 2022 / Image: SWPix

What is the route?

Heading south out of Tewkesbury and along Gloucester Road, the peloton will ride east, towards the Cotswolds and a hilly first half of stage six. Rolling past Sudeley Castle, the riders hit their first climb just 20km into the race, a category two ascent to Round Hill. Heading west to Andoversford, the riders then lurch southwards their second mountain stage within the opening 50km, a category three climb up Withington Hill. The descent then leads the riders on the fast route down to Cirencester, where the peloton hit the first sprint stage near the Royal Agricultural University.

The riders then continue westwards through the Cotswolds before heading south in a loop that passes through Tetbury, Horton and Yate before the second sprint stage at Rangeworthy. The final 50km promises to be a thrilling chase through South Gloucestershire, including another sprint stage through Dursley, before the final climb at Crawley Hill. After flying through Stroud, the peloton then descend into a dash to Gloucester Docks in what could be a real Tour classic.

See the Tour of Britain in Gloucestershire

The Tour of Britain reveals the full route for its Gloucestershire stage racing through the county in September 2023, with plenty of opportunities for spectators to catch the world's top cyclists in action as they ride from Tewkesbury to Gloucester.

With Gloucestershire hosting its first full stage of the  Tour of Britain  this September 2023, the full route has now been revealed — with plenty of opportunities to see the world's top cyclists as they whizz through the county. 

During the penultimate seventh stage of this year's race, the riders will cover 106.3 miles as they travel from Tewkesbury to the historic  Gloucester Docks  on Saturday 9 September 2023.

It’s the first time Gloucestershire has hosted a full stage of the iconic cycling race, which passed through the county in 2016 and culminated in Cheltenham in 2017, after the 2022 event was cancelled due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Local spectators can pitch up to cheer on the racers at various checkpoints including Bishops Cleeve, Winchcombe, Cirencester, Tetbury, Chipping Sodbury, Yate, Dursley and Stroud — and w ith just 10 miles between the start and finish locations.

The route presents a challenge as the cyclists take on more than 2,200 metres of ascent on roads full of tricky twists and turns.  It also features two locations that fit into the King of the Mountains category of the race — Winchcombe Hill and Crawley Hill — both with thigh-burning gradients to tackle.

But despite the tricky route, cyclists will also be treated to some of the most beautiful scenery in the south west, showing off the county's natural beauty on the global stage. 

Leader of  Gloucestershire County Council , councillor Mark Hawthorne said: 'This route will showcase what is so great about Gloucestershire, passing through the Cotswolds and Stroud on its way from Tewkesbury to Gloucester.

'Events like the Tour of Britain are key to helping our economy thrive and showcase, to a significant international audience, all that Gloucestershire has to offer.'

The Tour of Britain is part of the UCI ProSeries, which saw  Charlie Hatton from the Forest of Dean put Gloucestershire on the map as he claimed gold in the 2023 World Championships . 

For anyone hoping to catch a glimpse of the action, the flag lifts on the race on Saturday 9 September 2023 at 11am in Tewkesbury, with riders due to pass through Winchcombe from 11.35am; Cirencester from 12.30pm; Tetbury from 1.04pm; Chipping Sodbury from 1.35pm; Yate from 1.38pm; Wotton-under-Edge from 2.02pm; Dursley from 2.14pm; and Stroud from 2.33pm, with timings based on the earliest estimates for riders to arrive at each destination. 

The race is free to watch and will also be broadcast on ITV4 from Sunday 3 September 2023, for anyone who can't make it in person. 

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Road closures for Gloucestershire's Tour of Britain stage announced

Riders will race through the county on September 9

• 18:50, 22 AUG 2022

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Stage six of the Tour of Britain will come to Gloucestershire next month with road closures planned to allow the race to go ahead safely.

On Friday, September 9, the 170.9km race will begin in front of St Mary’s Abbey Church on Church Street, Tewkesbury , and head east into the Cotswolds before heading south. The riders will then race north through the Stroud valleys before finishing on Southgate Street in Gloucester .

In addition to Tewkesbury and Gloucester, the riders will race through Winchcombe, Cirencester , Tetbury , Wotton-under-Edge, Dursley and Stroud, showcasing some of the best scenery the county has to offer in front of a global television audience.

READ MORE : Tour of Britain 2022: Volunteers needed for Gloucestershire leg of event

Residents are encouraged to cheer the riders on at the roadside as it passes by their doorstep. Anyone wanting to view the race are advised to allow plenty of time for their journey, and to use active travel and public transport where possible.

Those driving to the race should ensure they are parked legally. In addition, all spectators should watch from a safe position and not on the road itself.

The race will start in Tewkesbury at 11am with events in the town before the start, and is estimated to finish in Gloucester at around 3pm.

To minimise disruption to communities, most of the race will operate a rolling road closure. This means roads will only be closed for around 30 minutes while the race passes through.

Full road closures will be in operation at the start in Tewkesbury and the finish in Gloucester.

Tewkesbury – all the below road closures will be in place from 0:01 to 14:00

• Post Office Lane – Full road closure along its entire length
• St Marys Lane – Full road closure from Church Street to Church Street
• St Marys Road – Full road closure from Mill Street to St Marys Lane
• Mill Street – Full road closure from Church Street to St Marys Road
• Gander Lane – Full road closure from Church Street to Swilgate Road
• Church Street – Full road closure from Barton Street to Gloucester Road

Gloucester – all the below road closures will be in place from 0:01 to 23:59

• Severn Road – Full road closure from Commercial Road to Llanthony Road
• The Quay – Full road closure from Commercial Road to Westgate Street
• Ladybellgate Street – Full road closure from Longsmith Street to Commercial Road
• Longsmith Street – Full road closure from Southgate Street to Ladybellgate Street
• Commercial Road – Full road closure from Kimbrose Way to Southgate Street
• Southgate Street – Full road closure from Kimbrose Way to Longsmith Street
• Parliament Street – Full road closure from Southgate Street to Brunswick Road
• Commercial Road – Full road closure from Kimbrose Way to The Quay
• Kimbrose Way – Full road closure from Southgate Street to Commercial Road
• Llanthony Road – Full road closure from Southgate Street to Severn Road
• Spa Road – Full road closure from Southgate Street to Brunswick Road

The Tour of Britain comes to the county just months after the Women’s Tour raced from Tewkesbury to Gloucester, via the Forest of Dean.

The race will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK and around the world by Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network (GCN), with an hour-long highlights show on ITV4.

Cllr David Gray, cabinet member responsible for the environment at Gloucestershire County Council , said: “The Tour of Britain will put the spotlight on Gloucestershire and showcase our fantastic county on the national and global stage.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the related road closures, but would encourage residents across the county to take the opportunity to watch as some of the world’s best cyclists race through our county.”

More information on the Tour of Britain in Gloucestershire, including stage timetables for when the race will be in your area, can be found here .

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The Archaeology Channel Tours: Britain

The Megalithic Britain Experience

A tour of megalithic sites designed by the filmmakers of standing with stones.

September 10 - 22, 2021

Day 1 (Sep. 10th)

• Individually fly in to Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands
• In the evening we will have a short talk about what the trip has in store.
• Hotel in Kirkwall: Ayre Hotel & Apartments

Day 2 (Sep. 11th)

• Orkney Islands, Day 1
• Ring of Brodgar
• Stones of Stennes

Day 3 (Sep. 12th)

• Ferry from Orkney to mainland Scotland
• Drive to Inverness via Hill O' Many Stanes
• The Grey Cairns of Camster
• The Clava Cairns
• Hotel in Inverness: Glen Mohr Hotel & Apartments

Day 4 (Sep. 13th)

• Drive to Kilmartin Glen
• Corrimony, another of the Clava Cairns
• Lunch on the banks of the Loch
• Hotel in Kilmartin: Loch Melfort Hotel

Day 5 (Sep. 14th)

• Kilmartin Glen Sites including:
• Ballymeanoch, Achnabrech, Cairnbaan, The Great X, Nether Largie, and Templewood.

Day 6 (Sep. 15th)

• Drive to Loch Tay
• Crannog Centre
• Drive to Cumbria and the Lake District
• Hotel in Keswick: Ravenstone Manor

Day 7 (Sep. 16th)

• Long Meg and Her Daughters
• Mayburgh Henge and King Arthur’s Round Table Henge
• Rest of day off to explore the Lake District town of Keswick

Day 8 (Sep. 17th)

• Drive to Formby Point
• Hunt for 5,000 year old footprints and animal tracks
• Drive to Stratford-upon-Avon
• Hotel in Stratford Upon Avon: Mercure Shakespeare Hotel

Day 9 (Sep. 18th)

• Morning off to explore in Shakespeare's town
• Afternoon visit to the Corinium Museum in Cirencester

Day 10 (Sep. 19th)

• En route to Wiltshire
• Rollright Stones
• Devil's Quoits
• Waylands Smithy
• Uffington White Horse
• Hotel in Wiltshire: Grasmere House Hotel

Day 11 (Sep. 20th)

• A day in the capital of prehistoric Britain
• Sunrise visit to Stonehenge, "within the stones"
• Stonehenge Cursus
• Barrow Cemetery
• Durrington Walls
• Wiltshire Museum

Day 12 (Sep. 21st)

• Final day of the grand adventure
• Silbury Hill
• West Kennet
• Lunch at the Red Lion pub
• Flintknapping demonstration by experimental archaeologist, Dr. James Dilley

Day 13 (Sep. 22nd)

• Return to Heathrow - Depart

An educational tour designed and organized by Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI)

Led by "Standing With Stones" Filmmakers Michael Bott and Rupert Soskin

This 13-day tour traverses Britain, all the way from the Orkney Islands to the Salisbury Plain, to visit megalithic sites of the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The journey begins in Kirkwall, in the Orkneys, where we spend three nights and visit a surprising group of sites comprising the World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney. The Ring of Brodgar is the third-largest circle henge in Britain, while Skara Brae is Europe's most complete Neolithic village and Maes Howe is one of Britain's most majestic passage graves.

After a ferry ride to the Scottish mainland on Day 4, our bus wends down the west side of Scotland to Kilmartin, along the way visiting chambered cairns that are among Scotland's oldest structures and stopping beside the famous Loch Ness. After visiting the Crannog Centre to learn about the ancient and mysterious lake dwellings, we head south on Day 6 to Keswick in the Lake District of Cumbria, northwest England. This is our launch point to see the stone circles of Long Meg and Her Daughters, the sixth-largest in Britain, and Castlerigg, whose majestic beauty inspired Romantic poets.

We hit the road again on Day 8, driving south to Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare's home, along the way stopping at Arbor Low, one of the best preserved henge circle monuments in Britain. We take a morning off to enjoy Shakespeare's town, then visit Belas Knap, a hilltop long barrow chambered tomb with stunning views to the sunset. Day 10 is quite busy as we drive to Salisbury, seeing along the way the Rollright Stones, one of Britains best loved circles, as well as another circle henge and long barrow and the Uffington White Horse, strikingly inscribed into a hillside.

We save the best for last, as Day 11 brings us to the capital of prehistoric Britain: West Kennet, the second largest barrow in Britain; Silbury Hill, the largest man-made mound in Europe; and Avebury, Britain's largest stone circle. We enjoy a day in historic Salisbury and then visit the Wiltshire Museum to see some of the artifacts excavated from the nearby Stonehenge area.

On Day 12 we start with a private sunrise visit to Stonehenge "within the stones," something not permitted to regular public visitors. We’ll also take a moment to admire the Stonehenge Cursus before heading out to visit the barrow cemetery where we get a better sense of the scale of these enormous burials and a view of the surrounding landscape. From there, we’ll visit Woodhenge, where the original concentric rings of timber posts are marked by concrete cylinders, and catch a glimpse of Durrington Walls, the largest henge site in Britain. Finally, we'll wind down the day with a visit to the Wiltshire Museum to see some of the artifacts excavated from the Stonehenge area.

On our last day of adventure, we'll explore the capital of prehistoric Britain: West Kennet, the second largest barrow in Britain; Silbury Hill, the largest man-made mound in Europe; and Avebury, Britain's largest stone circle.

Total Price (double occupancy): $4600 to $5500* Princing subject to change (assuming double occupancy; single lodging fee of $650 will be added).

Registration fee: $1000 to ALI. This amount is included in the total price above. Spots are limited, so register today!

Costs not included: personal travel insurance, airfare to & from the UK.

Dates: September 10 - 22, 2021

Reserve your spot today!

Fill out this form to start the reservation process:

Contact us directly at: [email protected]

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‘Monumental effort’ means Women’s Tour of Britain goes ahead in 2024

• Condensed four-stage race begins in Welshpool on 6 June
• Lizzie Deignan: ‘I’m grateful to the people who have pulled it off’

British Cycling has named the host towns for this summer’s Tour of Britain Women after what has been described as “monumental effort” to make sure the race goes ahead.

Ten weeks after the Guardian reported the governing body would organise the race in-house ­following the collapse of SweetSpot group, the outline of the route has been unveiled, with an opening stage starting in Welshpool and finishing in Llandudno on 6 June.

Stage two will start and finish in Wrexham, stage three will begin and end in Warrington, and the final stage will start outside the National Cycling Centre in Manchester and finish in Leigh on 9 June.

This year’s race will be limited to four stages – down from six for the previous edition of the Women’s Tour in 2022 – due to the time ­restrictions British Cycling has faced, but there is an ambition to grow in the future.

Rod Ellingworth, the former ­deputy team principal of the Ineos Grenadiers who joined as race ­director last month, said: “It’s been a monumental effort by the whole team over the past 10 weeks to ­confirm the stages for this year’s Tour of Britain Women.”

The governing body’s chief executive, Jon Dutton, admitted there had been “many” moments in the last 10 weeks where he feared the race might not take place. “I dare say with 52 days to go there will be a few more bumps in the road,” Dutton said.

“We’ve had local authorities, start towns and finish towns who’ve said: ‘We’re in’ and then subsequently said: ‘We’re not in’ and that’s difficult. We’ve always had the idea of a condensed, compact race and when one pulls out that’s an issue across the board.”

British Cycling is also working on the men’s Tour of Britain, with that race due to take place over six days in September rather than the usual eight.

Dutton added that British Cycling is continuing to seek further investment for what he described as two “expensive races”. Much of the money will come from hosting fees and broadcast contracts, close to being agreed but not yet finalised, but there is a need for more commercial revenue.

All six of the UK’s UCI ­Continental level teams have signed up for the women’s race, and the former world champion Lizzie Deignan will swap her Lidl-Trek jersey for Britain ­ colours to lead a national squad.

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“Sometimes it’s easy to ­underestimate how much it takes to put on a race so I’m really grateful to the people who have pulled it off against the odds,” Deignan said.

The 35-year-old wants to use the race to prepare for a busy summer which will hopefully include the Paris Olympics, but admitted the broken arm she suffered in a crash at last month’s Tour of Flanders had come at a bad time.

“The main concern for me is it’s during Olympic selection time so I’ve missed a good chunk of races I was peaking for in terms of getting selected,” said Deignan. “There’s plenty of time until the Olympics itself to get fit and ready, but selection is harder than it’s ever been so it’s obviously bad timing.”

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• Lizzie Deignan

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