Cycling on the Isle of Man — road routes, the Heritage Trail, mountain biking and bike hire

Mark Cavendish and Peter Kennaugh are both Manx, and it shows: the Isle of Man is a cyclist’s island if you like hills. This page covers road riding, including the TT course, the flat Heritage Trail, the mountain bike trails, bike hire, how to get a bike onto the ferry and trains, and the island’s cycling events. It’s for visitors bringing a bike or hiring one. If you’re here on a motorbike, you want our TT pages and motorbike holiday guide instead.

Road cycling

The island’s roads are quiet away from Douglas and the TT course, and beautiful almost everywhere. They’re also steep, exposed to wind off the Irish Sea on every side, and narrow between stone walls and hedges. Most of the coast roads climb and drop repeatedly, and the middle of the island is moorland at 1,000 to 1,400ft.

Routes

Visit Isle of Man’s road cycling page (opens in a new tab) publishes graded routes (checked September 2026). The pick of them:

Route	Distance	Grade
Castletown loop	13–21 miles	Easy
Ramsey loop	16–20 miles	Easy
Port Erin loop	14–21 miles	Moderate
Douglas loop	27 miles	Difficult
Raad Daawheeyl 1 (round the island)	91.3 miles	Difficult

The “Raad Daawheeyl” routes (Manx for “bicycle road”) are its longer rides. They go from 30 to 91 miles, and number 1 is essentially a lap of the island. The flattest riding is in the north, on the plain between Ramsey, Jurby and the Point of Ayre. The south, around Castletown, is also gentle by Manx standards.

The TT course and the Mountain

The TT course is 37.73 miles of ordinary public road outside race periods, and yes, you can ride it. The big effort is the Mountain Road, the A18, from Ramsey up past the Bungalow to its highest point, 1,385ft, just beyond it. Then comes a long descent past Creg-ny-Baa into Douglas. Ride it the other way, from Douglas, and the climb is the long one instead.

The Heritage Trail: the family ride

The Heritage Trail (opens in a new tab) follows the old Douglas to Peel railway line. It’s flat, traffic-free and hard-packed, and Visit Isle of Man grades it easy. It’s about 10 miles one way (other sources say 11), starting at the Quarterbridge roundabout on the edge of Douglas. There’s free parking at the National Sports Centre nearby. It passes St Johns, which has cafés and Tynwald Hill, about halfway, and finishes at Peel harbour, a short roll from the beach and an ice cream.

You’ll share it with walkers, dogs and horse riders, so ride accordingly. It’s also used as an access road during the TT and the Manx Grand Prix.

What about Ramsey or Kirk Michael? There’s no continuous trail on the old northern railway line. An extension from St Johns to Kirk Michael was proposed in 2020, but it stalled on cost: estimates had passed £1.7m by 2022. A short section of the old line near Kirk Michael is part of the coastal path (Raad ny Foillan), which is primarily a footpath. For the island on foot, see our walks guide.

Mountain biking

Most off-road riding is in the Government’s plantations and on the upland green lanes. Visit Isle of Man’s mountain biking page (opens in a new tab) lists the main areas (September 2026):

• South Barrule plantation, near Foxdale. The closest thing to a trail centre. It has waymarked, hand-built singletrack aimed at beginners and families, with blue-graded routes including the Viking and Kipper trails, and a skills area.
• Archallagan plantation, near Foxdale. Known locally as the “forest of a thousand trails”. Wide forest roads for families, fast singletrack for everyone else, and a 5km community blue loop.
• Classic natural routes. The Witches Barrel from St Johns has around 2,800ft of climbing. There’s also the Hell’s 8 figure-of-eight from Kirk Michael, the Camel’s Back through Ballaugh plantation, and Southern Comfort above Colby, with views of the Calf.

The trails are mapped on Trailforks (opens in a new tab). Plantations close for tree felling from time to time, so obey the signs.

Bike hire

Two shops that hire bikes were trading when we checked in September 2026:

• Cycle 360 (opens in a new tab), Isle of Man Business Park, Douglas. A fleet of more than 40 road, gravel, mountain and electric bikes. It’s open Monday to Saturday, and delivery can be arranged.
• Erin Bike Hut (opens in a new tab), Station Road, Port Erin. Road, mountain and e-bikes, plus bike boxes. It’s open Monday to Saturday.

Neither publishes prices online, so ring or email for a quote. Book ahead in summer and well ahead for race weeks. Visit Isle of Man lists guided rides and e-bike tours (opens in a new tab) too.

Bikes on ferries, trains and buses

• Ferry. The Steam Packet carries bikes. Foot passengers add the bike as an “Extra” when booking, for both legs, and check in at vehicle check-in. A bike on or in your car is free if the car stays within its booked size. You can’t charge an e-bike on board (Steam Packet vehicle guidance (opens in a new tab)). More in our ferry guide.
• Steam railway and Manx Electric Railway. £3 per bike per trip, when there’s space (September 2026, railway fares (opens in a new tab)). Foot passengers take priority at busy times. The railway suggests emailing [email protected] beforehand. That makes a one-way ride to Port Erin or Ramsey and a train home possible.
• Snaefell Mountain Railway and horse trams. No bikes.
• Buses. Bus Vannin carries folding bikes stowed in the luggage area only. Full-size bikes aren’t allowed (Bus Vannin (opens in a new tab)). The rest of the transport picture is in getting around.

Events

The island’s big mountain bike event, the End2End, ran for 25 years until 2019. In 2026 the Gran Fondo Isle of Man switched from road to gravel and mountain bikes, as a 90km race from the north of the island to Castletown on 26 July, with a social ride and a children’s event the same weekend (Manx Radio (opens in a new tab)). We couldn’t find 2027 dates yet. Check the Gran Fondo site (opens in a new tab) and our what’s on calendar.