Best Motorcycle Routes in Northumberland and North East England
What makes a motorcycle ride great? Quiet country lanes which meander from tiny village to tiny village through woodland and moorland? Fast sweeping roads where the open countryside and clear sight-lines allow quick and progressive riding and raise your pulse?
A visit to a local craft bakery for a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich? Historical sights, museums, castles, beaches, border crossings, islands only accessible at low tide, cathedrals, forests, reservoirs?
The North East of England offers all of this, as well as friendly and welcoming locals, making it one of the best places to ride motorcycles.
Recommended local motorcycle rides
Whatever you wish for, as a biker or a pillion, the North East can offer it in spades. Our motorcycle runs will take you along the dramatic coastlines of Northumberland, past the grandeur of Durham Cathedral and through the rugged beauty of Hadrian’s Wall Country as it stretches to the border with Scotland. Bikers will revel in the almost deserted lanes and roads which unfold to present ever more breath-taking vistas across the North Pennines and the Cheviots. Turn off the main road and you will soon have miles and miles of great riding routes to yourself.
From the swooping contours of the Roman built Military Road (B6318), which follows the Roman Wall for much of its length, to the stunning Coastal Route which tracks the coast from Tyne to Tweed taking in tiny fishing villages, former mining communities, castles and some of the best beaches in the world.
Contained in the routes below are pretty roads, pretty villages, twisty roads and technical roads. Bikers will need all of their skills as, in the space of a few miles, you can be crossing a ford in the bottom of a wooded valley before tackling tight hairpins that twist and turn when the same route climbs to the desolate Cheviot border moorland.
Some of the rides cross the border into Scotland multiple times and show off the rugged, bleak and windswept landscape. Others take a return trip west to the Lake District or south into the Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales via the North East’s best motorcycle roads.
No passports are needed on any of these routes! Enjoy and ride safely!
I’m grateful to riding companions and fellow members of Northumbria Advanced Motorcyclists who have introduced me new roads and biker-friendly cafés over the years.
The Routes
Click the road signs below to select routes north, south or west of Northumberland.
Route Count by Town, Road and Café
Find routes by the places passed through and the motorcycle-friendly cafés we’ve stopped at on the way.
Latest route
Kielder, Jedburgh, Morebattle, Yetholm, Wooler and Alnwick (Published: April 20, 2025)