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Sheep grazing a rough pasture in Kielder Forest, with conifers and a low forested ridge behind under a cloudy sky
Amy Gatenby / Unsplash

Dirty Reiver route maps and feed stations

A long day of forest gravel on the English and Scottish border, out of Kielder Castle and around Kielder Water.

April 23 to 25, 2027 Kielder, Northumberland

The organizer calls the Dirty Reiver a non-competitive ride: there's a clock, but no podium and no prizes. The 200, 130 and 65 km start and finish at Kielder Castle in Northumberland. About 95% of the riding is on gravel forest roads in Kielder Forest, and the longer routes reach Wark Forest too. Every route crosses the dam of Kielder Water, the UK's largest artificial lake by capacity. For 2027 there's a 280 km Epic for pairs on top of the usual 200, 130 and 65 km.

The routes were new in 2026, and the 2027 GPX files come out in early April 2027. Until then the organizer points riders to its 2026 files on Ride with GPS, and those are the course lines on this map. The feed stations on them are the ones the organizer lists for 2027, with distances it still marks as to be confirmed. On the 2026 lines, Stonehaugh is at about 64 km, not the listed 55.

The organizer warns that the mobile signal around Kielder is very limited. Download the map before you drive up: your phone's GPS shows where you are without a signal.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Dirty Reiver. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Dirty Reiver course map

Every course's aid stations on the Goat Maps topo map. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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Dirty Reiver courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
Dirty Reiver 200200 km (124.3 mi)3,500 m (11,483 ft)Sat, Apr 24, 9:00 AM
Dirty One Thirty130 km (80.8 mi)2,000 m (6,562 ft)Sat, Apr 24, 9:00 AM
Dirty Sixty Fiver65 km (40.4 mi)1,050 m (3,445 ft)Sat, Apr 24, 9:00 AM

Dirty Reiver Dirty Reiver 200

One big loop: south into Wark Forest, back past the lake, then north over Blakehope Nick.

Distance
200 km (124.3 mi)
Climbing
3,500 m (11,483 ft)
Start
Sat, Apr 24, 9:00 AM

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A single 200 km loop with about 3,500 m of climbing. After a first loop near Kielder you cross the dam wall, where the first cut-off is 11:45 at 37 km, and head south on fast trails to the feed at Stonehaugh. A climb on the way back pays off with fast descents toward the lake and the Calvert feed, where your drop bag waits with hot drinks and soup.

The second cut-off is 17:45 at 139 km on Forest Drive. Feed 4, at Redesdale around 154 km, isn't on the map because the organizer hasn't given a point for it. The last loop goes north to Blakehope Nick, the high point at over 450 m, and the finish is the gentler run along the shore and over the Kielder viaduct. These feed distances are the organizer's provisional 2027 ones.

A grassy forest track running between tall conifers in Kielder Forest
Amy Gatenby / Unsplash

Dirty Reiver Dirty One Thirty

Most of the 200, turning for home on the Lakeside Way where the courses split.

Distance
130 km (80.8 mi)
Climbing
2,000 m (6,562 ft)
Start
Sat, Apr 24, 9:00 AM

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The One Thirty rides much of the 200 km route, with about 2,000 m of climbing. Its only cut-off is at the dam, 11:45 at 37 km, and it takes the same fast trails south to Stonehaugh. Your drop bag is at the Calvert feed, about 110 km in. Late in the day the course splits from the 200, and you drop onto the Lakeside Way for an easy last stretch to the finish. Both feed distances are provisional.

Dirty Reiver Dirty Sixty Fiver

Over Kielder Dam and around the lake on gently rolling forest roads.

Distance
65 km (40.4 mi)
Climbing
1,050 m (3,445 ft)
Start
Sat, Apr 24, 9:00 AM

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

Open in web map

The 65 km shares the early kilometers with the longer routes, crosses Kielder Dam, then takes a shorter line along the lake to its one feed station, at about 44 km on the organizer's provisional list. It rejoins the longer course for a while before splitting off onto flatter trails back to the event village. It has about 1,050 m of climbing and no cut-offs, and the front light on the kit list isn't required.

The Dirt-E-Reiver is the same 65 km on an e-bike, which must be EAPC-compliant. There's nowhere to charge on the course, though you can carry a spare battery.

A narrow track through tall conifers in Kielder Forest beside a moss-covered stone wall
Amy Gatenby / Unsplash

Getting a place

The Dirty Reiver sells out within hours. Entries for the 65, 130 and 200 km were set to open at 8:00 AM on 1 September 2026, and all three are now full, with waiting lists on the organizer's site. The 280 km Epic, limited to 100 pairs in its first year, went on sale in August. Its own page says it's full, but in October 2026 the home page and the entry system were still taking pairs, so check there.

Entry pays for the timing, the feed stations, mechanical and medical support, free day parking, a free drop bag on the longer routes, hot showers and a finisher's meal.

The Epic

The Dirty Reiver Epic is 280 km with about 4,700 m of climbing, ridden by pairs only. You set off before dawn from a remote start into forests the event hasn't used before, cross into Scotland and back, and join the 200 km route just after it has started. The first 80 km are navigated by GPX alone; after that the course is signed.

The organizer's provisional list puts a feed at Kershope, about 50 km in, and the Epic shares the 200's cut-offs: Kielder Dam at 118 km by 11:45 and Forest Drive at 217 km by 17:45. A shuttle takes you back to your vehicle after the finish. The Epic isn't on this map because the organizer hasn't named its start.

Getting to Kielder

Event HQ is the Kielder Castle Forest Park Centre, Kielder, NE48 1ER. Driving is the practical way in: the nearest train station is Hexham, around 35 miles away, with no direct public transport onward, and the nearest airports are Newcastle and Glasgow. Near the village, ignore your satnav and follow the event signs, as the organizer asks.

Day parking on Friday and Saturday is free but limited, so share a car if you can. Campervans should arrive on Friday, and Forestry England charges £15 a night for the overnight spaces, which can be a 5 to 10 minute pedal from the start. Kielder has a fuel station with a shop, and the nearest large shops are about 40 minutes away.

Weather and kit

Sheep grazing a rough pasture in Kielder Forest, with conifers and a low forested ridge behind under a cloudy sky
Amy Gatenby / Unsplash

April at the Kielder Castle weather station averages highs of 11.5°C (53°F) and lows of 2.1°C (36°F), with 88.6 mm of rain over about 14 days of the month (1991 to 2020 normals). The organizer's kit list warns that the weather turns quickly.

Every rider carries a rear light with a flashing mode, a whistle, a survival blanket, a waterproof jacket with taped or welded seams, a spare warm hat or buff, a spare thermal top, a spare tube and tire levers (even on tubeless), a pump, a multitool, a phone, food for the whole ride and room for 1.5 liters of water. On the 130 km and longer you also need a front light of at least 300 lumens that lasts two hours. The organizer recommends tires of 33 mm or wider: a gravel bike is ideal, and a hardtail mountain bike is fine.

Dirty Reiver aid stations and GPS coordinates

For crews and spectators: each place on the map in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Kielder Castle (start and finish)

    55.23392, -2.58006

  • Kielder Dam (cut-off)

    55.18187, -2.46033

  • Stonehaugh (Feed 2)

    55.07929, -2.32798

  • Calvert Kielder (Feed 3, drop bags)

    55.16473, -2.53184

  • Blakehope Nick

    55.27820, -2.45184

Dirty Reiver FAQ

When is the Dirty Reiver 2027?

The event weekend is 23 to 25 April 2027. The ride itself is on Saturday 24 April, with a rolling start from 9:00 at Kielder Castle. Friday has registration, the Gravel Expo and social rides, and there are more social rides on Sunday.

Is the Dirty Reiver a race?

No. The organizer calls it a non-competitive event: every rider is timed and results are published, but there's no podium and there are no prizes.

Can I still enter the Dirty Reiver 2027?

Only from a waiting list for the 65, 130 and 200 km, which filled after entries opened on 1 September 2026. The Epic's page says it's full too, but in October 2026 its entry system was still taking pairs, so it's worth a look.

Where can I get the Dirty Reiver GPX?

The 2027 files go up on the organizer's route page in early April 2027. Until then it links to the 2026 routes on Ride with GPS for reference, and those 2026 lines are the ones on the map here. The 200, 130 and 65 km are fully signed, so you can ride without a GPS, though the organizer suggests you navigate too. Check that your device hasn't rerouted the file onto other trails.

Is there phone signal at Kielder?

Very little. The organizer warns of very limited mobile signal around Kielder but still makes a phone required kit. Download the map in Goat Maps before you arrive: GPS works without a signal.

How hard is the Dirty Reiver 200?

It's 200 km with about 3,500 m of climbing, on hard-packed forest gravel. You need to reach Kielder Dam (37 km) by 11:45 and Forest Drive (139 km) by 17:45, and the course closes at 10:30 PM. There are three feed stations, but the organizer asks you to carry food for the whole ride.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.