{"id":7059,"date":"2026-09-30T21:56:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T21:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/itinerari\/bicknell-cycle-route\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T21:56:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T21:56:45","slug":"bicknell-cycle-route","status":"publish","type":"itinerario","link":"https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/en\/itineraries\/bicknell-cycle-route\/","title":{"rendered":"Bicknell Cycle Route"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bicknell Cycle Route<\/strong> is a loop of about 150 km that starts by the sea in Bordighera and climbs into the Maritime and Ligurian Alps, between Italy and France. It is not a route to rush: it is a journey through space and time, in the footsteps of Clarence Bicknell, the English botanist who made Bordighera his home and spent his life exploring these mountains.<\/p>\n

You take the train up the Valle Roya to Tenda, then ride past the rock engravings of the Valle delle Meraviglie, the frescoes of Notre-Dame des Fontaines, the villages of Triora and Bajardo and the woods of Monte Nero, all the way back to the sea. It takes two days, or better three if you are less fit.<\/p>\n

Who was Clarence Bicknell<\/h2>\n

Clarence Bicknell (Herne Hill, 1842 \u2013 Casterino, 1918) arrived in Bordighera in 1878 as a minister of the Anglican church, after a long journey around the world. The place won him over: he gave up his post and devoted himself to his passions \u2013 botany, painting and archaeology. Mathematician, clergyman, traveller, botanist, archaeologist, Esperantist: a curious dreamer who drew his inspiration from nature.<\/p>\n

His explorations took him ever more often into the Ligurian and French hinterland in search of flowers and insects. While looking for the very rare Saxifraga florulenta<\/em> he came across the rock engravings of the Valle delle Meraviglie, on Monte Bego, and was so struck by them that he documented thousands. To be closer to those valleys he had a house built in Casterino, Casa Fontanalba, where he died in 1918.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMore than a classic route, a true journey through space and time, through the places visited and described by this eclectic scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In Bordighera you can visit the Museo Bicknell<\/a>, the house-museum he had built in 1888 on Via Romana: the ideal starting point for the journey.<\/p>\n

The route<\/h2>\n

The route is a loop that starts and finishes in Bordighera. The first stretch is by train, with your bike on board, on the Ventimiglia \u2013 Breil-sur-Roya \u2013 Tenda line; from Tenda you ride towards Casterino and the Valle delle Meraviglie, then La Brigue, the Cima di Marta ridge, Triora and Molini di Triora, Monte Ceppo, Bajardo, the hills above Sanremo and finally the trails of Monte Nero, down to the sea.<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>
The stages of the Bicknell Cycle Route. The stretch from Ventimiglia to Tenda along the Valle Roya is done by train.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Download the GPX track<\/strong><\/a> \u00b7 Brochure (Italian, PDF)<\/a> \u00b7 Brochure (English, PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n

The GPX track is indicative: it has been reconstructed from the official route map. It opens in apps such as Komoot, OsmAnd or Wikiloc. Always check the route and trail conditions before setting off.<\/small><\/p>\n

There is also a shorter variant<\/strong>: from Passo Sanson it links to Colla Langan on a more winding route along the flanks of Monte Pietravecchia, Monte Toraggio and Cima Marta, avoiding the descent towards Triora and the Valle Argentina.<\/p>\n

The journey, stage by stage<\/h2>\n

Bordighera and the Valle Roya train<\/h3>\n

Episodes 1 and 2 of the video series.<\/em> You set off from the seafront in Bordighera, among the palms, and from the Museo Bicknell. Then the bike goes on the train: the Valle Roya line climbs through gorges and over viaducts, with the spectacular spiral tunnels of Saorge, up to Tenda, at the foot of the Maritime Alps.<\/p>\n

\"Three
By train with the bike along the Valle Roya.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tenda, Casterino and the Valle delle Meraviglie<\/h3>\n

Episodes 4 and 5 of the video series.<\/em> From Tenda you climb towards Casterino, where Bicknell spent his summers at Casa Fontanalba, and reach the Fontanalba valley, the gateway to the Valle delle Meraviglie. Here, on the smooth rocks of Monte Bego, Bronze Age peoples carved more than 40,000 signs: the very ones Bicknell copied for years. At the Mus\u00e9e des Merveilles in Tenda you can trace their story.<\/p>\n

\"Prehistoric
The rock engravings of the Valle delle Meraviglie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

La Brigue and Notre-Dame des Fontaines<\/h3>\n

Episode 6 of the video series.<\/em> From the village of La Brigue a detour leads to the sanctuary of Notre-Dame des Fontaines, the \u201cSistine Chapel of the Alps\u201d: the interior is entirely frescoed by the Piedmontese painter Giovanni Canavesio. Legend has it that the local springs only began to flow again once the chapel was built.<\/p>\n

\"Aerial
The sanctuary of Notre-Dame des Fontaines in the woods.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The border ridge and the Valle Argentina<\/h3>\n

Episode 3 of the video series.<\/em> This is the highest and wildest stretch: gravel roads and high pastures along the border, below Cima di Marta, with views that reach the sea on clear days. Then comes the long descent into the Valle Argentina.<\/p>\n

\"Three
High up between the Ligurian and Maritime Alps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Triora and Molini di Triora<\/h3>\n

Episode 7 of the video series.<\/em> In the carruggi (narrow lanes) of Triora, amid plays of shadow and covered passageways, the story of the so-called witches comes back to life: in reality women skilled in herbs and natural remedies, deeply bound to their land. Molini di Triora, on the valley floor, is the ideal overnight stop if you split the journey into three days.<\/p>\n

\"Mountain
Old stone bridges along the route.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Monte Ceppo and Bajardo<\/h3>\n

Episode 8 of the video series.<\/em> You climb again to Monte Ceppo (1,627 m), then descend to Bajardo, the highest village in the area. Here the church of San Nicol\u00f2, which tradition says stands on an ancient place of worship, looks out like a window onto the Alps and the sea.<\/p>\n

\"Smiling
Woodland trails, perfect for MTBs and e-bikes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

San Romolo, Monte Nero and the return to the sea<\/h3>\n

Episodes 9 and 10 of the video series.<\/em> From the hills above Sanremo you head back towards Bordighera along the network of trails on Monte Nero<\/a>, whose dark woods of holm, sessile and downy oaks give the mountain its name. The last stretch follows the Sentiero del Beodo<\/a>, the 15th-century aqueduct, among olive trees, palms and bougainvillea, down to the sea where you started.<\/p>\n

\"Three
The Bordighera seafront, where the journey begins and ends.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The video series<\/h2>\n

Ten one-minute episodes to discover the route before you go: a bike journey in the footsteps of Clarence Bicknell, from the museum in Bordighera to the Alps and back.<\/p>\n

Episode 1 \u00b7 Who was Clarence Bicknell<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-01.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 2 \u00b7 An Englishman in the Ligurian Alps<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-02.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 3 \u00b7 From the mountains to the sea<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-03.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 4 \u00b7 In search of Saxifraga florulenta<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-04.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 5 \u00b7 Monte Bego and the rock engravings<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-05.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 6 \u00b7 Notre-Dame des Fontaines, the Sistine Chapel of the Alps<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-06.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 7 \u00b7 Triora and its witches<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-07.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 8 \u00b7 Bajardo, a journey through time<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-08.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 9 \u00b7 The colours of Montenero<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-09.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Episode 10 \u00b7 The Sentiero del Beodo and the return to the sea<\/h3>\n
https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/bordighera-ciclovia-bicknell-episodio-10.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

The sign of the wheel<\/h2>\n
\"Symbol<\/figure>\n

The symbol of the Bicknell Cycle Route comes from the engravings of Monte Bego: signs traced in the rock 5,000 years ago with quartz points, which Bicknell studied all his life. The wheel, whose starting and finishing points are one and the same, tells of a journey where the experience matters more than the destination. The brand\u2019s values are those of the explorer: practicality, memory, authenticity and spirituality.<\/p>\n

Tips for the journey<\/h2>\n