About Peak Tours

Who are Peak Tours?

Peak Tours was established by Steve Coackley in 2007. Born and bred in the High Peak or Dark Peak area of the Peak District Steve has walked and cycled extensively throughout the Peak District for many years. Prior to setting up Peak Tours Steve cycled around the world on an unsupported trip along with three friends from Scotland, China & Australia. The journey took Steve through Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, China, USA & Ireland covering 12,700 miles in eight months. All travel by land was by bike and the group carried everything they needed to be self sufficient. Apart from getting arrested in the Xinjang autonomous region of Western China on suspicion of being spies the tour was generally trouble free. On returning home Steve left his career in finance to work as a tour leader for the adventure travel company Explore Worldwide, leading walking & cycling tours in Turkey, China, India, Poland, Ukraine, Macedonia, Greece, Finland & Bulgaria.

After working with Explore, Steve founded Peak Tours which provided Cycling & Walking Holidays in the Peak District and also Cycle Hire in the Peak District. In 2010 Steve and his small team did their first Lands End to John o’Groats Cycle tour quickly followed by the Coast to Coast tour. Over the next few years they provided more and more LEJOG tours and also added the Way of the Roses route. They soon realised that people had such a good time on the LEJOG tours that they wanted similar holidays run in the same way and so the idea behind the Dover to Durness tour was born (opposite two corners to the LEJOG). In 2014 they ventured abroad and started the Moselle to Mozart Cycle in Germany & Austria and then in 2015 they started the extremely popular Channel to the Med tours from one end of France to the other. Each year they continue to research and add new tours to their repertoire and thoroughly enjoy meeting all the new people who join the Peak Tours caravan and also catching up with those long serving cyclists who keep coming back for more and have become good friends.

After working as a ‘one man band’ for many years Steve soon realised that he needed help with the running of the business and also needed more and more guides to lead the tours. Now with seven full time staff and over eighty guides, Peak Tours continues to grow and there are many new tours in the pipeline so watch this space!

Paul S

Paul is from Liverpool but now lives in the Yorkshire Dales. He is an avid cyclist and outdoor enthusiast and regularly uses one of his bikes to commute into work, do a club time trial or do a some cycle touring in the UK or abroad. He has cycled in Africa and across Europe and always has some plan on the go for another trip somewhere – at the moment, it is across the Middle East or America.

Mike H

Throughout Mike’s cycling adventures he has explored both home and abroad regions within several cycling disciplines since he was a young boy. He has recently returned from living in Greece for 8 months leading guided road and mountain tours throughout the West Mainland where he acquired his nickname ‘Bike Mike’. Mountain Biking is his main domain and he regularly enjoys riding round the local Peak District surrounding his home town of Sheffield.

Simon B

My cycling bug started initially with a number of charity rides with work colleagues such as Sea to Sea, Dawn till Dusk, and the iconic long distance ride in the UK –Lands End to John O’Groats (both ways!), Sheffield to Paris via London, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.

As a result of jumping off the corporate merry go round I now have time to do the bigger cycling adventures and go further afield; Perth to Sydney; Christchurch to Auckland, NZ; Trans America Crossing; along with several trips through Europe including the French Alps to climb the biggest of the great Tour’s cols as well as regular trips to Southern Spain and Majorca.

Cycling is such a great way to explore and experience the world and meet new people. It’s hard work (sometimes) but the laughs I’ve had along the way and the stories shared over a cuppa and bacon butty and the odd pint have been memorable. Some of the best times I’ve had have been on a bike supporting groups on what for many can be a life changing experience. I can’t wait for the next tour to start and look forward to seeing you on one soon.

Julie B

I discovered the joys of cycling later in life and as for many years I enjoyed hill walking and alpine climbing. However, this all changed when I was asked to get involved in a charity bike ride in 2011. Little did I know that I had signed up to do probably the most iconic long distance ride in the UK –John O’Groats to Lands End and I’ve been hooked ever since.

I have completed many cycling tours throughout the UK and across the globe including – Transamerica Trail, London to Paris, Perth to Sydney, and the Transcontinental Race in 2017.

I love being a cycling tour leader – I get to meet some fantastic people, ride my bike (a lot) and of course eat lots of cake!

Daryl P

I am a keen cyclist and in particular enjoy sportive and touring cycling. I have lead many tours over the years and enjoy the camaraderie that comes with  cycle tours.

Fiona P

I have been cycling for many years. I really enjoy the buzz of a tour, meeting interesting people from all walks of life. I love the fact that we start off as strangers and finish as a team.

Ali

Myself and my Husband Johnny, who is also a PT guide, rode the LEJOg with Steve and his team back in 2012. When I foudn myself at a loose end in 2017, I was lucky enough to be accepted onboard as a PT tour guide and started working for the company in 2018. I opnly drive the brew van though, as I am not able to cycle as much as I’d like due to ops I’ve had on my achilles’ tendons. In my down time, I enjoy keeping fit at the gym, and making gifts and cards for craft fayres ….. Oh and the odd glass of fizz or three!

Anne Van Osterhausen

Anne travelled the globe and lived in Australia for many years. Travelling by bike has been her favourite way to explore places, her most recent trip was a 2-month journey from Portugal to Germany; Anne now lives in Portugal on a small family farm off the grid, is growing trees and a vegetable garden.

Nick Thatcher

Having been a keen cyclist for many years I was delighted to be accepted as a Peak Tours guide in 2023. I’m mad about cycling but it’s the people who make the tours, and I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie and supporting customers on the tours as much as the cycling. I’ve done various self-supported tours over the years including Portugal end to end, Lejog, Spain end to end, and cycling to Vienna. I’ve had knee replacement ops on both my knees and cycling has helped my recoveries – in recent years I’ve cycled the longest hill climb in Europe, and even ridden my mountain bike up Mount Snowdon. I understand what it is to achieve something on two wheels and enjoy helping people to meet their goals and have great holidays with Peak Tours.

Jonathan Currie

Jonathan is a British Triathlon Level 2 coach, Ironman University and ‘Tri Sutto’ qualified coach having spent time abroad with the world’s best triathlon coaches and European triathlon teams learning and developing his coaching expertise. A high-level athlete most of his life Jonathan discovered triathlon after a career playing rugby to a high standard in Europe and Australia.

Jonathan has achieved GB Age Group qualifications at both sprint and Olympic distance and taken overall race wins and podium finishes at multiple events. Most recently taking the overall win at the Abersoch triathlon.

“I am now spending time in the Provence area next to the Ventoux working as a bike guide. I have climbed the Ventoux over 40 times including 3 x in one day & a top 10 finish in the Ventoux Man Triathlon.

My sport is my passion and making the decision to move to coaching & bike tour guiding as a career I feel is a natural step in my progression as a person and as an athlete. My wealth of knowledge through a lifetime in competitive sport means that I have a huge bank of experiences to reflect on when it comes to training techniques, injury prevention and recovery, and general well being of your body. I have learnt how to build a sport around a busy working life as well as family, if the desire to succeed is there, then there is always a way to make training work to suit you. Being a dad I have always had to ensure that I strike the right balance between work, training, family and rest which is something I always consider from the outset with all of my athletes. I am a fully qualified bike mechanic completing the Cytech level 2 bike mechanic course 2021.