We are a tour company specialising in urban exploration, mini adventures, and sustainable holidays by bike, foot, and train. We offer a range of experiences around Nottingham, the Midlands and beyond, combining local history and curiosities, art and architecture, politics and culture, food and drinks – all at a leisurely pace. 

Our bike rides and walks are researched in detail and delivered by professional guides that take care of finding unexpected spots, hidden gems, and the best traffic-free routes for all abilities. Anything can become a micro adventure, from a stroll around the Lace Market to train hopping up the Derwent Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There is so much to explore in Nottinghamshire alone; the ancient cave networks, the Luddites, the lace and hosiery industry; the seismic 1845 enclosure act; the elegant Victorian Park Estate; Nottingham Castle (an aristocrat’s party palace); Boots (two from ten of Nottinghamshire’s Grade I listed buildings are on the Boots campus); elegant inter-war garden city municipal housing estates (Aspley and Bulwell well worth a visit).

Further afield in North Notts there are the Dukeries (four vast, immediately adjoining former Ducal estates, a unique historical treasure) and the industrial heartland of the former coalfields.

The opportunities to explore and celebrate meaningful local history are endless!

Zig Zag Tour was set up by Toby Ebbs and Antony Hopwood to celebrate the Midlands exotic. Toby and Antony met through a shared love for bikes.

Toby is a senior lecturer in architectural history at Nottingham Trent University, with a particular interest in eighteenth and nineteenth century urban history.

Antony is an experienced bike mechanic and ride leader, founder of Bikes Love You, an independent bike workshop in Nottingham.