First time Gravel rider - what tyres? (Sorry!!)

Sorry just realised that on 700c the max width is 43mm

I use Hutchinson Tundra front and Touareg on the back, both 45mm for similar use case as you describe.

Tundra is a little draggy, but I prefer a bit more tyre on the front end.

Touareg rolls reasonably well. Both have been reliable over past 12 months. 

Mate of mine does a lot of that riding swears by Panaracer Gravel Kings if that's any help.

Happy with Hutchinson Tundras on mine

https://www.merlincycles.com/panaracer-gravel-king-semi-slick-tlc-folding-tyre-700c-1-244004.html

I have Cadex AR 40 on mine which I like for SE bridleway and road, previously used 38 and then 40mm Schwalbe G-One All Road. Both pretty fast rolling on and off road. Both set up tubeless, never run out of grip yet, but I've so far avoided green chalk... and sharp flints...

Gravelking SemiSlick, or gravelking SK (SK=Small Knob) would suit. 

I think you could (have) - it's what the missus did when she bought hers - ordered Hutchinson Tuaregs on the Rujo as an upgrade option when you bought it / buy it. They seem like decent, well-regarded, all-round gravel tyres and getting them with the bike saves some beans as well.

Your riding sounds similar to mine and in the same general area, Schwalbe G one all rounds haven't let me down, though a mate likes his Panaracer Gravel kings, either would serve you well I reckon.

WTB Byways for me. Ribble were selling them stupid cheap a while back.

Panaracers are ace, I've had the SS and the medium grip jobbies.. only negative would be the light casing, but never cause me issues. Also the Schwalbe G-ones are amazing.

I've had the byways.. i found them... lacking in everyway, granted mine were the wire bead ones. By that i mean i tried them on a cold road and they were slidey. i also ended up chucking sealant everywhere first ride to work. Surprisingly, they weren't terrible in off road were you'd think they would be.

Good deal direct from Panaracer right now , they are reduced plus an extra 20% off if you buy a pair .

I've never tried anything but Vittoria, but can wholeheartedly recommend the Terreno Dry or Terreno Mix.

For mostly tarmac or gravel with very occasional mud, the Terreno Dry is great, the muddy bits just need a bit of care, don't go horsing into corners at full speed without expecting a *bit* of slip.

Or go Terreno Mix, that's my winter tyre of choice now, seems pretty forgiving on tarmac but has plenty of knobbles so fairly predictable on the corners. Great fun for most CX style mud-plugging (although I used to race on the Terreno Wet which was even better but wore too fast on tarmac).

Haven't tried the TLR tan walls as I'm a bit heavy on tyres so preferred the TNT grey sidewalls which are a bit more robust. Ironically I'll use the TLRs in bigger volume MTB tyres as there's less likelihood of me rimming them on rocks and roots.

For me gravel king sk have been a good bet.

I find the semi slick more puncture prone. I think that the knobs on the sk keep the carcass a touch further from the flints.

Obviously they will give up in too much mud. But across a range of conditions they work. Ok on the road ok off road

I’m sure the Shwalbe equivalent is just fine too

If you want some actual comparison this is useful

https://granfondo-cycling.com/best-gravel-tire-review/

I've found Bontrager GR2 to be a good all round tyre.

Gravelking sk's or Michelin Cintuaratos (more expensive but deeper tread, bit more capable in mud)

having ridden quite a lot of the tyres avaliable atm, i'd say anything but gravel kings, but here's my favourite for all round riding. Thanks to tubeless, gone are the days of swapping tyres before a ride to match the conditions of where you intend to pedal. But I'd rather have that puncture protection than being able to swap tyres and tubes in a couple of minutes. So for that reason I like a tyre that can do everything with a slight bias to off road

MichelinCintuaratos

Pirelli

I have a pair of 45mm Tundras on one wheelset and recently fitted set of 38mm Terreno Drys (TLR)  on the other.
I expected to be riding the Tundras this winter, but the Terrenos are seriously impressive. For road riding, with a bridleway and gravel links they are brilliant. Yes, deep mud, wet grass and slimy chalk will suck, but for all other Surrey conditions they've been ace.
Better rolling than my Ramblers and seemingly better puncture protection.
Maybe also look at a Specialized Pathfinder Pro too, which are often discounted

G ones work for me. But took a punt on a set of goodyear connectors and they've been spot on too.

I've been riding terrano dry's from baking summer hard pack through to Pennine deep slop and it's been surprisingly good. Can get a touch sketchy on really deep or slippy mud, but I've been really impressed by how well the side knobs can dig in

Pirelli Cinturato M.

Not a mud tyre but for most of the year, they are excellent.

Another for the vittoria terreno dry here. I am a serial tyre buyer and changer and frankly they are very good tyres. Good enough to get me into the top 10 in the Welsh cyclocross Championship at a very mixed conditions course. Good on the road and better than you think they should be off it.
In comparison other than the Gravel King semi slick I’ve been disappointed with all the GK variants.
Currently been switching between Challenge Getaway and Bruce Gordon Rock n Road.

As with anything, there's always a compromise but I like my Hutchinson Override, they're not very aggressive but I find that they work well. They look cool with a tan wall as well.

It's worth checking your tyre clearance, my bike says max 700x45c but I'm running 700x50c with no issues

Continental Terra tyres, there's the Trail for wintertime and Speed for summer conditions. Both go on well and go up tubeless really easy too.

Mate of mine does a lot of that riding swears by Panaracer Gravel Kings if that’s any help.

Over the couple of GB's I had the Gravel Kings were my favourite tyre. Great allrounders.

Continental Terra tyres, there’s the Trail for wintertime and Speed for summer conditions. Both go on well and go up tubeless really easy too.

I've ridden a few rides on my Chiggle bargain Terra Hardback tyres. Really noticeably less rolling resistance and more supple than the Small block 8's which were on it before. I am embracing the slide in the current mud though... 😆

I was going to mention the Terra Hardpacks. I've got them on my Swift and really like them.

They're 50mm though so wider than the OP's maximum but do come up a little narrow.

I just use road tyres with no tread on gravel and haven't fallen off because of it in 20 years.

Small block 8’s

I think technically these were my first ever gravel tyres, came on a Genesis Day 0 single speed which I used for a few 'light' off road rides before we had a more convenient label for that sort of riding. Fond memories, is there a tan wall version in a fancy compound these days for us tarts?

I just use road tyres with no tread on gravel and haven’t fallen off because of it in 20 years.

I do sometimes wonder just how much work the tread really does on gravel (on the soft I think it's more apparent). I'd swear my Terrenos corner worse with inserts in them (they tend to spit out more quickly) and wondered if the inserts changed the shape of the tyre enough to change how and when the shoulder knobs bit in. Or maybe the inserts just made them less supple.

Either way tempted to try the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC now, almost as slick in the middle but more transition knobs.

WTB Raddlers in 44mm here and also South Downs ish. Been impressed so far, ok on the road and not terrifying off-road which I feel is a result. I should add that I have never dared the high chalk at this time of year on them... but decent in the summer and fingers crossed not had any issues with the dreaded flints.

I just use road tyres with no tread on gravel and haven’t fallen off because of it in 20 years

Please come and ride some of the stuff near me and let me film it

Panaracer Gravelking sk are the most puncture prone tyre I've had the misfortune of using. Swapped to Pirelli Cinturato and been fairly happy, love the H for summer dry conditions less convinced by the M.

WTB Raddlers in 44mm

This is what I have and they are great for my mainly off-road riding.

Please come and ride some of the stuff near me and let me film it

I am guessing you are not talking about gravel roads, i.e. gravel riding?

I have ridden MTBs with knobbly tyres, CX bikes with CX tyres and track bikes with road tyres across all of the same terrain and while on really muddy stuff the knobby tyres help on any gravel roads they make no difference. I suppose if I was going as absolutely fast as I can around a sharp corner I would see a difference but on straightish gravel roads nope.

I would happily ride whatever you ride (on a brakeless fixed gear bike with 25c tyres) but if it is challenging for a gravel bike then I will just be slow as have to ride down it more precarioulsy (as I do where I ride) but that is not really gravel is it...

Small block 8's

Fond memories, is there a tan wall version in a fancy compound these days for us tarts?

I've no idea. The bike came with Nano's on which were super comfy but in could feel them whirring away constantly, so I swapped for a pair of SB8's at the back of the shed, bought in a £5 Halfords bargain bin a few years ago.

Like. Riding. Soft. Treacle.

I need to apologise to my middle son who has the another pair from the same bargain bin a few years ago. They really don't seem great now...

The Conti Terra's seem the business though.

but that is not really gravel is it…

Well apart from some forest roads is there really any gravel (on the USA gravel scale) in the UK?

This is why there's no perfect tyre for Britain, the riding is just too diverse and one riders "gravel" can be the polar opposite to someone elses

Wouldn't it be boring if we only had dead straight gravel roads a la Kansas?

Panaracer Gravelking sk are the most puncture prone tyre I’ve had the misfortune of using

Agreed. Panaracer Paper-thins I refer to them as.

I've been using Michelin Power Gravel 47mm for the last six months and have been impressed. Tubeless but don't think the jollop has been called into action yet. Quick for a big tyre. Not much use in mud though.

I'm going to join in on "friends don't let friends ride Gravelkings", I'm afraid. Too papery, too slick (though the pluses areOK). For the South Downs... something a bit knobblier than a Gravelking SK? I'm riding Goodyear Connectors which I quite like; if I had my choice again I'd go Schwalbe Bite or Ultrabite. (I tried WTB Nanos, 700c40, but they were just too slow on any connecting tarmac. Great mud/winter tyres tho). The people I ride with who complain least about their tyres seem to be on Schwalbes or Cinturato Ms.

(As per loads of people upthread: so many "gravel" tyres are designed for not-UK-gravel, which is much more "everything from tarmac to XC".)

And: as wide as you're happy with. 45s if you can.

Thanks so much for the recommendations everyone.

I was all set for a Pair of Resolutes but they appear to be on short supply at my preferred width. Was sorely tempted by GK SK's with the Panaracer 20% discount but overnight I noticed that CRC have dropped tan Raddlers to £22 a pop, with free postage it was pretty much a no brainer this time around.

I'll certainly try a few of the other recommendations in the future.