gauvins

I am at the earliest stages of planning a 6-week route in the UK (see below) Self-supported, solo, averaging 100kms/day on tarmac (I push a measly 125W .

[30 seconds on gMaps -- this is a rough sketch] : The plan is to follow EV12 northbound up to John o'Groats; southbound EV1; improvise across Ireland to Galway; EV2 to Dublin and Bristol; improvise to Bournemouth where I catch a ferry back to the continent.

Would be mid-May to the last week of June.

An alternative for the southbound leg would be to ride the GB divide, perhaps avoiding segments that are more suited for horseback riding

Any suggestion welcome.

rivers

Coming up to Bristol, I would suggest climbing Cheddar Gorge (stop in Cheddar, it's a bit touristy, but has nice cafes), descend down into Chew Vallry, stop at the Salt and Malt at Chew Valley Lake for fish and chips, and enter into Bristol via Chew Valley. What what road you use for a descent into Chew Valley. There are a few different roads. West Harptree is busy, good surface. There is a road (track really) that runs parallel that is down right sketchy. There is another route which is less steep but I would need to look at a map for road names/direction etc. Bristol and surrounding areas (bit into Wales as well) are my stomping grounds, so happy to help with suitable/scenic roads

Reddleman

Have a look on cycle.travel for route planning in the UK and Ireland. Cycling UK’s forums contain plenty of touring folk with opinions on routes around both countries.

For the last part of your ride across Dorset to Poole for the ferry to the continent, I suggest taking the rail trail from Sturminster Newton to Blandford Forum, then the old lane by the river Stour via Shapwick to Wimborne Minster, then head south over the bridge to Merley and pick up the rail trail and bike paths from there south into the centre of Poole and across the lifting bridge to Hamworthy where the ferry terminal is.

If you have any extra time spare before your ferry I also recommend exploring the Purbecks to the south of Poole.

tcs

Yeah, me personally, well I wouldn't push it. In addition to the scenery, it's like every little village has something of interest, and every city has a great museum of some sort. Then there are the castles. And the distilleries - don't forget the distilleries.

Your trip & you alone know what your likes and dislikes are & what your goals might be.

That said, you're riding a long way in GB without ringing up the legendary LEJoG - Land's End to John o'Groats.

You can't see it all, but I note you're missing both the Peak District and the Lake District.

I'd recommend to any cycletourist who reaches either Thurso or John o'Groats to take the ferry over and spend a few days in the Orkneys. Standing stones, Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar, the Viking Cathedral in Kirkwall, Maeshowe, the Italian Chapel! You can hardly put your foot down without stepping on an artifact from Neolithic to Victorian times. The Orkneys are a perfect cycle-scale, too.

I lost my heart to Wales - but hope you enjoy climbing!

From Bristol, might as well pop over to Bath and ride the Two Tunnels.

Sustran's Lands End to John o'Groats route book - hmm. I do like their route from Glasgow to JoG, but for a variation on an up & back, you can ride the Great Glen (say 'hi' to Nessie). Probably the coolest thing about their route guide is that on every stage they suggest a local cider/ale/whisky and a local meal to sample. Whether one is on their route or not, this is always a great thing to do on a cycle tour.



Great suggestion. England averages 434 folks per square kilometer, and I swear at times it's like they're all driving two cars. Sometimes it's a small, known-only-to-local-cyclists detail that will make difference in a pleasant ride and a miserable experience.

raybo

I've ridden in the UK several times (I have relatives there) and I just finished a ride in Ireland. While I haven't gone all the way to John O''Groats, I have started at Land's End and gone north to Fort William in Scotland (journal here). Some comments:

1) I second the suggestion to use cycle.travel to plan your route. It is UK-centric, shows all kinds of bike paths, and is a good route planning tool. I also suggest asking routing questions at the UK Cycling forum. Here is a link to its touring section: https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewforum.php?f=16

2) The roads in the UK are not very wide, have no shoulders (verge), and often are poorly paved. Be sure that the roads you are planning to ride are ones you feel safe on. Often there isn't much choice, especially up in Scotland. In my early touring day, I used to enjoy finding routes on tiny UK roads using the UK road atlas. While it is possible, it often means meandering all over the countryside. Your route shows much time spent on the coast south of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Make sure these aren't on busy coastal roads. In the UK there are Motorways, A roads, B roads, lanes, and unrated roads. Stay off A roads if you can. I prefer to use B roads sparingly, unless I know for sure they are lightly trafficked. Lanes and unrated roads are my recommendation.

3) The route you've shown in Ireland doesn't seem very interesting, unless rolling green fields are your thing. Check out the Wild Atlantic Way that runs north-south along the western edge of Ireland for ideas. I'd add Connemara (area along the coast north of Galway) to your itinerary. Instead of riding to Dublin, I'd suggest riding down to Cork to take in some of the southwestern peninsulas. From Cork, I'd take the train to Dublin. Another option would be to ride to Rosslare on the southeastern coast and take the ferry to Fishguard (Wales) and ride from there.

4) Check out the Lon Las Cymru (The Welsh Way) that runs from Holyhead (the landing port of the ferry from Dublin) down to Chepstow, just across the bridge from Bristol. I rode this and wrote a detailed journal, if you are interested.

5) England is well connected by trains. Generally, these trains will take bikes and have specific places for them. Usually, a train will only take a few bikes. I've always gotten a reservation for one of these spaces, though I've seen lots of bikes without reservations on these trains.

6) The UK and Ireland are hilly places. They don't have high mountains, but they have lots and lots of short, steep hills. Be sure to check the amount of daily climbing your routes do in a day.

7) I don't know your willingness to take a train to skip uninteresting segments (say through major metropolitan areas), but there are some sections of your route that might be better seen from a train so that you can spend more time in more interesting places.

tcs

If you're into that sort of thing, the UK's National Cycle Museum is curiously in Llandrindod Wells, Wales. And hey, Wales is not THAT hilly. No, I won't kid you, it can be brutal. Shrug. Something to brag about to the cyclists back home.




Grain of salt here. Every time I've visited the UK, there's an "oh, the last train didn't run, so there are two trains worth of folks on this train" or "the weather yesterday wasn't conducive to operating trains, so we have two days worth of folks who want to ride today" or most recently "national rail strike - trains aren't running". Maybe just my personal bad luck, but standing in the buffer playing sardines for four hours is memorable. If you have a train transit coming up while on your cycletour, keep an eye on the news. I will offer two big thumbs up to the general level of British personal hygiene, though.

gauvins

Thanks a million for the suggestion and pointer. Looks like EV12 northbound and JoGLE southbound. Then Plymouth to ferry Roscoff. Looking good. (will try to get more time...)

Tourist in MSN

I started planning a LEJOG trip in 2019 to do in 2020, then Covid happened. Then, even if I could have traveled to UK and back, my passport renewal was delayed for months during the initial shutdown when nobody was processing passports. I recieved my new passport after I would have gotten home. I then started planning it again, and then the Ukraine invasion happened so I decided to skip it that year too. Not sure if I ever will do it, now am losing interest.

But from my initial research I found quite a few separate LEJOG routes, there does not appear to be a single common route like we have in USA where ACA and others have published specific routes.

I checked this forum once a week, but I did not get very much info from it.
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewforu...736c4232476a39

I do not know if you frequent hostels or not, I do. UK has a LOT of them. A few times I have planned to camp, but the rain convinced me that sleeping indoors would be nice instead.
https://www.yha.org.uk/hostels/all-youth-hostels
https://hihostels.com/hostels/?country=Scotland&city=
https://independenthostels.co.uk/
https://www.hostellingscotland.org.uk/
https://www.scottish-hostels.com/

I was trying to figure out how to get from one end to the other (the ends of LEJOG) for logistics and found that taking the train meant two different train stations in London. And that is where my planning came to an end.
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stati...rail-maps.aspx

The following are various links that I saved over the past few years on this.
https://landsend-to-johnogroats.co.uk/gpx/
https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/cy...o-john-ogroats
https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/

I have read that butane canisters are available at Decathlon. I am sure you can find them elsewhere too, but nice to know of a reliable source.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/store-locator
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/browse/c...ers/_/N-wfxwqd

gauvins

Tourist in MSN thanks for the numerous links - I see that you are a careful planner

I'll try to keep it simple and eventually post a more definitive itinerary.

WRT trains -- I'd venture that the plan is to ride Dover - Falmouth (i.e. ferry to ferry) unless I seriously fall behind schedule.

irc

I'm just north of Glasgow so can probably help with any questions for much of Scotland. If you want to place a high priority on avoiding traffic the Sustrans Routes are always good. Not the most direct route but avoid traffic using either off road routes or very low traffic roads.

EV1 and EV12 are known here as NCN1 and NCN7

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-r...etwork/route-7
https://cycle.travel/route/summary/156588

Other things to know? If you want to use a train to skip a section - all trains carry bikes without any packing or disassembly other than taking pannier off. Long distances routes need a bike space booked at the same time as your ticket. These are any route from Scotland to England. Glasgow or Edinburgh lines to Inverness, Aberdeen or Fort William. Local services - no booking required. Just turn up. Same for Glasgow - Edinburgh.

Booking can be done at any main station. Or online.

Long distance bus routes carry bikes with a booking.

https://www.citylink.co.uk/condition...iage/bicycles/

Presumably you are camping? If not I would suggest carrying at least emergency camping gear as north of Inverness accommodation is limited and may be booked up in May and June.

Budget hotels. The Travelodge chain has good coverage nationally. I have been able to take my bike into the room any time I've used them.

Usual rules about being careful with bike parking in the big towns and cities. I wouldn't stay overnight anywhere in Glasgow or Edinburgh if my bike was locked outside. Smaller towns you are OK.

Camping? With rare exceptions camping is allowed on any uncultivated land. Usual common sense rules. don't camp near houses etc.


https://www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot/

Reddleman

Just to clarify - the right to roam and wild camp only applies in Scotland, not in the other nations of the UK or in Ireland.

djb

Thanks to all for the various links.
re train problems, I hear no end of complaints from my relatives in Scotland and England about train strikes, delays, crappy service etc, so as noted, be very aware of current events.

Funnily enough gauvins, I'm planning a trip to Scotland this year too.

muse kidd

Hey Gauvins, I first came to the UK in 2008 and fell in love with cycling here. The roads and traffic are so very different from the US (insert left-lanes & roundabouts). However, I will add that you are making a VERY big trip in a short amount of time. The UK is much smaller than the US, but travel, especially cycling, is much slower. Cycling 60 miles in a day in the US is not much, but here - it is a huge amount. Firstly, there is so much to see. Do you want to explore? Wander through a castle or abbey along the way? There is so much history on these tiny little islands - from Bronze Age, the Roman Era, Medieval, Industrial Age, and on and on. The US ain't got nothin' comparatively. Plus, there's the scenery. On my first trip, I spent two weeks cycling in Wales alone and when I came back for my second trip, I spent another two weeks cycling - mostly in Wales. There is so much to see. I would get to places such as Mumbles or Tenby or Fishguard and want to stay an extra day, just to explore - look around. And yeah... look into the Lake District (very touristy, but stunning), the Peak District, and it looks like you're skipping Corwall completely (whaaaa?) Honestly, I could go on, because I loved it so much, after my fourth trip in 2011, I moved here.

But I digress, here are some pointers. Check out Sustrans and the National Cycle Network. Many, many disused rail lines have been converted into wonderful cycle routes. (Many lovely canal towpaths, quite roads and snall country lanes are also incorporated...) I found the Sustrans maps rather simple, but a good general reference. What I love - still to this day, are the big ole printed maps, see: Ordnance Survey. They will get you though anywhere, don't require batteries, a GPS signal, and are wonderful at providing the details of distance, road types, topography, and scale. Plus, I love to make notes, highlight my routes, and save the maps for later reference. (There's a wonderful feeling to be had, once you're back home and spreading out your maps on the floor... just such a cool thing to look back upon.)

For a smart phone or Garmin-type device, OpenCycleMap.org is the single best source for route planning in the UK, IMHO. I use it along with Ride With GPS on my Garmin everytime I go out. Also a word of warning... the hardest parts to navigate will be through urban areas. The roads can be like a squirrels nest and yeah, many roads aren't always named OR sign-posted. Asking for advice can be dicey, peeps will often point to the shortest route as car drivers - not always the safest for cyclists. Learn the difference between "A" roads and "B" roads.

Now I haven't flown in several years, but for me AND for the money at the time, I found flying to Amsterdam with a short connector to Cardiff the easiest and most interesting way to get into the UK from the US. Flying into London or Edinburgh with a bike was horrible! Personally, I found that taking the slowest fight, with the most connections (2-3) was not only the easiest, cheapest, but also the most relaxed. (I once had an 8-hour layover in Amsterdam which allowed me to visit the city for a short while - I rented a bike, rode into town, and it was fabulous!)

I too set out to travel average 60 miles per day when I first came to the UK, but soon realised that 35 to 40 was more more realistic. This allowed me to relax and not only see the sights, but to also find good places to wild-camp (which you will not find near most urban areas...). As noted above too, it's ony legal in Scotland - but often overlooked elsewhere in the UK, as long as you're a decent human being, don't set the place on fire, and leave no trace. I always did a mix of wild-camping, public/private campgrounds, and small B&B's. You will be shocked at the high standard most campgrounds have in the UK. (Seeing stand-alone public toilets still shocks me to this day.)

I live in Wales now and cycle 4k-5k a year. I have a blog you can check out; Bike Wales - (if you're interested) and I will be glad to answer any questions you may have about planning a trip tot he UK. I hope I've helped you some already. Good luck - you'll have a great time wherever you go... because you'll be cycling. Cheers!

rivers

With regards to the Sustrans/NCN routes- they're not always appropriate for every type of bike. The surfaces can be varied- from nice quiet lanes, shared paths, canal tow paths, fields, gravel, etc. I would take a look at the sustrans website for a bit more information on the routes.

irc

Just on airlines. Edinburgh and Glasgow airports are fine to fly to. I don't know Edinburgh airport surroundings well but thereis a tram service which takes bikes and goes into the city centre. Glasgow you can assemble the bike and cycle out the airport with several cycle routes nearby and cycle friendly roads.

As it happens I went past the airport yesterday over a new cycle/pedestrian bridge built as part of a bike route from the airport. You could land at Glasgow and have an easy connection to NCN7 heading north.

Tourist in MSN

If my recollection is correct, you bought a special phone for touring. I am sure you know that the frequencies in Europe can be different than North America, just a reminder to check to see if your phone will work or not.

My phone will not work with UK frequencies, I was considering buying a cheap Android phone with UK frequencies when I was thinking of doing LEJOG. My previous foreign trips, I relied on wifi for my phone, but would like to get weather forecasts anytime I want.

nun

If you've got a smart phone you can buy a UK SIM and install that. A good company is GiffGaff as they will send you the SIM in the mail so you have it as soon as you arrive in the UK. The difficulty with this is that
you don't have your usual mobile number which will be a pain for people trying to contact you and if you get 2 factor authentication via text. So take a look at your local phone/data provider and they will have an international plan. These are not cheap, but they are getting cheaper and they are convenient. FYI AT&T in the US has an international plan that lets you use your regular plan overseas for $10/day with a cap of $100/month. So for a 6 week trip something like that might be ok. A GiffGaff unlimited data plans cost about $50/month, but is not as convenient.

tcs

Has anyone mentioned the UK's National Byway? It's a signposted network mostly of small roads and country lanes, said to be optimized for cycletourists. (Yes, this is different from Sustrans.) Portions might be an option for "up the east coast".





While you're about, might check off a few points on the British Cycle Quest & earn a certificate(s):

https://www.cyclinguk.org/british-cy...many%20islands.

LEJoG/JoGLE - get certified after completion:

https://shop.cyclinguk.org/end-end-memorabilia

Join the organization:

Land's End - John o' Groats Association

tcs

The beautiful pictures of English cyclist Roff Smith:

Journeys from My Doorstep: Travels At Home - Travels At Home

How can you not want to go ride there?

tcs

You're planning mostly north-south. There are several coast-to-coast routes mapped and guide-booked.

Tourist in MSN

I do not know if you can get a Google Voice account in Canada or not, when I did over a decade ago it was only available in USA. You can get a local phone number when you do that. And that is a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) way to make phone calls using either wifi or a data plan. Over a decade ago I called one of my credit card companies in USA from Budapest when my card stopped working. And in Reykjavik I called one of my credit card companies in USA when that card stopped working. So, I know that Google Voice works in most foreign countries. And used it several other times, for example on my Pacific Coast tour the two of us with different cell companies both did not have cell service, but I could make a call using the wifi at a restaurant.

Your phone has to be turned on, with wifi or data active for someone to call you, I always travel with phone off or in airplane mode, so I do not get calls. But at least you can call out. Calls to you, you get an e-mail with the voicemail message.

I have two cell phones, one of which has a data-only sim card. I have gotten in the habit of only using that data phone, with VOIP to make calls when I travel. Sometimes, if I know that I might get a call from someone I know, I will leave the data plan on and active so it can ring and I can answer. My other cell with a regular cell number and tiny data plan often is turned off, only carried when I go for a bike ride in event of emergency. It is often stored in my handlebar bag. I can't remember the last time I actually used that as a cell phone to call someone or be called.

My home phone (land line) since this past Nov has also been VOIP, and I can even answer a call on that line on my cell with the data only sim card, thus that phone actually has two phone numbers, both are VOIP, neither of which is a "cell" number.

In other words, there are a lot of options these days for calling people. When I planned to do LEJOG, my intent was to buy a cheap Android phone with UK frequencies. I planned to buy the phone itself while in USA so that I could install the apps I wanted on it before I left home using wifi. And once in the UK, I planned to buy a data only sim card, if a data only one was available.

If you get a Google Voice account with a phone number, call someone every couple months, otherwise Google might retract that phone number from you if it is not used for a long time.

gauvins

1. Thanks everyone for great info. Too much to process. I'll try to find more time to spend in the UK. Will post a tentative route in a couple of days (in from Calais-Dover EV12 northbound, JoGLE southbound, out at Falmouth- Roscoff)

2. WRT phone -- I typically purchase a local SIM. Things have changed in Europe. On the positive side, an EC ruling made it illegal for operators to collect roaming fees. Which means that you can use your (French in my case) card anywhere inside continental Europe. Orange Holiday plan is perhaps the best bargain (like 25 euros for 2 weeks @ 10G). On the unknown side -- while it looks like the UK is covered by Orange Holiday i'll have to check not. But getting a prepaid Vodaphone should be very easy. (AFAIK, In Canada Google voice requires a G suite account)

nun

Google Voice is a way to still get calls, but it's not advisable to use it for 2FA. When I was visiting the UK I looked at an GiffGaff unlimited data plan at $50/month, but in the end decided that the convenience of just using my phone on my US provider's international plan was worth the $50 extra

tcs

Yep. The Sustran, the YHA, the B&B, the Record, the Easy East Coast, the Pub Crawl & etc. If you're riding JoGLE, perhaps you'd meet the most LEJoG riders on the Cicerone route.

One route I was unimpressed with is End to End Cycle Route - a Safer Way. The creator sends cyclists along Scotland's east coast on the busy, narrow A9 and A99 - ugh, ranks below root canal for me.


A CTC Cycling UK forum discussion of 'best camp stove' revealed a marked preference for the Trangia alcohol burner in a no. 27 or no. 29 cook set. Hmph. At any rate, nobody expressed any problems with finding 'meths' (methylated spirits, i.e. denatured alcohol).

djb

thanks for this info. One idea I have is to fly to Glasgow, and then start biking up to Inverness to see my family up in that area. Nice to know of it being doable from the airport (although realistically, after a transAtlantic flight, the last thing I want to be doing is to be putting my bike together and riding)