London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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oliverd
Posts: 1
Joined: 21 Sep 2016, 5:24pm

London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Post by oliverd »

I'm starting out on this trip in a few days.
Any advice is very welcome.
cheers
borisface
Posts: 360
Joined: 19 Feb 2010, 3:48pm

Re: London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Post by borisface »

Take good waterproofs. Northern Spain and Portugal can be very wet by the time you get there.

Route?
bohrsatom
Posts: 807
Joined: 20 May 2013, 4:36pm

Re: London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Post by bohrsatom »

All a bit vague, but some quality lights would be a good idea too. Are you planning on camping or staying in B&Bs?

Have a good trip!
jacksonz
Posts: 90
Joined: 29 Sep 2015, 7:24am

Re: London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Post by jacksonz »

Follow Carmino routes eg. Frances and la Plata. Stay off the Portuguese coast, the drivers are especially dangerous.... Northern Portugal is quite hilly (although there are many wonderful things to see).
iviehoff
Posts: 2411
Joined: 20 Jan 2009, 4:38pm

Re: London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Post by iviehoff »

jacksonz wrote:Northern Portugal is quite hilly

Some long distance cyclists I encountered there once, said "this is worse than the Pyrenees".

The coast doesn't really offer good cycling routes in the northern half of Portugal, however as you approach Lisbon it gets better, indeed it is probably the best way to approach Lisbon from the (near) north. But I rather like the eastern side of the country, which is less hilly than the middle, and it remains interesting in the east all the way to about level with Lisbon. Clearly you can't see everywhere that is nice, there's more to go back for. Probably best to stay well away from Porto, as it is the centre of the most densely populated area of Portugal, criss-crossed by major roads that are hard to navigate in between, though if you do want to see it you can go in by train easily from Braga or Guimaraes, for example.

Along the north coast of Spain, west of the Pyrenees, the Camino runs somewhat to the south of the mountains, which keeps the rainfall down, but in general is less attractive than in among the mountains: there aer some very beautiful routes in the mountains. You'll miss the Picos de Europa on the Camino, for example, which is the Best Bit of that part of Spain. Though you'll also miss the Picos if it is raining or foggy, so you do need to react to the weather. The southern half of the west coast of Galicia is very densely populated and thus best avoided, though better further north.
jacksonz
Posts: 90
Joined: 29 Sep 2015, 7:24am

Re: London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Post by jacksonz »

OK, if you want mountains ride the Carmino Primativo from Oviedo. There are many different Carminos and a cyclist can tap into the resources they offer.....

Take the ferry from Setubal into Lisbon.
albal1
Posts: 206
Joined: 2 Feb 2011, 4:09pm

Re: London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Post by albal1 »

Through Spain I would travel down to Pamplona pick up the camino and run through logrono,burgos,valladolid and salamanca where the Ruta dela plata runs south to Badajoz then chuck a right into Lisbon via Evora. Enjoy it should be great weather south of Burgos.
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MrsHJ
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Joined: 19 Aug 2010, 1:03pm
Location: Dartmouth, Devon.

Re: London to Lisbon - leaving soon - advice welcome

Post by MrsHJ »

Loved it. We did Lisbon, then out along the Tagus and gradually up the border until crossing at Mirando Dp Douro, then up to the picos, to Santander. I've also done some thing similar to the velodysee from Brittany down to Santander and the two routes together would be great. From a practical pint of view I presume you are going to come down from Calais and gently edge west . Where are you crossing the Pyrenees?
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