Cycling UK Forum

Have a look at http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/cycling.ns ... A4003E49CA - lots there.

Officially cycling is forbidden on the majority of the canal. It's permitted from Brynich Lock to Brecon (as part of the Taff Trail) and maybe one or two other short lengths, but not for most of it. Whether anyone will take any notice is another question entirely!

Just asked my wife (initially a reluctant cyclist, now cycles a lot every day!) which of the tours that we've done - generally on Sustrans routes - she's enjoyed the most. Her recommendations:

- Taff Trail (NCN8 Cardiff-Brecon) - easily her favourite; you'll need at least a hybrid for the forest trail through the Brecon Beacons, though
- Woodstock to Banbury (NCN5)
- Preseli Hills from Fishguard to Carmarthen (NCN47)
- Lower Thames, roughly from Henley to London (NCN4)
- Tiverton to Glastonbury (NCN3)

I used twitter.com when I did the Pennine Cycleway earlier this year - worked very well.

Cycling along NCN 6 in NW Leicestershire the other day, I noticed a sign branching off for NCN 15, signposted to "Airport" (i.e. East Midlands)...

I left my camera in a pub in mid-Wales.

Got it back yesterday to find it had this on it:

Would strongly recommend getting from Skipton to Gargrave (about five miles), then follow the Pennine Cycleway - NCN route 68 - to Norham, just outside Berwick; it's a cracker of a route. Then NCN route 1 to Edinburgh. Six days should easily be enough.

Agreed that the route via Reading is very pleasant. Quite hilly Didcot-Reading, and I'd use your discretion on the Oxford-Didcot section, a few bits of which are less than inspired.

Also worth considering if you're in an NCN mood:

- make your own way from Oxford to Witney
- Witney-Burford-Northleach on Regional Route 47
- Northleach-Cirencester on NCN 48
- Cirencester-the River Severn on NCN 45
- then south to the Severn Bridge via NCN 41

That's a very "Cotswoldy" route with some gorgeous scenery, little villages and quiet lanes. Nowhere near as well-known as NCN 4 along the Kennet & Avon, so you won't find yourself doing 2mph along the Bath-area towpath dodging dogs, walkers and other cyclists. RR 47 and NCN 48 don't quite link up in Cirencester yet, so you'll need to find your own way for a few hundred yards; and again, use your discretion through Stroud and Stonehouse (the ultimate route is projected to go along the Stroudwater Navigation towpath, I think, but until then it follows a safe but not exactly picturesque cycleway alongside the main road).

From the Severn Bridge onwards, you could follow NCN 4 all the way. Chepstow-Newport is ok, some pleasant bits but nothing exceptional; it's an absolute killer in a headwind, though, so don't feel too proud about catching the train if it's blowing a Force 8.

Haven't done Newport-Pontypridd yet - we were so knackered after the headwind we got on the train for that bit. The inland route (NCN 47) looks promising here, too.

There are some surprisingly lovely bits between Pontypridd and Port Talbot. Big climb out of Pontypridd, and one longish main road section, but it's worth it. I really enjoyed this section. Port Talbot to Swansea is a bit boring, best perhaps to put your head down and get on with it.

Haven't done Swansea-Carmarthen yet, but I've heard very good things about it. Carmarthen-Pembroke is very scenic and has lots of opportunities for sightseeing (Tenby and Laugharne), though it's a little undulating at times. (Actually we enjoyed the Carmarthen-Fishguard inland braid on NCN 47 the most, but that's a ride for another time!)

All the routes I've cycled are mapped at http://www.gravitystorm.co.uk/osm/ . As ever, definitely print out the maps of urban areas; for rural areas I find it suffices just to jot down the list of villages the route passes through, as a "safety net" if the signs are missing.

I've only done a couple of short bits of that route (a bit around Berwick, and Kings Lynn-Ely) so can't offer too much advice on the particular route. A few general thoughts, though.

Definitely get the Sustrans maps where they exist - and some other map for the rest (even if it's just pages torn out of a £1.99 atlas). Far too easy to lose the signs otherwise. Last time I looked Sustrans had a special offer on some of the NCN 1 maps, so you might be lucky.

If you have a Garmin GPS, you can load OpenStreetMap data onto it which covers several parts of the route (see http://www.gravitystorm.co.uk/osm/ )... and then upload your tracklog for the bits it doesn't!

Pretty much all hostels are covered by the YHA ( http://www.yha.org.uk/ ), the SYHA in Scotland, and the Independent Hostel Guide ( http://www.independenthostelguide.co.uk/ ). In June booking ahead at weekends, or in very touristy areas, is likely to be essential - you can probably chance it in other areas on weekdays. When a hostel's less likely to be busy, I often phone that morning or early afternoon when I have a good idea how far I'll make that day. Take a B&B book too (or pages torn out of one) in case you can't find a hostel.

For Cambridge to Colchester I think you can combine two NCN routes - south on NCN11 then east on NCN16, or east on NCN51 (very nice) and south on NCN1. But there are plenty of pleasant lanes round there anyway, and I'm pretty sure you could get away with just bunging your bike on the little local train without prebooking.

The eTrex Legend HCx is an excellent unit. That said, I'd echo andrew s's comment about maps - the IGN blue series are just the right level of detail for touring. If you do take an eTrex, record your track and upload it to www.openstreetmap.org afterwards!

I did it a few years ago in four days: Cardiff-Erwood (between Glasbury and Builth Wells); Erwood-Machynlleth; Machynlleth-Criccieth; Criccieth-Holyhead. But if you've got the time, take it easier, the scenery's marvellous and there are plenty of places to stop.

It's a brilliant ride - up until a month ago I'd say it's the best I've ever done. Now I think the Pennine Cycleway pips it to the post, but Lon Las Cymru's still a marvel, and I'd like to do it again. Cardiff-Criccieth is all good; north of Criccieth it's a bit more samey and you could leave this bit out if you're not bothered about completing the whole thing, though Caernarfon's obviously lovely and the Menai Bridge is magnificent.

If you go for the all-inclusive holiday, make sure the bike is good - there's some pretty taxing climbs. The one up from Aberllefenni (Snowdonia) is one of only two on the NCN where I've had to get off and push; and I agree with wobblychainring that I wouldn't want to do the climb out of Machynlleth if heading south - it's from sea level to the highest point of the route in one continuous gradient. It's a great downhill!

There are a few rough tracks, too, especially in the Brecon Beacons and one little bit in the upper Wye Valley with a very, very muddy forest track. That said, it was the wet, gravelly surface on the Lon Las Menai section (Caernarfon-Bangor) that my bike disliked the most!

Definitely buy the Sustrans maps. As Tail End Charlie has posted the signage is pretty good (except on Anglesey), but having the confidence of the maps helps greatly. You won't need any additional OS maps if you have these. (If you have a Garmin GPS, you can even load OpenStreetMap onto it and get the route highlighted - see http://www.gravitystorm.co.uk/osm/ for the map.)

Winscar Reservoir no problem at all, it's tarmacked.

Longdendale Trail was a bit puddly when I cycled it the other week but should be ok on a road bike with reasonably decent tyres, I think. The Tissington Trail should be ok too.

A few places where you will have problems, from south to north:

- The short connecting track from the Tissington Trail to the Earl Sterndale road could be a bit bumpy.

- Track just north of Buxton. Some of this will be ok but you'll definitely need to push on some bits (as I did on a hybrid) and be careful on the descent. That said, I think it's worth it for the minor roads that follow.

- Around Bottoms Reservoir (after Tintwistle). To be honest I thought a few bits of this were uncyclable on a hybrid - it's well below usual NCN standard. You might be ok on the "footpath" Trans-Pennine Trail braid out of Hadfield - i.e. stay on the south side of the reservoir - or you can follow the road alternatives.

- Across the moors between Woodhead Tunnel and the minor road turn to Dunford Bridge. The climb up to the top is really, really rough and the rest is a bit chunky. I'd expect you'd need to take the A road on a road bike.

You can follow NCN 3 from Barnstaple to Tiverton - then there's plenty of back roads from there to Exeter (or you could take the train from Tiverton Parkway!). I've not cycled that bit of NCN 3, but the section east of Tiverton is certainly very pleasant.

Just had it confirmed by a knowledgeable poster on the uk.railway newsgroup that they are reducing bike space on the Voyagers (CrossCountry's main trains) from four spaces to two.

The current bike space is to be used for a fridge, as stated; the new bike spaces will be in the place of the current shop, but will only accommodate two bikes.

This is completely unacceptable for four/five-carriage trains that form the spine of the long-distance network and so are particularly useful to cycle tourers. Is CTC on the case?

I've just done the Pennine Cycleway - got back on Sunday.

Brilliant ride, best Sustrans route I've ever done. We took eight days over it and wouldn't want to do it in much less - though an evil northeasterly headwind didn't help, and we did take the tougher option over the MOD land at Otterburn (which is definitely worth it).

There are some pretty rough off-road sections - fine on my hybrid, but if you're planning anything more slender, you'll have to deviate from the waymarked route at these places. As cited, Wark Forest is one: there's a really dodgy bit just past Alwinton and a couple of others.

Got back by train - Berwick to Burton (where I started) direct. Make sure you alert the platform staff at Berwick that you have a bike well in advance, they got a bit sniffy with my little sister...