Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
cloosh
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Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by cloosh »

Greetings from British Columbia...As a celebration of my ongoing good health as I reach 75, I intend to cycle from Plymouth to Glasgow in April/May of 2022. I will do so on an electric bike and the intention is to take my time, and enjoy the west of England countryside and up through the Scottish southwest.

I will bed and breakfast, or hostel on the way and follow cycle paths and quiet roads where at all possible.

The help I need at the moment is how to navigate my way. I bought a book from Sustrans regarding cycling routes, but what I cannot seem to find, without buying dozens of maps is a way to plan and navigate a complete route with the appropriate information, that I can store on a cell phone or similar device.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated on navigation and anything else which may be of use on this adventure.

Thanks

Cloosh.
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531colin
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by 531colin »

Don't know if this will help you......

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=147571

I use something called cycle.travel for route planning..https://cycle.travel/map/journey/260543
thirdcrank
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by thirdcrank »

One possibility might be to list any places you want to include in your route and then use the list to divide it into chunks. Post again with that information and I expect there will be various people who can help with local knowledge, especially if you ask specific questions.

The direct route through England and the first bit in Scotland is the main LeJog AKA End-to-End route but that's probably not what you need.

MickF may be your man

Sustrans is sometimes controversial on here. I'd say Sustrans routes are inconsistent, especially WRT things like standard of surface, so local knowledge about that may be invaluable.

If you like paper maps for navigation on the way, consider buying a cheap road atlas and binning the redundant pages. You should be able to get something suitable in Plymouth at WH Smith or similar. Otherwise, there are various online mapping systems. There aren't many proper roads which haven't had a visit - often a recent visit - from the streetview camera so that can be a good way of checking out short sections
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Mick F
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by Mick F »

Plymouth eh?

Big city.
Where are you starting?

I would suggest you use Route 27.
This will take you from Plymouth up old railbeds and paths to Yelverton with the odd foray onto minor roads and crossing main roads at Yelverton to join Drake's Trail to Tavistock. Still roads there though.
Done that route many many times both ways.
Route 27 to get you as far as Okehampton via Granite Way.

From there, my knowledge of cycle routes runs out ............ as if it were me, I'd be on roads all the way north.

From Carlisle, I would use the Old A74 to Hamilton, but you can head west towards Ayr etc and round the coast to Glasgow, but it's busy roads as I remember.

As has been suggested, break the journey into daily segments/distances.
How many days do you want to take?

Circa 500miles by the absolutest shortest route. 50miles a day will therefore take ten days.
Mick F. Cornwall
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gazza_d
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by gazza_d »

The official national cycle network online map is a layer on the OS site ( UK national mapping agency) https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ but there is no route planning or quality other than is it traffic free or not.

Other online tools can be better and do route planning and even navigation too.
Cyclestreets
Cycle.travel
Komoot
Strava

Komoot would need either the world map pack or a subscription, and Strava possibly might as well. None of the above will be perfect regarding quality.

As for a very rough outline of a route, I'd suggest
North towards Bristol (mickf is the expert down there)
Severn bridge over to Chepstow
Wye valley north to Monmouth, then keep north through Hereford, Shrewsbury, Whitchurch and Northwich. There are minor roads and lanes you can pick up most of the way.
From Northwich you have to get though the North West which won't be pretty until north of Preston. The ncn may be good to follow here.
Then it would be a case of minor lanes again to Lancaster then Kendal.
A6 via shap to Penrith is normally quiet and even to Carlisle although there are some nice minor lanes to follow.
North of Carlisle there is an ncn route parallel to the M74. There are some alternatives over towards Sanquar and then up to Kilmarnock which is what I did many years ago on a lejog. Now I'd probably go straight up the ncn74

It's a start.
Gaz
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Paulatic
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by Paulatic »

If you want to enjoy SWScotland on the way to Glasgow following route 7 will give you a relaxed route. The previous options mentioned are OK for someone with limited time. Personally I’d latch onto route 7 from Penrith.
If your phone is Apple IOS then I’d recommend installing MapOut choose the cycling overlay and all the routes are at your fingertips.
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life

https://stcleve.wordpress.com/category/lejog/
E2E info
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531colin
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by 531colin »

There are going to be as many route choices as there are cyclists, but.........
gazza_d wrote: 13 Sep 2021, 5:29pm..........
A6 via shap to Penrith is normally quiet.........
Gaz
Shap?.....even the folk who live there say the name Shap is a combination of 2 words in English.....those words are sh1t and cr@p!
A6?

I assumed somebody travelling from BC would be looking for scenery!

One of the nicest roads in England runs from Sedburgh to Orton https://cycle.travel/map/journey/260668

Image018 by 531colin, on Flickr

Image026 Lune valley, Tebay/Sedburgh by 531colin, on Flickr

Or if you are going from Lancaster to Kendal, you can go via the Lake District, generally reckoned to be one of the most scenic bits of England.....but busy in the season, and you have to dodge about a bit to find routes on minor roads.

I would go North from Plymouth, take in Exmoor, because the wooded valleys which run up to the moor are lovely, go to Glastonbury to see the Tor, Wells to see the West face of the cathedral, Bath to see the Georgian crescents and the Roman baths. I would do Lon Las Cymru which takes you from South to North Wales, and is as good a multi-day ride as I have found.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52358536@ ... 5916230024
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52358536@ ... 5504042548
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52358536@ ... 5911182502

You have to get round Manchester, unless you can get a train, but if you get to Clitheroe you can take the Trough of Bowland over Bowland fell towards Lancaster and Kirkby Lonsdale, or go through the Yorkshire Dales and the Eden valley (or the Lake District) if you have the time and energy.

Oh dear, I want to do it now!

Couple of practical points;
can you fly with an e-bike, batteries and all?
Its easier if you can take the battery off and charge it indoors; bike sheds don't always have power....our mains are 220 volts 50 cycles.
thirdcrank
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by thirdcrank »

If you are tempted by 531colin's suggestions, have a look at this thread which is about Barmouth Bridge in the third of his flickr links. It has some interesting info about the bridge and also the current programme of closures. They don't appear to affect your timetable but it's something to keep an eye on

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=147792
cloosh
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by cloosh »

531colin wrote: 13 Sep 2021, 11:32am Don't know if this will help you......

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=147571

I use something called cycle.travel for route planning..https://cycle.travel/map/journey/260543
Thank you my friend for that information. I have clicked into cycle.travel and will explore it. No doubt there is some way to download it onto some device, so I need not carry reams of paper for the entire journey.

Again...Thanks for your help which is appreciated.
st599_uk
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by st599_uk »

I'd second coming up with a list of places en route.
There's some nice towns en the cycle.travel route, some major conurbations but it's also missing out some of the best scenery and historical sites.
A novice learning...
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
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531colin
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by 531colin »

cloosh wrote: 13 Sep 2021, 10:49pm
531colin wrote: 13 Sep 2021, 11:32am Don't know if this will help you......

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=147571

I use something called cycle.travel for route planning..https://cycle.travel/map/journey/260543
Thank you my friend for that information. I have clicked into cycle.travel and will explore it. No doubt there is some way to download it onto some device, so I need not carry reams of paper for the entire journey.

Again...Thanks for your help which is appreciated.
I'm really a "paper maps" man, so I'm not the best person to help you on this, but if you look under "route tools" you will find "GPS" and if you click on that it offers the opportunity to download a GPS track which you can load onto your GPS or phone.....or rather I should say there are people who can do stuff like that, but not me!

How do you navigate at home? It may be easiest to use the same system or a similar one.....there are loads of threads on here, lots of stuff by people much better at the technology than me. There are probably as many different approaches to navigation as there are cyclists, lots of threads.... viewtopic.php?f=5&t=147571..... viewtopic.php?f=5&t=147669 ......viewtopic.php?f=5&t=147529......viewtopic.php?f=5&t=147478
I happen to use cycle.travel because when I was looking at stuff like that, cycle.travel was the one which I found intuitive to use. The complaint I hear most often about cycle.travel is that if you just click the start and end of the route, it will take you out of your way in order to avoid a bit of main road......but you can easily make it use the main road if you want to, by putting in waypoints.

For actual maps, I think the Ordnance Survey maps are the best maps.....other opinions are available!
I pay about £20 a year and I can download as much mapping as I need, anywhere theres wi-fi. Last time I tried the Ordnance Survey routing system, I wasn't impressed.

I think we are the same age (74) and I really struggle with the technology. If at the moment you don't use a phone or GPS based navigation system, might it be worth finding somebody local to you who can show you how it works?
simonhill
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by simonhill »

Maybe a bit more info from the OP (Cloosh) would be useful.

Is this a hoped for trip, or a planned one, if so when? The Climate in the UK is essentially weather that varies greatly from North to South, winter to summer and even day to day. Also in winter, the days are fairly short.

As Colin said, electric bikes are not allowed on planes, are you planning on buying in the UK? If so, you will need to do a bit of planning and be aware that stocks of new bikes (and bits) can be problematical due to Covid and Brexit.

Certainly over the last summer, many British holidaymakers stayed at home, rather than travelling overseas. This led to big price increases in accommodation and also a shortage in popular areas. Depending on when you are travelling, some forward planning and booking might be essential.

I agree that I would list which sights and towns you want to see/visit then plot my route accordingly.

It sounds a great trip - welcome to the UK.
thirdcrank
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by thirdcrank »

cloosh wrote: 12 Sep 2021, 9:34pm.... I intend to cycle from Plymouth to Glasgow in April/May of 2022. ...
simonhill
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by simonhill »

Oooopppss missed that. Although there can be a lot of difference between early April and late May.
nez
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Re: Advice please for a planned journey from Plymouth to Glasgow

Post by nez »

simonhill wrote: 14 Sep 2021, 11:23am
As Colin said, electric bikes are not allowed on planes, are you planning on buying in the UK? If so, you will need to do a bit of planning and be aware that stocks of new bikes (and bits) can be problematical due to Covid and Brexit.
Its the battery which can’t fly, not the bike
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