Next trip suggestions

[nickpaton]

I'm a reasonably experienced tourer with trips throughout UK, Spain and SE Asia. All these trips were heavily planned with daily routes and in some cases pre-booked accommodation, campsites etc. They were all great but increasingly I found the planning quite restrictive in terms of the lack of spontaneity etc. So I decided to try an unplanned ride and am just back from a superb trip up the length of the Outer Hebrides with deliberately no prior planning whatsoever, other than to catch the Oban to Barra ferry.
I agree there aren't that many options of where to go on the islands, but from the start my movements were dictated by other peoples' suggestions en route and the result was the best trip I've ever had. Great camping places, hostels, beaches, fellow travellers etc.

I'm in Clitheroe at the end of May for the Cycle Touring Festival and am wanting to do another tour after the event. So this time rather than knowing where I'm heading for, I'd like to take the 'unplanned' option a stage further and ask for your suggestions.

I'll be taking my passport so can go outside of UK. I'm also fine with within UK. I'll have a tent and camping gear, but am fine with other accommodation. I've got maybe two to four weeks. I'm not too budget limited. I don't want to fly to or from anywhere. I'm not a big mileage rider - 30 - 50 miles is good. Hope that covers most options but ask if you need more information.

Awaiting your suggestions - go!

[nickpaton]

Many thanks for all the suggestions, much appreciated.

[nirakaro]

Oooh get you!
I read your OP, but found it too open-ended to trigger any ideas or suggestions.
You could try the throw-a-stick method – each time you come to a junction, throw a stick in the air, and follow the direction it points in when it lands. Or the Diceman option – each morning, make a list of six destinations - four sensible ones for example, one seriously challenging and one ridiculous, and roll the dice to choose. Keeps life interesting.
Otherwise, I think you need to give people the germ of an idea to riff on.

[psmiffy]

Oooh get you!
I read your OP, but found it too open-ended to trigger any ideas or suggestions.
You could try the throw-a-stick method – each time you come to a junction, throw a stick in the air, and follow the direction it points in when it lands. Or the Diceman option – each morning, make a list of six destinations - four sensible ones for example, one seriously challenging and one ridiculous, and roll the dice to choose. Keeps life interesting.
Otherwise, I think you need to give people the germ of an idea to riff on.

Ditto- I was tempted to post - but it would have been a bit waspish - the last time i posted on a thread of this nature on another forum the OP flounced

[gloomyandy]

Unfortunately any trip to the Outer Hebrides, especially one in the last few weeks which had wonderful weather, will be a hard act to follow! I am somewhat biased in that I really like that part of the world (and have just returned from a similar trip), but I do think it is ideal for the sort of trip you have just had. Easy to find places to camp, good hostels that you probably either can't or don't need to book, a destination that attracts interesting fellow travellers, locals that are both friendly and very tolerant of visitors, particularly in my experience to those on a bike or on foot.

So even though it will be hard to top I'd suggest perhaps more of the same! Did you travel on the mainland as part of your Hebrides trip? If not then I can strongly recommend a route that includes the West Coast via Applecross and up to Ullapool, perhaps even venturing further north. If you have already covered that part of the world, then a route that takes the Mull of Kintyre, Arran, Islay, Jura and perhaps some of the other islands like Colonsay, Bute and Gigha, maybe ventures out to Mull and Ardnamurchan if you have not been to that part of the world before. Finally if you want to experience some of the more diverse and smaller communities maybe you would like to try the Small Isles, I've just returned from a trip there. Not a lot of cycling, but very interesting places to visit and a very different feel to each.

Have fun!

[whoof]

From Clitheroe ride to Durkar and get the Bike Express to the Med and ride back to a ferry port and then the train or ride home depending on time. French campsites are on low or mid-season in June and are plentiful and good value. As to a route Perpignan to Biarritz then Biarritz to Caen or wherever the fancy takes you? About 30 miles a day for 28 days or 21 days @ 40 miles a day.

[nickpaton]

Apologies one and all for the earlier apparent dummy ejaculation (ooh mods am I allowed to use such a word?!).

Thanks too for your suggestions and comments.
@woof yes great suggestions, love the Pyrenees and France in general.
@gloomyandy I too thought along similar lines and like you have done other parts of Scotland. However this time I simply couldn't decide whether to turn left or right out of Ullapool, and decided to go 'straight on' for Inverness! Love Scotland and will return soon. Thanks for your suggestions - appreciated.
@psmithy & nirakaro don't do flouncing but instead had a good giggle at your replies! Crikey, the world will be a sadder place when we start taking ourselves too seriously!

Had an excellent time at the Cycle Touring Festival over the bank holiday and thoroughly recommend it as an event for touring cyclists to meet and exchange ideas - to say nothing of the inspiring talks.

What I got out of it were two destinations, the Lofoten Islands - where? Off the Norwegian coast and maybe could also be called their Outer Hebrides. I'll be there next year for sure. Check them out.
And also Iceland which I've decided to ride around during the coming July and August.

Ironically, during the festival I exacerbated an old back injury so was forced to summon the 'car of shame' aka my dear wife giving me a lift home.
Hope she doesn't have to come and pick me up from Reykjavik.....

[eileithyia]

Just be aware that Winter storms can arrive in Iceland in August, so be prepared.

[nickpaton]

Just be aware that Winter storms can arrive in Iceland in August, so be prepared.

Thanks for that. I believe it's a risk even in July where the katabatic winds off the mountains can be quite fierce. I heard about someone who just managed to throw himself over his fully loaded tourer which was lying on the ground, just as a sudden wind gust started picking​ it up and fortunately prevented it from being hurled across the countryside! And that was on a calm day

At the end of the trip in August I'm planning to take the ferry from Iceland to the Faeroes which I've always wanted to visit, then​ home via Denmark, Hook of Holland and UK. Slight issue in that I suffer from seasickness Maybe in the light of what you say I need a sanity check.....

[matt2matt2002]

Snap.
I did the OuterHebrides. In May.
Great trip.
My previous great trip was a month in Sri Lanka.
And if you liked the O/H you will love an end to end of Scotland. Shetland to Mull of Galloway.

[nickpaton]

Thanks Matt.
That's certainly a possibility though I have done a UK E2E which obviously included parts of Scotland, and some other trips in Scotland too.
However it's a large and varied area of the country and I like what you're suggesting.

[skinikki]

My husband and I are off to the Lofoten Islands in August this year so will let you know how we get on. Flying to Oslo then onto Bodo. Ferry to Moskenes. Doing a circular route finishing in Svolvaer to catch the ferry back to Bodo. Staying in a combination of Cabins and Air B&B.

[nickpaton]

My husband and I are off to the Lofoten Islands in August this year so will let you know how we get on. Flying to Oslo then onto Bodo. Ferry to Moskenes. Doing a circular route finishing in Svolvaer to catch the ferry back to Bodo. Staying in a combination of Cabins and Air B&B.

It seems that with the flights and ferry you have to work hard just to get there, but it'll make the actual ride all the better for it.
Have a great time and do please report back.

[DaveFY7]

I cycled up to Tromso via the Lofoton Islands a few years back on the coastal route 17. A fantastic tour but blighted by midges that made life difficult as I wild camped every night. Every patch of skin had to be covered up. In contrast, I experienced no biting insect at all on the tours I have done in Iceland.

Norwegian Air provided the flights from Gatwick to Trondheim (direct) and Tromso back to Gatwick via Oslo. I caught a bus from Tromso airport to Namsos and started cycling from there. The flights were very cheap indeed but Norway very expensive. Despite that it ended up one of my cheapest tours as I cut my cloth accordingly. The small norwegian ferries across the fjords were reasonably priced and the water free from the streams.

The ferry from Bodo arrived in Lofoton in the early hours and I then enjoyed one of the best day's cycling I have ever had. A beautiful place.

Iceland..... love the place but the weather is wicked. The routes over the interior are superb if you like the rough stuff. Wild camping utopia.

[nickpaton]

Thanks for the feedback Dave, very much appreciated.

I've heard reports about the midges in Norway and Scandinavia generally, however am I right in thinking their 'season' is from June to autumn as in Scotland? Whilst in the Outer Hebrides a local described tourists as 'midges', as they both start arriving and then leave around the same time of year!

From the comments here and elsewhere I'm now planning to visit the Lofotens and April/May time next year and will include it as part of a bigger ride. However more info etc would be greatly welcomed.

Yes, I've no illusions that Iceland will be tough on many levels. Cgoab has some useful reports including a couple describing interior rides which has greatly wetted my appetite, but common sense will prevail and because of the uncertainty of the weather I've got 5 weeks to hopefully get in some good riding.

Thanks again and do keep the advise, suggestions and info coming.