I have a week in August where I plan to cycle in Scotland based around a friend’s wedding there and am looking for suggestions and input on possible places to go and routes to take.
I’m in Carlisle the Sunday prior and also need to be back there 8 days later on the Monday at 10am, although I live much further south near Preston. So, in summary:
Sun 12th: Leaving Carlisle (probably mid-late afternoon)
Mon, Tue, Wed: cycling
Thu: Loch Lomond wedding
Fri, Sat, Sun: cycling
Mon 20th: Back in Carlisle for 10am
I’m considering trying to get to Inverness on Sunday or early Monday. One way to do this would be by train from Carlisle or Lockerbie to arrive in Inverness late that night or early the next morning. Another idea was to get the Caledonian Sleeper from Preston near where I live, but that doesn’t really make any sense given I’m already in Carlisle on the Sunday. But I’m not averse to getting trains at each end of the trip – I’d rather do that than drive into Scotland and have my car with me; point to point rather than loops.
Where would you go? What route would you take? Any roads to avoid, or must-see places? I’ll be travelling light (a friend is taking my suit for the wedding in his car!) and want to limit my daily distance to around 120-130km, otherwise the very far north would have been appealing.
Here’s my initial idea at a route from Inverness to Loch Lomond and I’ll look at the 3 days after the wedding later to get me back to my start point/car in Carlisle or wherever it may be.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27858322
What do you think? Are these busy roads? Any better routes? Any sightseeing opportunities overlooked? Thanks in advance!
