Cycling UK Forum

I'm probably not right in the tattie, but like some others I'm a bit wary of booking B&B's etc for my pedal....I don't like the idea of HAVING to cover X distance to pre-booked digs, then it turns out to be a 40mph headwind all day. So has anyone on here done it in a tent? Are there any web sites with camping information gathered together over popular routes. Any help appreciated..Allan

Do a search for LEJOG. There are at least 3 people who have documented their camping exploits. I know as l have them bookmarked somewhere. Post back when you have a route!

Hi,
Yes you can camp along the way no problem. I did it in October which was a bit late in the year & occasionally used B&Bs when the weather was bad or I felt like a warm soft bed & some breakfast!
It means you have to carry extra luggage but if you are sensible about what you take then it shouldn't make that much of a difference as long as you allow more time for travelling.
There are campsites everywhere & even if they are full they will squeeze a one man tent in somewhere
Tony.

I used the pages ripped from a Phillips large scale road atlas which had campsites marked on it. More often than not the campsites easy to find. Occasionally the site turned out to be caravans only or closed but I can count those occasions on the fingers of one hand in 30+ days of LEJOG and JOGLE and the subsequent wild camp pitches were sometimes the equal of paid for pitches. There was one in Scotland by a river at a picnic site with hot and cold water in the public toilets with IR activated night lights - bargain!

I read somewhere that YH's, independent and probably not YHA but you can probably ring them up an see will apparently allow you use of facilities and camping in their grounds in some places for a cut price. I am also camping it this summer on a solo 1125 mile JOGLE.

mattraisin wrote:I read somewhere that YH's, independent and probably not YHA but you can probably ring them up an see will apparently allow you use of facilities and camping in their grounds in some places for a cut price. I am also camping it this summer on a solo 1125 mile JOGLE.

It's worth enquiring about this. There were several tents in the grounds of Penzance YHA when I was there last year and the campers were using the facilities in the hostel.

mw3230 wrote:

mattraisin wrote:It's worth enquiring about this. There were several tents in the grounds of Penzance YHA when I was there last year and the campers were using the facilities in the hostel.

As a Life member of the YHA (although I have to admit that my youth seems a lifetime away...), I can confirm that some YHA hostels have camping facilities - check their web pages for which ones do and which ones don't. Land's End & Penzance do.
http://www.yha.org.uk/find-accommodatio ... ities.aspx
Don't forget that the YHA also offers "camping barn" accommodation, which might be appropriate. These aren't as wide-spread as hostels, and it's hard to find an easy-to-read list of them, but they're on the YHA site, and if you know a YHA member, they're listed in the h'book, published yearly. They seem to be clustered in areas like Exmoor/Dartmoor, and the Peak District, unlike hostels, which are all over the place, although, like pubs, it seems as if another one closes down every week...

Camping at the YHA is often a very good option.

You get the benefits of all the facilities AND a good nights sleep (unlike all the poor souls packed in the dorms).
I believe you pay half the dorm rate.

Clun YHA is on the LEJOG route and they even had a special outside toilet for the campers to use after 11pm.
I was so jealous of them when I spend a night in the dorm wishing I could get some sleep.

On my recent trip to the Lakes, l visited a couple of AA sites (caters to caravaners but most accept tents) and they had backpacker huts (becoming a standard AA feature l was told) which are spacious, heated wooden cabins with kitchen, sitting and eating, clothes drying areas. I even slept in one as the weather was horrid. £7p/n. Bargain alternative to a BnB for those washing/drying/rest days.

When I did it in 1993 there were no camping problems. Early in the year (Mar/Apr) meant not all were open. Once I camped behind a pub, where I eat my meal and paid nought for the pitch. Camping gives you the option of stopping where you need to, even if this means asking for a pitch close to a dwelling, or just stopping carefully at some wild pitch.