LEJOG via North Uist

[andreafj]

My husband and I are planning on riding LEJOG on our tandem in September 2016 to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. We are taking a long route including out to North Uist to visit various family members. I haven't progressed in my route planning to chopping it up into days, but it currently is 21 days of cycling. If anyone would like to take a look at our current route and provide any comments or suggestions, it would be appreciated.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7180458

Thanks,

Andrea

[Norman H]

That looks like a delightfully scenic meander through the British Isles. You certainly aren't taking the easy option. Here's my twopenn'orth worth:-

I see you are very much staying close to the south coast at least as far as Dorchester. My only comment with regard to coastal routes and tandems is they can be quite undulating but I guess you are aware of that. Also the various detours, in particular the one to the north of Edinburgh to Cupar, are for good reasons I presume?

There is a route to Crianlarich that avoids Glasgow which I used on our LEJOG. Briefly from Kilsythe you can head north to Carron Bridge (bit of a climb but spectacular views) and then west along the Carron valley to Fintry. Then north to Callander via Lake of Mentieth. From Callander A84/A85 to Crianlarich. (There's an off road alternative to A84 that follows the same valley)

Some will try to persuade you to avoid the A82 across Rannoch Moor. I enjoyed it but try to avoid the rush hour.

You could avoid Fort William by taking the ferry at Corran and heading for Stontian to rejoin your route at Lochailort

The Hebrides will be wonderful the hill beyond Tarbert will test you both.

The Crask Inn was up for sale last time I looked but if it's still open it's an experience not to be missed

Just an Idea but it would seem a pity not to take in Lizard Point, and Dunnet Head or even Cape Wrath

[andreafj]

Thank you for the reply Norman.

I had noticed that the first few legs along the coast would be quite hilly, but we really wanted to see the cliffs at West Bay and then head up to Stonehenge from there. We have family in Royal Leamington Spa, Chirnside, Cupar, Fort William and North Uist so those points are fixed unless someone moves...

I took a look at your suggestion to avoid Glasgow, but we are really looking forward to the ride up the western shore of Loch Lomond. I have seen the cautions about the A82, but I've seen as many comments like yours and we couldn't miss the ride into Glencoe.

The hill beyond Tarbert does look like a good one We are actually purchasing a new bike this year and selecting our gearing with this trip in mind. It doesn't look like we have any other options though that wouldn't involve backtracking after visiting North Uist.

Not sure we can find more days off work to add in Lizard Point or Cape Wrath, but Dunnet Head looks doable. I will make a note

Thanks,

Andrea

[mediumbird]

Hi. I note you are going inland from Ullapool to Lairg and then north, but the route up the west coast to Durness and then across he top is also worth considering. Fantastic scenery north of Ullapool and the roads are also pretty quiet.

[Norman H]

The Cycle path at the southern end of Loch Lomond mostly follows the old road and is very relaxed riding. North of Tarbet the road narrows and follows the loch shore. The sight lines are not great. Once again it's all about timing. It can be busy with coaches on summer week ends.

Enjoy your trip and happy anniversary.

[andreafj]

Thank you for the feedback. I'll take a look at the route via Durness.

I did look at Land's End to West Bay and Cupar to Luss again. Any thoughts on these two alternate routes?

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7210549

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7210204

[Norman H]

The new route to West Bay saves a few miles with slightly less climbing. Devon and Cornwall are lumpy whichever way you go. MickF, of this parish, has local knowledge, with any luck he'll be along soon. If not you might send him a pm.

It's often a compromise between enjoying slow progress on traffic free routes or faster progress on busy main roads. The usual options are either north of Bodmin Moor, using the old A 30 between Launceston and Okehampton, or the more southerly route via Plymouth which passes south of Dartmoor. Your new route passes to the south of Bodmin Moor but uses the Granite Way into Okehampton. Incidentally, I've cycled that section of the GW and can recommend it with great views from the Meldon Viaduct. Beyond Exeter a slightly more northern route via Honiton would avoid the A 3052 but there's no way round those Devon hills.


Your alternative route from Cupar to Loch Lomond is more direct but makes greater use of A roads. I don't know how suitable they are for cycling. I would prefer your original route which uses the Forth and Clyde Canal and passes close by the Falkirk Wheel. Perhaps someone with local knowledge could comment.

Incidentally have you tried Cycle Travel for route planning.
http://cycle.travel/map

[andreafj]

Thanks for your comments Norman. The Cycle Travel website looks very useful. I've been using Google street view a lot to take a look at the suitability of the roads as well as the Sustrans map and the OSM Cycle map. It certainly is a compromise between road types. We commute by bicycle in the Toronto area so traffic isn't a deal breaker for us, but we do prefer to avoid long stretches of busy roads when touring. We also want to avoid muddy roads since we will be unsupported and carrying a fair bit of weight.

I'm glad to hear of your experience with the Granite Way. I noticed the viaduct and it certainly looks like a very interesting route.

I took another look at Cupar to Luss and found some options to get us off the A roads. It gives a little more distance and another 200 m of climbing, but I think it will be worth it.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7219108

[Tigerbiten]

Do you need to go through Bardon Mill ??
If you do then you're better turning left just after the Carts Bog Inn and cutting the corner on the back road.
That the way I always went as it saves you a lot of climbing.
Otherwise it down to Haydon Bridge and on through Fourstones on the B6319.

If you want to go to Housesteads/Hadrian's Wall after Bardon Mill then you're better following route 68 up to the Military Road and turning right at Once Brewed.
It's slightly further that way but not as steep.
I used to cross the A69 between Henshaw and Melkridge before climbing up to Once Brewed.
Again it's further that way but less steep.

[andreafj]

Thanks for the reply. No, we don't need to go to Bardon Mill, but we do plan on going to Langley Castle. Is there a better route from Langley Castle to Vindolanda and Housesteads Roman Fort?

[Bicycler]

I like it. I have always said that when (if) I ever do LEJOG it will include the Pennine Cycleway (route 68) in its entirety and your route seems to do a similar kind of thing..

Needless to say them pennine hills are hilly so you'll have hills aplenty from The Peak District to Northumberland, though you do seem to have sensibly decided to follow valley bottoms wherever possible rather than going up hill and down dale.

Whilst I'm sure Huddersfield and Bradford have their charms if I had the time I would take the extra hills and visit somewhere like Haworth instead.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal from Skipton to Gargrave? Bit of a mudbath once you get outside Skipton, there's no hard surface. Not many good alternatives though. You could go straight down the A65 but it's not pleasant. Personally I'd go up the B6265 to Rylstone and the go West through Hetton.

I've stopped at the Station Inn, Ribblehead and it's a nice pub in a lovely setting. Though, if in one of the bunkrooms be aware that they are very basic.

[andreafj]

Thank you for your reply. I have heard more than a few times that the Pennine Hills are indeed hilly. I actually chopped two days into three because of the climbing. It is still going to be some challenging riding through that section and we may find ourselves wishing we were on a supported tour so we didn't have to carry our stuff. Our routing through Huddersfield and Bradford is partly to avoid the hills around Hebden Bridge since we have more than enough hills already. From everything I've read, it sounds like the scenery is worth it though. We are in the process of getting a new tandem with this trip in mind (couplers so we can break it down for travel) and the low end of our gearing is getting special attention. We've been known to beat singles on climbs, but hilly terrain definitely needs to be respected when touring on a tandem.

Thanks for the tip on the condition of the canal path from Skipton to Gargrave. I'll reroute that as you suggested. We will have to go over each segment when we finalize the route to try to avoid inappropriate roads or tracks, but the more we can identify now, the better.

I'm glad to hear that the Station Inn is a good place to stop. We definitely wanted to see the viaduct so staying the night there seemed the best way to make sure we had time to give it a good visit. We will be staying away from bunkrooms though

[Norman H]

Bicycler wrote:


I've stopped at the Station Inn, Ribblehead and it's a nice pub in a lovely setting. Though, if in one of the bunkrooms be aware that they are very basic.

Jeremy Clarkson speaks very highly of the Simonstone Hall Hotel in Hawes. They do an excellent cold platter I'm told. How about Buttertubs on the Tandem?

[Bicycler]

I only mentioned the Station Inn in passing because Ribblehead was marked as an overnight stop and, well, there's no other accommodation there. I am sure there are any number of nice places to stop in the Dales

[andreafj]

How about Buttertubs on the Tandem?

HA HA HA!! No thanks, I won't be taking that "advice".