Glasgow or Edinburgh?

[helenheart]

I'm struggling as to which major city to go thru. Actually, I'll be circling around the outskirts, but you get the gist.
I'll be coming from Carlisle, aiming for Inverness.
Does anyone have any pointers for me?
Cheers
Helen

[nosmarbaj]

Why not avoid both? From Carlisle, go to Ardrossan (various route options), then ferry across to Brodick (Arran), cycle to Lochranza (c.14 miles, and there is a 200m hill on the way), ferry to Claonaig, thence past Oban, Fort William, to Inverness.

If doing this route it probably makes sense to plan an overnight on Arran. B&Bs and campsites at/near Brodick and Lochranza, or the Catacol Bay Hotel (a few flat miles past Lochranza) is OK if you don't mind basic, and has a nice location by the sea. In Brodick, the Ormidale Hotel is good for beer and reasonably priced pub food, and the Brodick Bistro or Creelers (a couple of miles out of Brodick on the Lochranza road) are nice for a meal if you want something a bit more upmarket. (NB it's a few years since I was last on Arran so these comments may be out of date.)

For the Great Glen, consider using the sections of towpath by the Caledonian Canal - mostly a reasonable surface and much pleasanter than the road. Also the road south of Loch Ness is nicer than the main road to the north, although somewhat more hilly.

[Norman H]

It's hard to get round Glasgow without encountering some urban sprawl but I've used a route that passes a little to the east on mostly quiet roads.

Briefly, from Carlisle, follow B7078 to Happenden and then head across on minor roads to Lanark, Carluke, Shotts, Airdree and Kilsyth. From Kilsyth head for Callander via Carron Bridge, Fintry and Port of Mentieth.

From Callander pick up the A85 through Gen Ogle or use NCR 7 which follows the same valley. At Lix Toll you have several options. I continued on the A85 to Crianlarich and beyond and took the Great Glen to Inverness, albeit using the General Wade's Military Road from Fort Augustus, on the south side of the loch. But you could turn right on A827 to Killin. The road on the south shore of Loch Tay (NCR 7) looks a nice alternative. NCR7 continues to Pitlochry and beyond to Inverness but you could take a more direct route through the Tay Forest Park to rejoin it further north. A lot might depend on when you are planning stage two. The Tay Forest option is quite remote and might be a bit challenging in bad weather.

[helenheart]

Arran! What a wonderful plan. Why didn't I think of that? My brain gets frazzled with this route planning - I love this idea - thank you so much.

[nosmarbaj]

If doing the Arran route, it's cheaper to buy a "Hopscotch" ticket which covers both ferries. Also iirc the bike goes free with this ticket (they only charge £1 or so for bikes anyway). I don't think you can buy tickets in advance if you don't have a car, so allow a few extra minutes at Ardrossan Harbour for this. Details on Calmac web site.

[bogmyrtle]

Hopscotch tickets used to be cheaper than buying individual tickets but that isn't always the case now.

[rualexander]

Edinburgh, just ride through the city, it's easy enough, much easier than Glasgow.
Otherwise go up between both cities via Biggar, Bathgate etc, to the Forth road bridge.

[nickpaton]

Just back from LEJOG via Ardrossen, onto Arran at Brodick and off again14 miles later at Lochranza (to Claonaig on mainland) - absolutely recommended.

Rather than giving lots of superlatives, route details etc, have a look at the relevant page 'Three Ferries and the Witch's Nose' on my blog A Bummel on Three Bikes.

<EDIT> foot passenger ferry tickets (bikes went free), told Ardrossen ticket office what we were doing, and given a separate ticket for each journey. OK, I didn't ask for a hopscotch, but I did ask for the cheapest overall price for both trips.

Good luck with your ride!

[helenheart]

Edinburgh, just ride through the city, it's easy enough, much easier than Glasgow.
Otherwise go up between both cities via Biggar, Bathgate etc, to the Forth road bridge.

That's very good to know, especially as another thought I have is to do a Man - Edinburgh leg and take the Caledonian Sleeper back south, then a 3rd leg of Edin - JoG - Inverness and take the sleeper again (big train fan!)

PS - I love your photos, thanks for putting the link on.

[helenheart]

[quote="nickpaton"]Just back from LEJOG via Ardrossen, onto Arran at Brodick and off again14 miles later at Lochranza (to Claonaig on mainland) - absolutely recommended.

Rather than giving lots of superlatives, route details etc, have a look at the relevant page 'Three Ferries and the Witch's Nose' on my blog A Bummel on Three Bikes.

Great blog - enjoyed it immensely - happy to see that you had time to take a more leisurely trip, a blessing indeed. Recumbents must have been great on Severn Bridge, nice and low, thus avoiding the wind - I had to walk over.
Lots of great advice to think about - thanks all.

[nickpaton]

Great blog - enjoyed it immensely - happy to see that you had time to take a more leisurely trip, a blessing indeed. Recumbents must have been great on Severn Bridge, nice and low, thus avoiding the wind - I had to walk over.
Lots of great advice to think about - thanks all.

The guy who competed the ride did amazingly well considering how difficult they are to ride up steep hills. However, whilst there's no denying they are very comfortable to sit in (not on!), their one big problem is they are too low to see over hedges and walls and personally I'd have become rather frustrated.

Also, they aren't great in cross winds and can be difficult to control when the wind is gusting.

[t3racing]

I am another one for the Ardrossan route which we did this time last year in brilliant sunshine, if not a bit to hot. What I would have changed on my route was missing out the Great Glen Way which was memorable for the wrong reasons. Nice view but the back of the bike wanted to over take the front on the downhill parts.
Take a look at our blog https://end2endonatandem.wordpress.com/route/

[pwa]

I missed both cities and went through Sterling.

[Chat Noir]

Helen
Sounds like you had a good trip, and with the prospect of more to come, good position to be in. Really pleased you liked the A3072, one of my favourite routes, usually quiet, wind behind and with some fun hills (especially the little B road from Hatherleigh to Jacobstowe).
Me, I’d chose to go through Edinburgh, well set to go on to Inverness and with railway stations all the way up. Lovely city, lovely architecture and the prospect of crossing the Forth Road Bridge. From the centre of the city there are old railway lines and well-signed roads / paths to the Bridge so not a problem getting there. However, noting your Severn Bridge experiences, wind can be daunting, especially as the locals zoom across seemingly oblivious to it's effects. Perhaps as an aside, lots of good places to eat.
From Carlisle I took little lanes across to B6357, then B6399 to Hawick (good café stop in Newcastleton), quiet roads, pleasantly rising. Out of Hawick hard hill, then to Selkirk where pick-up Sustrans route, south side of the Tweed (gorgeous cycling) to Innerleithen. Several cafes here, most liked one on western side of village on a corner – worth detouring for. Then the B709 north and over the Moorfoot Hills, B7007 and either follow A7 into Edinburgh (not pleasant) or Sustrans route all the way (winds round a bit but really nice finish into the city). On a good day the route over the Moorfoots about as good as it gets anywhere, with fantastic views from the top.
Looking forward to reading account of the next part of your trip. I should probably learn how to make account of my recent trip available to anyone to read - I'm a paper map person so the technology a little ahead of me!

[phil parker]

I recently foundEdinburgh not that pleasant to cycle through. I went from Carlisle on the A7, which was surprisingly quiet and pleasant to cycle on, to Hawick and then it got a bit busier the closer I got to Edinburgh where I stayed at the Moreton Hall campsite. However, together from the campsite to the Forth Bridge was very stop-start and took a long time to over a short distance. The traffic was heavy, there were numerous road works and the road surfaces were very rough.

Needless to say Glasgow is not very nice to cycle through. I have also done the route to Ardrossan - Lochranza - Oban and it is a bit longer, but a much better ride.