1st 10/11 day LEJOG trip advice please

[Norman H]

... Ideally as direct as possible but avoiding any major/problem roads.

Thanks

TR

The “major/problem road” being the A82, in particular up the west side of Loch Lomond and across Rannoch Moor.

The most popular option to avoid it is to head for Ardrossan from Carlisle and take the ferry to Brodick on Arran and then a second ferry from Lochranza to Kintyre. Route 78 will then take you all the way to Fort William.

I recommended another option in this recent thread. It goes via Kilsyth to Stirling but is an equally useful route to Callander. Briefly, cross the Kilsyth hills from Kilsyth and head west from Carron Bridge along the Carron Valley to Fintry and then north via Lake of Menteith to Callander. At Callander route 7 will take you traffic free up Strathyre and Glen Ogle to Killin and beyond, all the way to Inverness.

[Jamesh]

... Ideally as direct as possible but avoiding any major/problem roads.

Thanks

TR

The “major/problem road” being the A82, in particular up the west side of Loch Lomond and across Rannoch Moor.

The most popular option to avoid it is to head for Ardrossan from Carlisle and take the ferry to Brodick on Arran and then a second ferry from Lochranza to Kintyre. Route 78 will then take you all the way to Fort William.

I recommended another option in this recent thread. It goes via Kilsyth to Stirling but is an equally useful route to Callander. Briefly, cross the Kilsyth hills from Kilsyth and head west from Carron Bridge along the Carron Valley to Fintry and then north via Lake of Menteith to Callander. At Callander route 7 will take you traffic free up Strathyre and Glen Ogle to Killin and beyond, all the way to Inverness.

That sounds a nice route if your allowed to take a ferry!

[Slowtwitch]

e, as the A9 is not for the feint hearted

It seems odd to condemn the A9 routing without explanation, what has changed?

I suspect Slowtwitch might be referring to A9 nth of Inverness?
In 2018 I didn’t think it was too bad.
There’s a possible ~200 mile of A9 seems odd to write it all off as one.

The A9 in its entirety is (and always has been since it was built) one of the most dangerous, depressing and frankly boring roads in Scotland. I've only ridden it once but it was an experience I'll not forget. If you are comfortable with continuous lorry traffic, cars roaring by and the occasional roadside accident (there are few roads in Scotland can touch it for injury and mortality) be my guest. It runs through virtually featureless countryside with very few villages, nor stopping off points for cafes or food. 10 miles out from Perth and you're in a barren landscape with very few roadside amenities or villages till you hit Inverness (a soulless town best avoided for an overnight).

The A82, like any scenic, tourist route can get busy in July /August but that's to be expected. From experience, setting off a little earlier in the morning (around 8am) you will miss the vast majority of tourist traffic, as most drivers won't be setting off till after 11am. Similarly in the afternoon, the route is very quiet after 4pm. By 6pm the roads are almost empty. On my Lejog we scheduled 5hrs riding per day, usually 3 in the morning and another two late afternoon after a long lunch, and a Potter around whichever village or beauty spot we pitched up in. Cycling the A82 outside of July or August the roads are much less busy. The A9 is a trade route for lorry traffic to and from the Highlands and Islands. It is always very busy.

The Great Glen route by comparison is an Eden, you can even cycle 95% of it on cycle tracks and off the main road. There are cafes, good local restaurants and pubs galore. I've always found the A82 a breath of fresh air, literally. There is probably a fifth of the traffic flow, and there are dozens of small villages, towns and campsite shops to visit en route. Plus you are spoiled for choice of accommodation (booking ahead is essential in summer) I would only attempt the A9 on a Lejog record pace! The scenery around Loch Lomond, Glencoe and even Loch Ness is stunning, truly the last wilderness in Europe. Its worth it just for the ride through Glencoe valley, surely one of the magestic wonders in Britain. The A9 is like a bad day out in Milton Keynes

[Slowtwitch]

Just to say, the A9 North of Inverness, while just as boring is nowhere near as busy as regards lorry traffic.

[Slowtwitch]

... Ideally as direct as possible but avoiding any major/problem roads.

Thanks

TR

The “major/problem road” being the A82, in particular up the west side of Loch Lomond and across Rannoch Moor.

The most popular option to avoid it is to head for Ardrossan from Carlisle and take the ferry to Brodick on Arran and then a second ferry from Lochranza to Kintyre. Route 78 will then take you all the way to Fort William.

This is a nice route, on mainly flat roads, but if you have car support (even if you don't) the ferries are not cheap, and it's also a consideration that even in summer, bad weather can affect the ferry services (especially to Arran) so if you are on a tight schedule and need to get from booked accommodation to booked accommodation, I couldn't recommend it. The Arran ferry in particular is very capricious. Calmac ferries have been hugely underfunded in the past 20 years to the point where breakdowns and delays are to be expected.

[turborat]

Thanks again everyone, appreciating the advice. I would rather avoid ferries if I can, so I'll look into the other options to see how I get on!

TR

[turborat]

... Ideally as direct as possible but avoiding any major/problem roads.

Thanks

TR

The “major/problem road” being the A82, in particular up the west side of Loch Lomond and across Rannoch Moor.

The most popular option to avoid it is to head for Ardrossan from Carlisle and take the ferry to Brodick on Arran and then a second ferry from Lochranza to Kintyre. Route 78 will then take you all the way to Fort William.

I recommended another option in this recent thread. It goes via Kilsyth to Stirling but is an equally useful route to Callander. Briefly, cross the Kilsyth hills from Kilsyth and head west from Carron Bridge along the Carron Valley to Fintry and then north via Lake of Menteith to Callander. At Callander route 7 will take you traffic free up Strathyre and Glen Ogle to Killin and beyond, all the way to Inverness.

Is this the route you were describing or am I way off..... https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1806403?units=km

[Jamesh]

Thanks again everyone, appreciating the advice. I would rather avoid ferries if I can, so I'll look into the other options to see how I get on!

TR

I took two ferries Mersey and Clyde!! Did I do a full lejog?!!!!

[Norman H]

Is this the route you were describing or am I way off..... https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1806403?units=km

No not quite, my route goes via Lanark and stays further to the east of the Glasgow conurbation. It mirrors your route from Carlisle but just before Cairne Lodge Services at Happendon (Kilometre 113) it turns right on the minor road and heads towards Lanark. You should be able to follow it on a map from this cut and paste of the directions from that earlier thread:


“Briefly, follow the 7076 to Happenden Services then head cross country on minor roads to Lannark. From Lanark take the minor road North to Kilndadzow and Carluke. Continue northwards to Hartwood Stn and Kirk of Shotts, cross the M8 and head towards Airdrie. Pass to the east and north of Airdrie and pick up the B802 which can be followed all the way to Kilsyth....

My route rejoins your route at Kilsyth and follows it until about about 5 kilometres north of Fintry where it again diverges. It forks left here on a minor road, crosses the A 811 at Arnipor and heads to Callander via Port of Menteith. Your route continues all the way to Callander on the B822 via Kippen and Thornhill .

Edit To add:

You don't necessarily have to follow route 7 all the way to Inverness. If you're still intent on the Great Glen option just head west along the A85 from Lix Toll to Crianlarich and Tyndrum. There are two options from Tyndrum, either the A82 across Rannoch to Glen Coe or the A85 to Connel to join route 78 to FW. The Connel option adds about 24 miles but it's mostly downhill to the coast and fairly flat thereafter.

[Ron]

The A9 in its entirety is (and always has been since it was built)........................

It is clear that you have numerous irreconcilable issues with the route, but it is not helpful to others when you allow your prejudices to get in the way of facts.

[Slowtwitch]

It's a horrible route, and I say that not only as someone who has ridden it, but also as vehicle support for a charity ride (7 riders, 9 days end to end) who were very sorry not to have taken my advice to avoid it. They were, to a man, miserable on every boring, featureless and traffic heavy mile of it.

It's a route for fast men, with the head down, or masochists. The Great Glen route beats it hands down.

[Paulatic]

I've got some great low budget tips for accommodation North England /Scotland. Message me if interested. I favour the Great Glen route, as the A9 is not for the feint hearted

I’d hate someone to stumble on this thread and write off the A9 route. It’s obvious Slowtwitch takes it as literally riding on the A9 which isn’t my understanding or implication. Literally cycling the A9 is IMHO for record breakers and those who’ve lost their way. His observations of it over the Cairngorms are rather savage on some outstanding beauty.
In my book riding the A9 route uses old bits of old A9 coupled with other quiet roads and cyclepath. One of my favourite days of LEJOG. Stunning views with an adequate scattering of watering holes along it.
How I see it

[Slowtwitch]

The cycle paths! Haha, what a laugh they were - glass and rock strewn, badly surfaced conduits, not cleaned nor repaired in years. Between Dalmally and Inverness is the worst, those are some grim hours of my life I'll not get back

Continue on in the 'road - love' if you must, but anyone considering the A9 (even parts of it) as a viable route, I say forget about it. Seriously. The Great Glen beats it hands down, for everything. Especially ease of access to reasonable priced accommodation and good food.

I don't see many roadside cafes, amenities or pubs in those photos, because there aren't any!

[Paulatic]

The cycle paths! Haha, what a laugh they were - glass and rock strewn, badly surfaced conduits, not cleaned nor repaired in years. Between Dalmally and Inverness is the worst, those are some grim hours of my life I'll not get back

Continue on in the 'road - love' if you must, but anyone considering the A9 (even parts of it) as a viable route, I say forget about it. Seriously. The Great Glen beats it hands down, for everything. Especially ease of access to reasonable priced accommodation and good food.

I don't see many roadside cafes, amenities or pubs in those photos, because there aren't any!

I certainly wouldn’t promote one route other the other and I would advise anyone to research and make their own mind up.
If you’re going via Dalmally I see problems and if like Slowtwitch you can’t find food and drink in Pitlochry, House of Bruar, Dalwhinnie, Newtonmore, Kingussie, Aviemore, to name a few then maybe the A9 ain’t for you. Also if you haven’t been that way for a couple of years then you’ve not seen all those miles of new bitumen.

[turborat]

Is this the route you were describing or am I way off..... https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1806403?units=km

No not quite, my route goes via Lanark and stays further to the east of the Glasgow conurbation. It mirrors your route from Carlisle but just before Cairne Lodge Services at Happendon (Kilometre 113) it turns right on the minor road and heads towards Lanark. You should be able to follow it on a map from this cut and paste of the directions from that earlier thread:


“Briefly, follow the 7076 to Happenden Services then head cross country on minor roads to Lannark. From Lanark take the minor road North to Kilndadzow and Carluke. Continue northwards to Hartwood Stn and Kirk of Shotts, cross the M8 and head towards Airdrie. Pass to the east and north of Airdrie and pick up the B802 which can be followed all the way to Kilsyth....

My route rejoins your route at Kilsyth and follows it until about about 5 kilometres north of Fintry where it again diverges. It forks left here on a minor road, crosses the A 811 at Arnipor and heads to Callander via Port of Menteith. Your route continues all the way to Callander on the B822 via Kippen and Thornhill .

Edit To add:

You don't necessarily have to follow route 7 all the way to Inverness. If you're still intent on the Great Glen option just head west along the A85 from Lix Toll to Crianlarich and Tyndrum. There are two options from Tyndrum, either the A82 across Rannoch to Glen Coe or the A85 to Connel to join route 78 to FW. The Connel option adds about 24 miles but it's mostly downhill to the coast and fairly flat thereafter.

Taking your advice I've now got to this as I really want to go past Loch Ness on the way up and would rather tarmac roads rather than run the risk of any rough tracks...

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1806403?units=km