From Shropshire Hills to Peak District

[schneewehe]

Hello,
does anyone have a good track for a low traffic route between Shropshire Hills to Peak District? I want to include both regions in this year LEJOG but didn't find a nice route to connect them.
Andrea

[cycleruk]

Do you have a start and and destination in mind?
Where are you heading for after ?

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42077438
Followed possibly by NC 68 ?
No idea about road surfaces etc but may give you an idea for a route.

[richardfm]

Cycle Travel usually comes up with good routes e.g. https://cycle.travel/map?from=Bishop%27 ... -1.6758613

[PH]

It's a bit vague!
As already said you'd need to be a bit more specific for a detailed route and then you'd still better off plotting your own to take into account your preferences. If I was heading from Craven Arms to Bakewell I'd go over Cannock Chase, so a route plotted Penkridge > Uttoxeter and then either NCN 549 to stay on road with plenty of hills or across to Ashbourne and the Tissington Trail (NCN 68) for the same climb at a railway gradient. Both would then take you via Parsley Hay for an easy, mostly downhill, finish.
Pretty much all of that could be done on low traffic roads without adding much to the most direct route.

[nickyboy]

I live in the Peak District and can help with that bit, but need to know where in the Peak District you want to get to. Tissington would need a very different route than Holme Moss

[Cowsham]

What about the Shroppie canal -- there's a thought -- could an end to end be done via the canal network in the mainland?

[cycleruk]

What about the Shroppie canal -- there's a thought -- could an end to end be done via the canal network in the mainland?

Some canals just have grassy muddy towpaths but they do tend to be flat from lock to lock.
Some are hardpack or tarmac surfaces but are hard to know which.
Personally not my preferred choice even though some on my suggested route above.

[Richard Fairhurst]

What about the Shroppie canal -- there's a thought -- could an end to end be done via the canal network in the mainland?

Lots of the Shropshire Union towpath is a quagmire sadly - basically the water runs down the sides of the cuttings and pools on the towpath.

[PH]

What about the Shroppie canal -- there's a thought -- could an end to end be done via the canal network in the mainland?

How far would you get? Bristol to York?

[Cowsham]

What about the Shroppie canal -- there's a thought -- could an end to end be done via the canal network in the mainland?

Lots of the Shropshire Union towpath is a quagmire sadly - basically the water runs down the sides of the cuttings and pools on the towpath.

Is it the same in summer?

[Richard Fairhurst]

Very much - the cuttings don’t really dry out. Generally when I’ve been that way it’s been on a narrowboat in summer!

The embankments and contour sections aren’t as bad, but they’re generally unimproved towpath best suited to an MTB.

[Cowsham]

Very much - the cuttings don’t really dry out. Generally when I’ve been that way it’s been on a narrowboat in summer!

The embankments and contour sections aren’t as bad, but they’re generally unimproved towpath best suited to an MTB.

Thanks I'll find out this summer cos we'll be near Market Drayton with mtb's.

[schneewehe]

Hi,

You're right, I slready startet planning in detail:
I planned this route as a first draft.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/114215277

Plan for the following day is this:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/114215654

It should be everything on tarmac surface. I don't mind to go offroad for some hundred meters if it make sense, but no long canal gravel sections, please.

[nickyboy]

I can comment on the second day as I know all the roads from about mile 20 to mile 85 and you almost go past my front door. The route is OK inasmuch that it goes from Ashbourne to Skipton in a reasonably straight line and takes in some of the spectacular bits like The Snake and Holme Moss

However that would be much too hard a day in the saddle to be enjoyable for me. We are all different but at 100ft climbing/mile that is genuinely hard cycling. If it was me riding from Haye on Wye to Skipton I would ride through Cheshire to Sandbach/Poynton and go into the Peak District via Marple and Glossop and pick up your route via Holme Moss from there

[Cowsham]

Good advice -- breaking it up over 3 or 4 days would be more enjoyable even if you're super fit. I think I'd be knackered after the first days over 100 mile ride.