Cycling UK Forum

Where and why was your favourite 1 week tour in Europe ?

Mine was a solo trip to Scotland's Outer Hebrides in May a few years ago..Wall to wall sunshine every Day and warm temperatures

Started in Oban before getting a ferry to Barra then Vatersay,Eriskay,South Uist,Benbecula ,North Uisit,Bernaray,Harris and finishing at the butt of Lewis.Then ferry back to the main land from Stornaway to Ullapool before cycling to Inverness.


Cooking very very fresh Scallops and Stornaway black pudding on the stove after a long day on the bike was heaven.


Pure bliss and I recommend doing this in May or September to avoid the dreaded midge

I can second that. We did something similar last September but as we started with Aran and Islay we didn't quite make Lewis and Harris. They are still on the list for later this year. I love island hopping and the ride from Barra to North Uist was one of the best ever.


Crossing from Eriskay to S. Uist

I would probably third this suggestion!

However, the thread might get a bit boring, so I'll go for the coast of Finistère, Brittany from Roscoff (in the north) to Quimperlé (in the south). Beautiful coastline and beaches, some quite wild areas, historic towns, plenty of campsites, good food and drink and lots of hills if you like that sort of thing.

I followed the "Tour de Bretagne à Vélo" guidebook, it's the second volume. You may need slightly more than 1 week though, and the summer is probably best to be avoided.

In no order.

Week long tour of Devon and Cornwall
West Cork, Kerry with Peninsulas.
Corsica
Mosel Rhine Lahn
Bordeaux Dordogne
Coast of Donegal
Glasgow Arran Kintyre Fort Campbell Train to Glasgow

That's easy. Lisbon to Vigo in northern Spain. My only tour so far, last summer. Hopefully more to come.

If you're feeling lazy then cycling around the Turku archipelago in Finland is great- virtually no hills, great scenery, the ferries between the islands are cheap/sometimes free. Just keep an eye on the clock- 22 hours sunshine a day will mess with your perception of time.
Aland islands are similar but harder to get to (I think) from the UK

Therealsouthstander wrote:Where and why was your favourite 1 week tour in Europe ?
Mine was a solo trip to Scotland's Outer Hebrides in May a few years ago..Wall to wall sunshine every Day and warm temperatures

But this is quite a difficult tour to repeat. You can try it several times before you get a sunny week. I have also heard cyclists say that there are few more unrewarding places to be riding a bike than being half way across Lewis on a wet windy day.

Although I have not been there for such a short period as a week, I could slot together bits and pieces from previous tours to devise an amazing week in the southern highlands of Iceland.

But this is quite a difficult tour to repeat. You can try it several times before you get a sunny week. I have also heard cyclists say that there are few more unrewarding places to be riding a bike than being half way across Lewis on a wet windy day.

Although I have not been there for such a short period as a week, I could slot together bits and pieces from previous tours to devise an amazing week in the southern highlands of Iceland.[/quote]



That's exactaly why I'm reluctant to return

I've been back over to the West coast of Scotland for weekend trips as I'm only a few hours away..If the weather forecast is good I go.Thats a little bit more difficult if I have to take holidays from work though.

Lochcarron-Applecross-Toridon-Lochcarron is a fantastic day trip, 94 miles of very scenic and lumpy cycling.This one is highly recommended.


I'm struggling to come up with a itinerary for this year.Im planning on heading South in search of warm sunshine but the logistics are proving quite difficult and expensive.

Did Provence last year and loved it but it's never good to go back.

So far I'm looking at

Corsica (Is it to difficult to enjoy ?) Flights £330 + £100 for bike

Bordeaux to Montpellier Flights £380 + £100 for bike

Florence to Naples (Can I avoid traffic ?) Flights £270 + £100 for bike

Somewhere else in France ?

Somewhere else in Italy ?

Like the sound of Lisbon to Vigo ?? How long did you take ?

Therealsouthstander wrote:But this is quite a difficult tour to repeat. You can try it several times before you get a sunny week. I have also heard cyclists say that there are few more unrewarding places to be riding a bike than being half way across Lewis on a wet windy day.

Although I have not been there for such a short period as a week, I could slot together bits and pieces from previous tours to devise an amazing week in the southern highlands of Iceland.

That's exactaly why I'm reluctant to return

I've been back over to the West coast of Scotland for weekend trips as I'm only a few hours away..If the weather forecast is good I go.Thats a little bit more difficult if I have to take holidays from work though.

Lochcarron-Applecross-Toridon-Lochcarron is a fantastic day trip, 94 miles of very scenic and lumpy cycling.This one is highly recommended.


I'm struggling to come up with a itinerary for this year.Im planning on heading South in search of warm sunshine but the logistics are proving quite difficult and expensive.

Did Provence last year and loved it but it's never good to go back.

So far I'm looking at

Corsica (Is it to difficult to enjoy ?) Flights £330 + £100 for bike

Bordeaux to Montpellier Flights £380 + £100 for bike

Florence to Naples (Can I avoid traffic ?) Flights £270 + £100 for bike

Somewhere else in France ?

Somewhere else in Italy ?

Like the sound of Lisbon to Vigo ?? How long did you take ?[/quote]

I cycled 100km/day for 5 days with one rest day in the middle where I took the train for 100km and did some sightseeing. So end to end it's more like 600km. Would go more inland if I were to do it again as it was quieter and more interesting than the coast.

22camels wrote:I cycled 100km/day for 5 days with one rest day in the middle where I took the train for 100km and did some sightseeing. So end to end it's more like 600km. Would go more inland if I were to do it again as it was quieter and more interesting than the coast.

It is indeed advisable to use the train to get past Porto, though I did once find a route that got me very quickly from the town centre onto quiet country roads, though that is only possible in a SE direction from the centre.

I would also agree that in general you need to get away from the coastal plain for nice cycling in Portugal, though probably the bit of coast immediately N of Lisbon is the best bit of coast for cycling. I've done 3 tours in Portugal.