Another C2C idea?

[Ajax Bay]

C2C in that it's UK most easterly point (Lowestoft) to most westerly point (St David's Head). ie widest way across.

Ahem. UK's westernmost mainland is Ardnamurchan, from which there is an excellent diagonale. My (planned) route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49476532
Which I can get to ~1000km by (less fun) not using ferries.
But the thrust of this thread is an English C2C (so St David's is 'out' as is Ardnamurchan) but Land's End is 'in' scope.
There is an audax called the Trafalgar 1000 which I'd mine for route detail (SW London to Land's End) 500 there, 500 on way back sort of follows the route the officer bringing news of Nelson's victory took, having landed in Falmouth).

 

[Ajax Bay]

flying in with my bike (instead of hiring) and immediately boarding a train to Bristol (or a bus, if there are delays). Staying the night in Bristol

Give bus options a swerve with a big bike box.
Train via Reading (change) to Bristol is easy (2 hours; last train ETD after 10pm). Wait till 13 weeks before to buy tickets: 'Advance' ones go on sale then.

 

[mjr]

Give bus options a swerve with a big bike box.
Train via Reading (change) to Bristol is easy (2 hours; last train ETD after 10pm). Wait till 13 weeks before to buy tickets: 'Advance' ones go on sale then.

Not exactly 13 weeks. This page tracks the dates for each company/area:
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/advance-booking-dates/

 

[dimrub]

I ended up doing a different route in April, but I might revisit this one for the end of June - beginning of July. I think I'll cut out Chavenage (having cooled down on the 'Life of a manor' channel). Another change is that I might bypass Milton Keynes using Greensand Cycleway, and stay in Amtphill/Flitwick rather than Bedford (better balanced days 3 and 4). I'm probably going to hire a gravel bike in London rather than bringing my own, for a variety of reasons. Currently Alpkit and perhaps Wild Cycles look like two possibilities in terms of a hire.

 

[dimrub]

I'm back on this idea, with the thought of combining it with a family vacation, like we did last year. Oh and instead of hiring a bike I'm thinking of using the opportunity of this trip in order to upgrade - to a Sonder Camino Ti, making this trip a shake-down trip for the new bike.

 

[dimrub]

I'm kind of hijacking my own thread, but... if my logistics weren't complicated enough already, aside from the C2C with the elder, I'm now also planning another 3 day trip with the younger (17 y.o.). It should be much more relaxed: whereas the elder tries to outdo himself (to the tune of 90-100 km per day), the younger is both lazier and more realistic, so we're aiming at 50k for the first day, then maybe going up to 60-70 on the subsequent days. We want mostly paved surface and no excessive climbs. We would prefer something easily accessible from London by train (direct, if possible). I was thinking of combining a few C2C (Cathedral to Cathedral) routes. Perhaps Peterborough -> Ely -> Norwhich then, time remaining, -> reaching the sea at Cheringham (I'm a bit surprised none of these routes seem to be on the NCN). Any feedback on this route - or alternative suggestions, you knowledgeable brits? The things we're looking for are beautiful nature, nice towns and quiant villages, as well as abundance of tea houses.

 

[dimrub]

This is now done and ridden. I'll write up some impressions once back at the keyboard.

 

[dimrub]

I don't feel like journaling this trip on CGOAB, or writing a detailed travelogue, but I do want to describe it in a few words.
- 4.5 is way too short a time. We were constantly missing out on fabulous attractions - due to arriving close to or after the closure time. I think this route deserves 6-7 days.
- The aforementioned attractions/places to visit more thoroughly: Bristol (which we missed almost entirely), Gloucester (the cathedral is an absolute marvel), CAONB (we didn't find it "O", and maybe it's the season, but maybe we shot past it too fast), Oxford, Bletchley Park (we did explore this one, and it was fascinating), Blenheim Palace, Wimpole Estate, Cambridge, Ely cathedral, King's Lynn.
- Some pubs were much more interesting than other. Winslow's "The Bell" was a landmark all on its own.
- Maybe it's the specific NCN routes, but when comparing to the other 2 C2Cs I've done (Lon Las Cymru and the Kirkpatrick one up in Scotland) the percentage of kilometers on the road was higher - and English drivers were noticeably worse. The frequency of close overtakes was appalling. And stopping at crossings is apparently unheard of in England. Things were almost, but not quite, as bad as back home.
- We were lucky with the weather. Except for the last half-day that is, when we were caught out by a downpour (but hey, you can only get wet once).
- We missed out on Hank's manor and on Clarkson's farm, though passing quite close to both. I don't regret giving them the pass.
- Beautiful nature, nice rolling hills initially with flatter terrain later on, beautiful postcard-ready old houses all over, great food, better weather, Mary F*king Poppins. In other words, it was a very nice experience, thanks to everyone who helped come up with this route. The eventual route we rode is available here.

 

[Gwylan]

I once sailed a circumnavigation of the UK and recorded each day in a text message.
Might do that for a C2C in the planning.

 

[dimrub]

I wrote a bit of a write up about this trip, put it on CycleBlaze, here it is: https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/severn2thewash/