End to End; the planning begins

[albion]

I'm tempted to have a go next year, late May or early June.
This would be my first LeJog but I have had the mileage this year to suggest it might work for me.

For me, a train to Penzance then 7 or 8 days cycle up with a bivvy or tent. It would be a few light days cycling in Orkney then just maybe maybe a cycle attempt back to Newcastle for a 2 week holiday.
Any tips for a camping bivvy route ? (I certainly wont be cooking needing to travel light for a 7 day attempt)

edit I just read your blog Geoff. I've never had Penzance bike train problems for the many times I've done a return holiday there.
That's a while ago and maybe things have changed, but if the bike can be booked on the train I'd really suggest giving it a go.

 

[steveindenmark]

Hi Geoff,

Jannie and I have the same plan for next year, but it will be in July for about 3 weeks, maybe a bit more. Jannie will be riding her Trek Lexa SL and I will be on my Koga Roadchamp.

I have bought the same book as you and believe it or not I have just fitted this



We are in Denmark and we are looking at either sending our bikes by courier to a bike shop in Penzance or flying them to Stansted and then hiring a van from Eurocar as they have a depot in Penzance.

What GPS are you using? There is a mapping site called Plotaroute which I think is quite new and far better than Garmin Connect IMO

Geoff, I have just read this about your charging gizmo


When you get your E-WERK, it is imperative that you resist the overwhelming desire to throw it on the bike, connect your device to be charged, and head out on a ride. You MUST read the manual first. You must properly set the voltage and amperage for the device to be charged. And if you will be using the E-WERK to charge more than one device, you must not forget to properly re-adjust the voltage and amperage settings for the new device.

 

[Bikerta]

Hi Geoff,

Great start to the website. No doubt my lovely bike will disappear when your shiny new one arrives! I also bought that book, but chose my own route in the end. I was glad to travel along the Severn Valley rather than cross into Wales as it was much flatter and it was also National Cycle Route all the way between Chester and Bristol so easy to follow.Although I grew up in Shropshire and would have liked to travel through that area, I wanted to see some new countryside and have never been up the Severn Valley. I found travelling via Arran and also Mull allowing me to travel along the West side of the loch to Fort William fantastic cycling and can also highly recommend cycling the canal paths and also the forestry tracks through Clunes to avoid the A82. On a Thorn Sherpa why would you want to cycle on a busy main road when you can have so much more fun on the tracks.

As far as food was concerned I sometimes cooked and sometimes ate out as when there is only 1 of you it is sometimes just as cheap to eat out. It was a real mixture of fish and chips, pub meals, pizza and cooking consisted of pasta (of course) with a cheese or salsa sauce (usually as part of a meal deal at Tesco or Co op) mixed in with ham or tomatoes or mushrooms, the obligatory burgers or sausages, bacon and beans, and a couple of times I cooked a chilli with the Uncle Bens special rice that only takes 2 mins to cook. I took a Honey Stove with me (will post photos when on the other computer) and this worked well as a wood stove when the weather was dry, but it was very difficult to keep going if the wood collected was wet. I also used it in the Trangia mode which was fine as long as it was not too windy (which it invariably was up North) I only bought eggs if the campsite had a shop as I was worried I would arrive to broken eggs in my panniers, but then you have fried eggs, scrambled eggs omelettes etc to add to your recipes. Another option was stir fry using the bags or packets of stir fry vegetables along with some noodles and Tesco did one with a sweet chilli and ginger stir in sauce which was great and cooked really quickly.

I found the train journey up to Thurso excellent with no problems whatsoever. It is great to just sit back, read and relax or sleep in the case of the train to Inverness. If you book 3 months in advance you get some great savings on the fares. I just missed the bargain tickets on the Caledonian Sleeper, but the fares were still very reasonable. £11 Gillingham to London, £61 London to Inverness, £12.40 Inverness to Thurso totalling £84.40 - bargain in my mind.

 

[Geoff Crowther]

Hi Geoff,

Jannie and I have the same plan for next year, but it will be in July for about 3 weeks, maybe a bit more. Jannie will be riding her Trek Lexa SL and I will be on my Koga Roadchamp.

I have bought the same book as you and believe it or not I have just fitted this



We are in Denmark and we are looking at either sending our bikes by courier to a bike shop in Penzance or flying them to Stansted and then hiring a van from Eurocar as they have a depot in Penzance.

What GPS are you using? There is a mapping site called Plotaroute which I think is quite new and far better than Garmin Connect IMO

Geoff, I have just read this about your charging gizmo


When you get your E-WERK, it is imperative that you resist the overwhelming desire to throw it on the bike, connect your device to be charged, and head out on a ride. You MUST read the manual first. You must properly set the voltage and amperage for the device to be charged. And if you will be using the E-WERK to charge more than one device, you must not forget to properly re-adjust the voltage and amperage settings for the new device.

Thanks for those comments Steve. Good luck with your plans. Be interested to hear how you're getting along.
I have a Garmin Edge Touring I'll be using.
Thanks for points about E-WERK though I understand from Trikeman on here that it's not that critical so long as you're using USB charging devices; one setting will work (says this in instructions too).
Really looking forward to trying the new lamp. How do you find its performance?

 

[Geoff Crowther]

Hi Geoff,

Great start to the website. No doubt my lovely bike will disappear when your shiny new one arrives! I also bought that book, but chose my own route in the end. I was glad to travel along the Severn Valley rather than cross into Wales as it was much flatter and it was also National Cycle Route all the way between Chester and Bristol so easy to follow.Although I grew up in Shropshire and would have liked to travel through that area, I wanted to see some new countryside and have never been up the Severn Valley. I found travelling via Arran and also Mull allowing me to travel along the West side of the loch to Fort William fantastic cycling and can also highly recommend cycling the canal paths and also the forestry tracks through Clunes to avoid the A82. On a Thorn Sherpa why would you want to cycle on a busy main road when you can have so much more fun on the tracks.

As far as food was concerned I sometimes cooked and sometimes ate out as when there is only 1 of you it is sometimes just as cheap to eat out. It was a real mixture of fish and chips, pub meals, pizza and cooking consisted of pasta (of course) with a cheese or salsa sauce (usually as part of a meal deal at Tesco or Co op) mixed in with ham or tomatoes or mushrooms, the obligatory burgers or sausages, bacon and beans, and a couple of times I cooked a chilli with the Uncle Bens special rice that only takes 2 mins to cook. I took a Honey Stove with me (will post photos when on the other computer) and this worked well as a wood stove when the weather was dry, but it was very difficult to keep going if the wood collected was wet. I also used it in the Trangia mode which was fine as long as it was not too windy (which it invariably was up North) I only bought eggs if the campsite had a shop as I was worried I would arrive to broken eggs in my panniers, but then you have fried eggs, scrambled eggs omelettes etc to add to your recipes. Another option was stir fry using the bags or packets of stir fry vegetables along with some noodles and Tesco did one with a sweet chilli and ginger stir in sauce which was great and cooked really quickly.

I found the train journey up to Thurso excellent with no problems whatsoever. It is great to just sit back, read and relax or sleep in the case of the train to Inverness. If you book 3 months in advance you get some great savings on the fares. I just missed the bargain tickets on the Caledonian Sleeper, but the fares were still very reasonable. £11 Gillingham to London, £61 London to Inverness, £12.40 Inverness to Thurso totalling £84.40 - bargain in my mind.

Hi Jackie
Many thanks for those points, 'specially the cooking tips. I'll give some of those a try in the coming months on shorter adventures.
Like your pointers re route too. Cycled on Arran and the Kintyre peninsula so I appreciate your comments. Re your "canal and forestry tracks", I take your point. Is there any possibility of letting me have your complete route? Your point re the abilities of the Sherpa are wetting my appetite. You have the advantage cos you've bin there but I do want to make use of the bike. In light of your points I might well make my own route. Just bought a planning map showing all the designated cycle routes across the UK and it's straightforward to link 'em up. The Pennine Brideway's intriguing but knowing the terrain where it passes my home it might be a step too far with 20kg or so of luggage.
What did you do about maps? Do you have any record of campsites you used? I'd like to wild camp as much as poss but might be a touch unrealistic in southern counties and the midlands?
Thanks again for very useful input.
Geoff
PS Wouldn't dream of deleting the pic of your lovely bike. Mine'll be added in a later post.

 

[Bikerta]

Hi Geoff,

Will try and sort something out about putting up my route on here. I am not too great on computers though. I did try and plan the routes on Ride with GPS. As far as maps were concerned I bought a Philip's Navigator Britain Road Map as these have the biggest scale, I then highlighted my route on the appropriate pages and just took these pages. I think it ended up being about 56 pages worth which was quite a pile of paper. I then threw the maps away at the end of each day watching the pile get smaller and smaller as I travelled further South.

Campsites

1. John O Groats Caravan & Camping - Lovely views, can be windy, facilities basic but fine. £8
2. Craigdhu Caravan Site, Bettyhill - Very, very basic site but cheap at £5 - toilets look off putting from outside but shower hot, fine for 1 night.
3. Dunroamin Caravan Park, Lairg - Outskirts of town so handy for eating, cafe on site, annoying meter for shower, but facilities fine. £6
4. Dingwall CCC, Dingwall - Good site next to Football Stadium, but quiet. Brilliant wardens. Backpackers rate £7.99, great facilities and sheltered, also
small indoor room for poor weather.
5. Loch Ness Shores CCC, Foyers - New site only opened 12 months ago, fantastic facilities almost hotel quality, good quality food in shop and also home
made ready meals which they will heat up for you in microwave. Lovely big indoor area if weather is bad. Have to drop down big hill to get to it and
climb back up again the next morning which is only downside to site otherwise pretty perfect. £9.45
6. Lochy Holiday Park, Fort William - Good facilities and good views of Ben Nevis from around site. Can pitch next to river but watch out for midges. can
hear A82 at night a bit but not enough to stop me sleeping. £8
7. Shieling Holidays, Craignure, Mull - Bit expensive at £13. Fab views at top of site, but also windy. Showers/toilets ok, some in their shielings (tents)
which feels strange, fantastic campers kitchen with kettle/toaster/table and chairs/sofas and log burner for poor weather which I made full use of.
Pitches are on astro turf which is good if it is wet, but trying to get pegs in is a nightmare - took me over an hour to get my tent up.
8. Lochgilphead Caravan Park, - £9 facilities ok, nothing special, ground was very wet after day of heavy rain, walk into town, some road noise.
9. Glen Rosa, Brodick, Arran - I would definitely recommend you stay at the campsite at Lochranza rather than this one. Basically a wild campsite with a
toilet block which was absolutely disgusting. Ladies had 3 toilets, 1 with no door and the floor was completely flooded all the time. 3 dirty sinks, no hot
water, no shower. Lovely views and based at foot of hills, but not looked after at all and is MIDGE INFESTED in the evenings. Never saw owners at all
so only good point was it was free. Was in bed by 8pm as could not stand the midges and left by 7am next morning. Also well known for groups of
locals using it as a place to party through the night as owners not on site to stop it.
10.Kirkholm B & B, Carsphairn - Couldn't find a campsite in this area at all so used b & b. Brilliant at £28 for a single room including great cooked
breakfast. Garage for bike. Touch of luxury.
11.Queensberry Bay Holiday Park, Annan - Tried to charge £15, but when queried they changed it to backpacker rate of £6. Amazing facilities, showers
with the large heads, excellent campers kitchen, fantastic value for £6.
12.Gill Head Farm, Troutbeck. - stayed here during Hurricane Bertha and was flooded out of my tent. Luckily campers barn, old but dry and I slept sat in
old armchair. Good open area for cooking and for drying my tent the next day, great site in good weather, facilities fine £9 also have camping pods.
13. YHA at Arneside - Ended up with room to myself for £20, walk into town for food, recommended.
14. Radcliffe Farm, New Longton, Preston - Very small site found late in day, £6 but no charge due to riding for charity, just small field with toilet. Fine
15. Arrows Brook Farm, Greasby, Wirral - Lovely small site with newly refurbished toilets which were beautiful, £8 but no charge for charity,recommended

Will update rest later as son wants his laptop back.

 

[Geoff Crowther]

Hi Geoff,

Will try and sort something out about putting up my route on here. I am not too great on computers though. I did try and plan the routes on Ride with GPS. As far as maps were concerned I bought a Philip's Navigator Britain Road Map as these have the biggest scale, I then highlighted my route on the appropriate pages and just took these pages. I think it ended up being about 56 pages worth which was quite a pile of paper. I then threw the maps away at the end of each day watching the pile get smaller and smaller as I travelled further South.

Campsites

1. John O Groats Caravan & Camping - Lovely views, can be windy, facilities basic but fine. £8
2. Craigdhu Caravan Site, Bettyhill - Very, very basic site but cheap at £5 - toilets look off putting from outside but shower hot, fine for 1 night.
3. Dunroamin Caravan Park, Lairg - Outskirts of town so handy for eating, cafe on site, annoying meter for shower, but facilities fine. £6
4. Dingwall CCC, Dingwall - Good site next to Football Stadium, but quiet. Brilliant wardens. Backpackers rate £7.99, great facilities and sheltered, also
small indoor room for poor weather.
5. Loch Ness Shores CCC, Foyers - New site only opened 12 months ago, fantastic facilities almost hotel quality, good quality food in shop and also home
made ready meals which they will heat up for you in microwave. Lovely big indoor area if weather is bad. Have to drop down big hill to get to it and
climb back up again the next morning which is only downside to site otherwise pretty perfect. £9.45
6. Lochy Holiday Park, Fort William - Good facilities and good views of Ben Nevis from around site. Can pitch next to river but watch out for midges. can
hear A82 at night a bit but not enough to stop me sleeping. £8
7. Shieling Holidays, Craignure, Mull - Bit expensive at £13. Fab views at top of site, but also windy. Showers/toilets ok, some in their shielings (tents)
which feels strange, fantastic campers kitchen with kettle/toaster/table and chairs/sofas and log burner for poor weather which I made full use of.
Pitches are on astro turf which is good if it is wet, but trying to get pegs in is a nightmare - took me over an hour to get my tent up.
8. Lochgilphead Caravan Park, - £9 facilities ok, nothing special, ground was very wet after day of heavy rain, walk into town, some road noise.
9. Glen Rosa, Brodick, Arran - I would definitely recommend you stay at the campsite at Lochranza rather than this one. Basically a wild campsite with a
toilet block which was absolutely disgusting. Ladies had 3 toilets, 1 with no door and the floor was completely flooded all the time. 3 dirty sinks, no hot
water, no shower. Lovely views and based at foot of hills, but not looked after at all and is MIDGE INFESTED in the evenings. Never saw owners at all
so only good point was it was free. Was in bed by 8pm as could not stand the midges and left by 7am next morning. Also well known for groups of
locals using it as a place to party through the night as owners not on site to stop it.
10.Kirkholm B & B, Carsphairn - Couldn't find a campsite in this area at all so used b & b. Brilliant at £28 for a single room including great cooked
breakfast. Garage for bike. Touch of luxury.
11.Queensberry Bay Holiday Park, Annan - Tried to charge £15, but when queried they changed it to backpacker rate of £6. Amazing facilities, showers
with the large heads, excellent campers kitchen, fantastic value for £6.
12.Gill Head Farm, Troutbeck. - stayed here during Hurricane Bertha and was flooded out of my tent. Luckily campers barn, old but dry and I slept sat in
old armchair. Good open area for cooking and for drying my tent the next day, great site in good weather, facilities fine £9 also have camping pods.
13. YHA at Arneside - Ended up with room to myself for £20, walk into town for food, recommended.
14. Radcliffe Farm, New Longton, Preston - Very small site found late in day, £6 but no charge due to riding for charity, just small field with toilet. Fine
15. Arrows Brook Farm, Greasby, Wirral - Lovely small site with newly refurbished toilets which were beautiful, £8 but no charge for charity,recommended

Will update rest later as son wants his laptop back.

Hi Jackie
Thanks a lot for all that. Love your idea for maps; really obvious but I hadn't thought of it.
I'll copy this list of accommodation and stick it in my Kindle, which is how I'm planning on carrying such documents. Thanks for taking so much trouble over that list.
Cheers
Geoff

 

[Bikerta]

16. Mile Bank Farm, Whitchurch - Mainly caravans here, I was the only tent at the time and only shared field with 1 caravan, very quiet, facilities fine
would have been £12, but no charge for charity.
17, Half Way House Inn, Eardington - They take tents, but think they really want caravans, busy so put in tiny area at back of pub, 1 ladies toilet/shower
so did get busy, ate in the pub but found it a bit expensive, £8
18. Sunset View Park, Twyning - This is basically a chalet park, but they have a camping field at the bottom of the site. I was the only camper so very
empty feel to it. Toilets were a long way away and even cycle did not help as road to toilets was very, very deep gravel and impossible to cycle on.
Toilet/shower ok. Would normally be £10 but free for charity ride.
19. Hortham Farm, Almondsbury - This site I would have loved if camping with someone else. Camping is in the woods half mile away from the caravan
via a gravel track and little woodland path, facilities for camp fire, outdoor tables and chairs and toilet/shower in storage container (very nicely done
though and feels like a bathroom at home) I was alone here though and felt very nervous. Lot of traffic noise from nearby motorways. £10 if solo or
otherwise £5 each adult. Donated to charity though.
20. Stayed at my brothers near Taunton
21. Minnows Caravan Park, Sampford Peverill - I was given pitch in first area which is further from roads so less noise, good and clean facilities,mainly
caravans but not a problem, newer field at bottom of site had road noise and long walk to toilets. £9, but only charged £5 for charity.
22. Bundu Camping, Sourton Down, Okehampton - I really liked this site despite its downsides. Showers a bit basic and a long walk from tent but ok
with bike. Right next to A30 so road noise, but small area at bottom of site for tents is lovely and much quieter - feels like camping in a garden. Pub
next door to site for meals. £8 but only charged £3 for charity.
23. St. Mabyn Holiday Park, Wadebridge - Another nice site with fantastic shower/toilet rooms all in one/swimming pool/games room. Fish and chip
van came on the night I was there. Would have been £12 but free for charity.
24. Churchtown Farm Caravan and Camping, Gwithian - Much bigger site than I would normally go for but it was Bank Holiday weekend and I had to
take whatever I could, very busy but excellent facilites, several different fields, shop, fish and chip van came, £18 but reduced to £12 for charity.

All money from campsites that allowed me to camp for free or reduced prices was put into my fundraising pot and not into my pocket and this gave the fund a tremendous boost. I found that most campsites were very good value for money. I felt that the Scottish campsites catered more for campers and many had the campers kitchens which were a godsend at times. South of the border, many campsites marked on the maps turned out to be for caravans only or mainly catered for them and camping seemed to be secondary. The couple of nights b & b made me realise how much easier the whole trip would have been if I had done that rather than camping, but unfortunately I just could not afford to do it in this way. I really enjoy camping, but to do it for over 3 weeks in some pretty awful weather did sometimes become very tiresome and difficult. Drying clothes proved difficult and also charging phones etc. If I had the money though, then I think the next time I would use B & B's and save a huge amount of weight on the bike. Mind you I liked the flexibility of camping and I did not book any of them and no one turned me away even though it was August.

 

[Mrs M]

And good luck to you in a Mini my friend.
Had one back in the early 70s, following a Citroen Dyane. Hated trying to work on the thing, no room under the bonnet. Soon came to my senses (?) and bought another Dyane ... followed by another (I loved 'em).
Good luck though. I suspect you're braver than me.

Oh Citroene Dyane, love em!

 

[Geoff Crowther]

16. Mile Bank Farm, Whitchurch - Mainly caravans here, I was the only tent at the time and only shared field with 1 caravan, very quiet, facilities fine
would have been £12, but no charge for charity.
17, Half Way House Inn, Eardington - They take tents, but think they really want caravans, busy so put in tiny area at back of pub, 1 ladies toilet/shower
so did get busy, ate in the pub but found it a bit expensive, £8
18. Sunset View Park, Twyning - This is basically a chalet park, but they have a camping field at the bottom of the site. I was the only camper so very
empty feel to it. Toilets were a long way away and even cycle did not help as road to toilets was very, very deep gravel and impossible to cycle on.
Toilet/shower ok. Would normally be £10 but free for charity ride.
19. Hortham Farm, Almondsbury - This site I would have loved if camping with someone else. Camping is in the woods half mile away from the caravan
via a gravel track and little woodland path, facilities for camp fire, outdoor tables and chairs and toilet/shower in storage container (very nicely done
though and feels like a bathroom at home) I was alone here though and felt very nervous. Lot of traffic noise from nearby motorways. £10 if solo or
otherwise £5 each adult. Donated to charity though.
20. Stayed at my brothers near Taunton
21. Minnows Caravan Park, Sampford Peverill - I was given pitch in first area which is further from roads so less noise, good and clean facilities,mainly
caravans but not a problem, newer field at bottom of site had road noise and long walk to toilets. £9, but only charged £5 for charity.
22. Bundu Camping, Sourton Down, Okehampton - I really liked this site despite its downsides. Showers a bit basic and a long walk from tent but ok
with bike. Right next to A30 so road noise, but small area at bottom of site for tents is lovely and much quieter - feels like camping in a garden. Pub
next door to site for meals. £8 but only charged £3 for charity.
23. St. Mabyn Holiday Park, Wadebridge - Another nice site with fantastic shower/toilet rooms all in one/swimming pool/games room. Fish and chip
van came on the night I was there. Would have been £12 but free for charity.
24. Churchtown Farm Caravan and Camping, Gwithian - Much bigger site than I would normally go for but it was Bank Holiday weekend and I had to
take whatever I could, very busy but excellent facilites, several different fields, shop, fish and chip van came, £18 but reduced to £12 for charity.

All money from campsites that allowed me to camp for free or reduced prices was put into my fundraising pot and not into my pocket and this gave the fund a tremendous boost. I found that most campsites were very good value for money. I felt that the Scottish campsites catered more for campers and many had the campers kitchens which were a godsend at times. South of the border, many campsites marked on the maps turned out to be for caravans only or mainly catered for them and camping seemed to be secondary. The couple of nights b & b made me realise how much easier the whole trip would have been if I had done that rather than camping, but unfortunately I just could not afford to do it in this way. I really enjoy camping, but to do it for over 3 weeks in some pretty awful weather did sometimes become very tiresome and difficult. Drying clothes proved difficult and also charging phones etc. If I had the money though, then I think the next time I would use B & B's and save a huge amount of weight on the bike. Mind you I liked the flexibility of camping and I did not book any of them and no one turned me away even though it was August.

Thanks Jackie. You're a star.
Geoff

 

[Bikerta]

No problem. This will also give you a bit of an idea regarding my route.

 

[Geoff Crowther]

No problem. This will also give you a bit of an idea regarding my route.

My thoughts exactly.
Thanks again.
Love this forum ... and the lovely, helpful people on here.

 

[HorTs]

To make it simpler for my return journey (taxi to Wick, train from Wick to Inverness, sleeper to London Euston, train to Portsmouth) I posted my panniers back - 4 panniers and a sleeping mat was about £15.

 

[jongooligan]

Not sure where I read it but someone recommended taking the ferry from JoG to Stromness, ride to Kirkwall and jump on a plane to Edinburgh as an alternative the JoG - Inverness - Edinburgh train trip.
Thinking about it missen.

 

[steveindenmark]

Geoff, by the time we get ready to go Jackie will have added a few Kg to the panniers with all these printouts. All we need now is the full edition of the Jackie cookbook. Oh! The ferry timetable list.

Jackie, you have just made my planning so much easier. :0)