Lejog - roads to avoid or roads not to be missed!!

[mykaloon]

Three of us have opted to tackle Lands End to John o' Groats in July this year. Our accommodation is already pre-booked having plotted a very rough route. What I need to do now is sit down and plot the exact route we are to take from each stopover.

Below is a list of our planned route and I would be glad to hear any recommendations of roads not to miss on any part of the route or likewise any that we should avoid like the plague!

Lands End to Okehampton
Okehampton to Bristol
Bristol to Clun
Clun to Warrington
Warrington to Kendal
Kendal to Moffat
Moffat to Dumbarton
Dumbarton to Fort William
Fort William to Inverness
Inverness toTongue
Tongue to John o’ Groats​

 

[berty bassett]

somewhere in this forum i put on the gpx files for the route we did going to okehampton and bristol - 2 good days fairly quiet roads i couldnt tell you if there is a route with less hills but it was lovely scenery and suited me as it missed the a30 though we went wrong at one point that can be amended - its in this forum somewhere - good luck and enjoy

 

[toroddf]

From Moffat to Dumbarton, you have to tackle Glasgow somehow. The best way is probably going a bit south over Strathaven, the cycle lanes to Eaglesham, over Newton Mearns to Barrhead and then dropping down over Paisley to the Renfrew Ferry/Erskine Bridge. I would go for Renfrew Ferry (£1.70 a piece) as you get straight onto the bikeroad to Dumbarton/Loch Lomond from that ferry.

But Glasgow in general is a bit of a roadblock. I am a local sad man/road spotter so get in touch for detailed maps/instructions to avoid this roadblock.

 

[just jim]

Have you thought about Kendal - Carlisle - Edinburgh - (old A9) Inverness - Lairg - Bettyhill -JOG (via Strathnaver). Basically you would be hoving eastwards a bit earlier.

 

[alans]

as just jim says.....
Edinburgh - (old A9) Inverness - Lairg - Bettyhill -JOG (via Strathnaver).

I did this in reverse, as it were, on a JoGLE direction.
The Bettyhill/ Strathnaver valley/Loch Naver road was THE BEST part of the whole route & you'd get an opportunity to stop,however briefly or otherwise,at The Crask Inn. A marvellous place with great hospitality.
You can do Tongue next time

 

[sabian92]

I don't know if your route around Warrington takes you through Widnes (I suspect not but I'll mention this anyway) AVOID the Silver Jubilee/Runcorn Widnes Bridge. It's a horrific bridge to cycle over. Over the path along is OK but it's only about 3 feet wide

 

[berty bassett]

we avoided glasgow by going to arran and out the top to oban - lovely and quiet

 

[mykaloon]

Berty - have grabbed your gpx files for the Lands to Bristol section. Many thanks!
Torrodf - away to dig out my map and look at the route through Glasgow - I might be relying on your local knowledge a bit more if it's not too much bother!!
Just Jim - I've cycled a fair chunk of the east side of Scotland as it's where I hail from so was keen to head up the west side - maybe consider that for next year's trip!
Alans- we've already booked our accommodation for Tongue so are kinda set on that route now....
Sabian - not sure on my route through Warrington yet but we're staying at a Travelodge in Warrington so will keep in mind your advice on the Jubilee bridge.

Thanks for all the advice so far....

 

[lejogger]

How are you tackling the Land's End to Okehampton leg?
I guess it depends on whether your LEJOG is intended to be a roving jaunt through the countyside, or a slog to the finish, but we hit the A30 all day. If you're looking for a slog to the finish then it's perfect, but if not then steer well clear. It's ridiculously busy, with lots of fast moving trucks, and there are some sections where it becomes a single carriageway and quite hairy. The day we did it, the weather was almost identical to this weekend, i.e. amongst the hottest you've seen in this country, and combined with the constant rolling hills, I must admit I found it a very tough day. Bear in mind that some of the hills on the A road are tough, so expect worse if tackling the lanes.

Our second day was also to Bristol. We found Exeter pretty busy and tricky to navigate through but that was nothing compared to Bristol itself. We were very fortunate that we were passed by a friendly local cyclist who went out of his way to guide us through the city and help us find our B&B. We'd have been searching all night otherwise. There's a nasty hill just before you arrive at Bristol too, but a terrific descent afterwards.

Scooting further ahead, our day 6 was Penrith to Glasgow. We hopped onto the B7076 which tracks the M74 from Gretna to Hamilton. It's perfect for cycling along, we hardly saw a car the whole stretch, just smiled at the queues on the motorway as we sailed on. It's the route to take between Gretna, through Lockerbie and on to Moffat. Hamilton/Glasgow can be tricky to navigate through. We were very thankful we had the garmin at that point.
Once you get north of Glasgow however in my opinion you'll find some of the best scenery in the British Isles. Cycling past Loch Lomond we stayed on the A82 all the way to Fort William. Get ready for the descent to Glencoe, it'll leave your eyes streaming and wanting to climb back up to do it again!
Similarly, Fort William to Inverness is breath-taking. No need to Leave the A82 in my opinion, it's direct yet it takes you right along the banks of Loch Lochy and Loch Ness, and you pass the famous Commando Memorial on the way.

Good luck anyhow and let us know how you get on. I've practically blocked out all of the painful memories now and am getting itchy feet for another attempt!

 

[Trickedem]

as just jim says.....
Edinburgh - (old A9) Inverness - Lairg - Bettyhill -JOG (via Strathnaver).

I did this in reverse, as it were, on a JoGLE direction.
The Bettyhill/ Strathnaver valley/Loch Naver road was THE BEST part of the whole route & you'd get an opportunity to stop,however briefly or otherwise,at The Crask Inn. A marvellous place with great hospitality.
You can do Tongue next time

Crask Inn is a must. Very quirky. Great road too.

 

[strofiwimple]

Hi mykaloon, I have just finished lejog last wednesday and I stayed on the A30 for 20miles beyond Penzance to the three burrows roundabout before heading off to quieter roads.
On this section there is a yard wide 'alley' to cycle in with no debris to contend with. I felt a lot safer on this section than I did on some of the minor roads I took. If you can put up with the noise of the traffic it is a way to get some decent miles done before going onto the less direct roads.
As lejogger said after this roundabout the road becomes very narrow and to be avoided at all costs imho.
Maybe because I knew what to expect and I was hyped up at the start I didn't find Cornwall as daunting as I expected-Devon however was another thing altogether! Im still having nightmares about that day from Wadebridge to South Molton

 

[goody]

Clifton Suspension Bridge was worth the effort getting 'up' to it. A466 to Monmouth was great. Went via Arran which although was very wet and windy would have been a nice place to stop for a while. The great glen way from Fort William to Drumnadrochit is a good mix of canal path and cycle path probably not all of is suitable for a roadie on 23's (I was on 28 marathon's and it was fine). As mentioned earlier the road up to Bettyhill past Loch Naver is one of the best you will ever travel on. It's great trip!

 

[goody]

A picture of the raod that runs by Loch Naver for those that haven't ridden it.

 

[theloafer]

Paisley to the Renfrew Ferry/Erskine Bridge. I would go for Renfrew Ferry (£1.70 a piece) as you get straight onto the bikeroad to Dumbarton/Loch Lomond from that ferry.

used the renfrew ferry last legojs trip then just followed the cycle route up to Loch Lomond great route and traffic free

 

[mykaloon]

Loafer - This is the link to our planned route from Moffat to Dumbarton via the Renfrew Ferry which I plotted after the earlier advice from Toroddf. Does this look ok to you?

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1315922

Goody - now you've got me crying into my porridge looking at the photo of the road by Loch Naver - we're already booked up to stop over at Tongue as we're doing Inverness to Tongue then Tongue to JOG. Inverness to JOG would be too much for 1 day.