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London to Edinburgh
- Thread starter lola.meissonnier
- Start date
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lola.meissonnier
New Member
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for your reactivity
and apologies for the late reply to all of this.
We actually live in London and cycle every day to work and pretty much everywhere, which of course is a very different exercise than a cycling tour like this. We still want to avoid cycling out of the city as we consider it would be a waste of time and energy. We will probably take a train to Slough and start from around there.
Once again this is more of a challenge than a pretty holiday cycling tour, we want to cycle to Edinburgh. But the idea is to try and go through the nicest places possible and I'm glad I posted on this forum because it gave me interesting ideas.
Here is the new route we thought about: https://goo.gl/maps/Goyk1
Google Maps didn't let me finish it, but after Alnwick we'll probably head to Edinburgh via the coastal route (Berwick-upon-Tweed).
I'm quite happy with the result, again if you have suggestions they're much welcome.
And indeed France is a lovely country for cycling. What we want here is to discover new places
Many thanks for your messages
Lola
Thank you so much for your reactivity
and apologies for the late reply to all of this.We actually live in London and cycle every day to work and pretty much everywhere, which of course is a very different exercise than a cycling tour like this. We still want to avoid cycling out of the city as we consider it would be a waste of time and energy. We will probably take a train to Slough and start from around there.
Once again this is more of a challenge than a pretty holiday cycling tour, we want to cycle to Edinburgh. But the idea is to try and go through the nicest places possible and I'm glad I posted on this forum because it gave me interesting ideas.
Here is the new route we thought about: https://goo.gl/maps/Goyk1
Google Maps didn't let me finish it, but after Alnwick we'll probably head to Edinburgh via the coastal route (Berwick-upon-Tweed).
I'm quite happy with the result, again if you have suggestions they're much welcome.
And indeed France is a lovely country for cycling. What we want here is to discover new places
Many thanks for your messages
Lola
- Location
- London
Everywhere will surely be nice after slough
I didn't realise you were in london - may have avoided a few thread dead ends if we had known.p
I assume you are checking any bike carriage restrictions on the train route to slough.
Enjoy the trip.
I should out of a sense of duty recommend the ribble valley though it is off your main route - you could though then take the glorious settle carlisle line, then NCN Carlisle to glasgow and then across to edinburgh.
I didn't realise you were in london - may have avoided a few thread dead ends if we had known.p
I assume you are checking any bike carriage restrictions on the train route to slough.
Enjoy the trip.
I should out of a sense of duty recommend the ribble valley though it is off your main route - you could though then take the glorious settle carlisle line, then NCN Carlisle to glasgow and then across to edinburgh.
Nigeyy
Legendary Member
- Location
- Massachusetts, USA
I agree in that most cyclists seem to think the worst place to cycle is where they are......
Couple of things I'd suggest:
i. as pointed out avoid busy A roads and unless a city is offering you something, avoid them
ii. use google maps to see if there are any bike trails you can use -its always the first thing I do -even if it means a little detour, the freedom of being away from motorized traffic and the peace and quiet if offers makes it worthwhile (At least for me).
iii. plan with a view that you may not want to cycle certain days; e.g. for that day it is raining, consider being close to a rail station that may be able to get you to your next destination.
iv.work out if its important to you to just do the miles or to cycle through nice countryside. If you want to cycle through nice countryside, consider you may not want to do all the miles on the bike to maximize your nice ride time.
Some nice places to visit and cycle through: York, Lincoln (or pretty much any older little market town), Yorkshire Dales and Peak District (though again, avoid A roads when possible) I've not had experience with a Garmin device or similar, but being able to plan a route on backroads and then easily follow that route without looking at a map every 5 minutes or finding that missing signpost must be great!
Good luck!
Couple of things I'd suggest:
i. as pointed out avoid busy A roads and unless a city is offering you something, avoid them
ii. use google maps to see if there are any bike trails you can use -its always the first thing I do -even if it means a little detour, the freedom of being away from motorized traffic and the peace and quiet if offers makes it worthwhile (At least for me).
iii. plan with a view that you may not want to cycle certain days; e.g. for that day it is raining, consider being close to a rail station that may be able to get you to your next destination.
iv.work out if its important to you to just do the miles or to cycle through nice countryside. If you want to cycle through nice countryside, consider you may not want to do all the miles on the bike to maximize your nice ride time.
Some nice places to visit and cycle through: York, Lincoln (or pretty much any older little market town), Yorkshire Dales and Peak District (though again, avoid A roads when possible) I've not had experience with a Garmin device or similar, but being able to plan a route on backroads and then easily follow that route without looking at a map every 5 minutes or finding that missing signpost must be great!
Good luck!
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Might be a bit late for a rethink, but the east side of England is flatter than the west.
The easier route would be up the east side, certainly until you get close to the border with Scotland.
Here's a link to the route used by the London Edinburgh London cycling event which is held every four years.
https://ade2010lejog.wordpress.com/the-route-2/london-edinburgh-london-route/
The easier route would be up the east side, certainly until you get close to the border with Scotland.
Here's a link to the route used by the London Edinburgh London cycling event which is held every four years.
https://ade2010lejog.wordpress.com/the-route-2/london-edinburgh-london-route/
- Location
- London
Just has another look at your route Lola.
I see that you pretty do much hit the Ribble Valley - it must have some strange pull
By the way, if you fancy a nice spot for a breather/cup of tea and a bun, there is a very nice cafe on the platform at Hellifield Station - next stop south from Long Preston which you pretty much go through. I was there a few days ago - seems to have extended its hours and now open seven days.
If you then weakened/were running out of time you could then wander out of the caff for the Settle Carlisle line. Might seem a cheat to take a bit of train but it is glorious - you don't have to go all the way. One of europe's great train lines I think - somewhat more spectacular than London to Slough.
http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/
I see that you pretty do much hit the Ribble Valley - it must have some strange pull
By the way, if you fancy a nice spot for a breather/cup of tea and a bun, there is a very nice cafe on the platform at Hellifield Station - next stop south from Long Preston which you pretty much go through. I was there a few days ago - seems to have extended its hours and now open seven days.
If you then weakened/were running out of time you could then wander out of the caff for the Settle Carlisle line.
Might seem a cheat to take a bit of train but it is glorious - you don't have to go all the way. One of europe's great train lines I think - somewhat more spectacular than London to Slough.http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/
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