Planning a route from Swindon to Orkney

[8mph]

It looks as if your route uses the John O'Groats ferry, which appears not to run after the end of September. Year-round car ferries run from Scrabster near Thurso (certainly), and as far as I can tell also from Gill's Bay. Or there's a longer route several days a week from Aberdeen, which would maximise your time on the islands. Weather in Scotland in October could be rough - really rough.

Cheers mate, I was aware of the ferry from Scrabster but didn't realise that the JOG ferry was closed.

 

[Vantage]

I've made a bit of a detour from around Northwich to just beyond Preston which in my opinion is nicer, quieter but maybe a little hillier in places.
Whilst it goes through Manchester, it's along the Bridgewater Canal and onto NCR55 into Bolton. Traffic free, well surfaced and nicer scenery. There's a nice little campsite in Rivington (Home Farm) which charges a little under a tenner and is fairly quiet but basic. From there you'll be on fairly quiet lanes, bits of canal riding on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and through Preston to Catforth via the marina which is the quietest route I know. Some bits will be a little mucky but nothing that will trouble 35mm tyres as I use them often.
I've never been further north than that on that route unfortunately.

 

[8mph]

I've made a bit of a detour from around Northwich to just beyond Preston which in my opinion is nicer, quieter but maybe a little hillier in places.
Whilst it goes through Manchester, it's along the Bridgewater Canal and onto NCR55 into Bolton. Traffic free, well surfaced and nicer scenery. There's a nice little campsite in Rivington (Home Farm) which charges a little under a tenner and is fairly quiet but basic. From there you'll be on fairly quiet lanes, bits of canal riding on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and through Preston to Catforth via the marina which is the quietest route I know. Some bits will be a little mucky but nothing that will trouble 35mm tyres as I use them often.
I've never been further north than that on that route unfortunately.

This is awesome, thank you so much!

 

[snorri]

if anyone has any alternative suggestions

Seems a bit odd to deviate east to Boat of Garten, more miles for no apparent reason.
The NCN between Ardgay and Invershin was drawn up partly for the convenience of cyclists visiting a now closed Youth Hostel. Whilst the NCN route may be considered more scenic and carrying less traffic, it includes the need to carry your bike down a flight of stairs at the bridge crossing the river. I would suggest going via Bonar Bridge for a less tortuous and more level route with negligible difference in mileage, traffic volume will be minimal.
As already stated up thread, the JOG-Burwick ferry is seasonal, but the Gills Bay -St Margarets Hope service is year round.
It is further from Thurso to JOG than it is from Stromness to Kirkwall,difficult to understand why the much longer route is selected. The least energy sapping route for a cyclist between Thurso and Kirkwall would be via Scrabster, and not via Gills Bay or JO'G.
The route chosen between Alness and Ardgay is ok in summer, but you must keep abreast of the weather forecast before tackling it in October. There are no pubs, cafes or any places of respite going over the Struie Hill route. Following the lower NCN is a little longer in mileage but involves a lot less climbing and offers shops, pubs cafes etc in event of poor weather.
Much the same and worse could be expected on the section north from Lairg and along the north coast.

 

[uphillstruggler]

Just looking at the route from Dundee and thinking about the time of year you are thinking of going, I’d be careful about the snow roads, the weather can change really quickly

I don’t want to teach you how to suck eggs but I’ve been that way, it would be easy to be caught out.

I’m looking forward to seeing your progress and hopefully pictures

Best of luck

 

[8mph]

It's getting late in the year so I've decided to stick to paved roads and get North ASAP. I love the idea of cycling through the Pennines and York but my fitness isn't all that at the moment and the weather is looking a bit bleak. I'm thinking that it's probably best to push on through any built up sections and take all of your suggestions into consideration for the journey South. Thanks for all of your tips, I will of course post pics from the journey!

 

[8mph]

Due to the predicted bad weather, I've downloaded the GPX file of Lejog YHA route as back up.
Here's a link for anyone interested. https://www.cyclinguk.org/route/gpx-file-lands-end-john-o-groats-yha-route

 

[nickyboy]

It goes up through that Warrington corridor, which has plenty of urban. Personally I'd cut across in the Peak District then head north through the Pennines, or use the Trans Pennine trail then head north via York.

I've been planning a 2020 LEJOG so I'm fairly familiar with the routing options. I like your route in broad brush. We are also going up the Lune Valley via Tebay and Penrith. The major difference before then is we will go East of Manchester (having headed up through the Midlands in a similar way to you) because we will have a night at home in Glossop. After that we will head through Nelson and East of the Trough of Bowland and meet your route at Kirkby Lonsdale. I think our route is nicer than Runcorn/Warrington/Preston but maybe not enough to warrant the diversion. We still have some urban miles in Oldham/Rochdale but not as many as you have.

In Scotland, the only major difference we have is that after Inverness we will head up the A9 via Golspie to Lybster and then due North to JoG (ie missing out Wick)

 

[8mph]

I've been planning a 2020 LEJOG so I'm fairly familiar with the routing options. I like your route in broad brush. We are also going up the Lune Valley via Tebay and Penrith. The major difference before then is we will go East of Manchester (having headed up through the Midlands in a similar way to you) because we will have a night at home in Glossop. After that we will head through Nelson and East of the Trough of Bowland and meet your route at Kirkby Lonsdale. I think our route is nicer than Runcorn/Warrington/Preston but maybe not enough to warrant the diversion. We still have some urban miles in Oldham/Rochdale but not as many as you have.

In Scotland, the only major difference we have is that after Inverness we will head up the A9 via Golspie to Lybster and then due North to JoG (ie missing out Wick)

Ah, I see that you have had plenty of time to plan! Thanks for your ideas, I did consider passing through Glossop but don't have the time to plan thoroughly, I'm busy waterproofing kit right now! I may switch to the YHA route somewhere around the Manchester area, to avoid urban sprawl, also it's not bad having the option of using hostels if the weather turns. On the way back South I would love to visit some of the Northumbrian coast and pass through Yorkshire.
As for Scotland, I traveled down the A9 in 2017 but set out at 1:30am so as to avoid the timber trucks which hurtle down it at terrifying speeds. I'm familiar with the route through Bonar Bridge and Lairg that goes through Sutherland, it's flat, empty and there is a good chance of getting a tail wild heading North.
Best of luck with your trip next year!

 

[8mph]

Well, I made it guys and have just crossed mainland Orkney, ready to catch the next ferry to Sanday. I wanted to say thanks to all of you in this thread and I'll do a write up of the journey in the travelogue section later.
I stuck with the original route most all of the way,the last leg from Lairg to Betty Hill was incredible and a doddle to ride.
The journey to Kirkwall has taken a week and three hours with thirty hours cycling in the rain, through three bouts of heavy weather and not a dry road since Preston. I've had a tailwind for most of the way, spent five nights in the tent, all in all it's been amazing!

 

[snorri]

It looks a bit dreich on the Struie.

 

[Blue Hills]

This is awesome, thank you so much!

Congratulations on your ride, especially with all that rain.

On a detail, if you rode it (not read the whole thread yet) can I ask how the revised route that @Vantage kindly showed was? The bit from Northwich until the Bridegwater just below Sale?

May be handy for one of my regular trips though I have a weakness for going through Tatton Park.

 

[8mph]

Seems a bit odd to deviate east to Boat of Garten, more miles for no apparent reason.
The NCN between Ardgay and Invershin was drawn up partly for the convenience of cyclists visiting a now closed Youth Hostel. Whilst the NCN route may be considered more scenic and carrying less traffic, it includes the need to carry your bike down a flight of stairs at the bridge crossing the river. I would suggest going via Bonar Bridge for a less tortuous and more level route with negligible difference in mileage, traffic volume will be minimal.
As already stated up thread, the JOG-Burwick ferry is seasonal, but the Gills Bay -St Margarets Hope service is year round.
It is further from Thurso to JOG than it is from Stromness to Kirkwall,difficult to understand why the much longer route is selected. The least energy sapping route for a cyclist between Thurso and Kirkwall would be via Scrabster, and not via Gills Bay or JO'G.
The route chosen between Alness and Ardgay is ok in summer, but you must keep abreast of the weather forecast before tackling it in October. There are no pubs, cafes or any places of respite going over the Struie Hill route. Following the lower NCN is a little longer in mileage but involves a lot less climbing and offers shops, pubs cafes etc in event of poor weather.
Much the same and worse could be expected on the section north from Lairg and along the north coast.

Congratulations on your ride, especially with all that rain.

On a detail, if you rode it (not read the whole thread yet) can I ask how the revised route that @Vantage kindly showed was? The bit from Northwich until the Bridegwater just below Sale?

May be handy for one of my regular trips though I have a weakness for going through Tatton Park.

I didn't take the detour, as I had run out of time to have a proper look and my main concern was to get beyond that densely populated section during daylight. The entire route was fine apart from a section passing through Walton, which was a little busy and not exactly scenic. I should have taken the detour suggested by @YukonBoy via the Trans Penine trail and skipped a section near Invergarten that @snorri warned me about. Sections running alongside the A9 were all fine but light from oncoming traffic slowed things down.

 

[8mph]

Woohoo, Back home!

Less rain but considerably more pain!