Trip in the UK for two weeks in September

[Gabriel]

Hello everyone,

I’m a French student, my English might be unclear, I’m sorry!
I’m planning to do a bike trip in the UK this summer (from the 08th till 23rd September) with a friend and we’re wondering where to go and what to see.
We expect to ride an average 100kms a day and want to make a loop so as to start from and arrive in Bournemouth. As for now the journey would go through Plymouth, Bideford, Bristol, Aberystwyth, Ruthin, and Bournemouth again.
Please find here two GoogleMaps screen captions of our planned journey:
http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=566054Boucle1.jpg
http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=135531boucle2.jpg
We would like to ride in the nature and not through big cities (though we’ll need to go to some on the way to buy food for instance), and we enjoy the sea and national parks.
Our questions:
Where to go, where not to go? Is it possible to sleep with a tent in the countryside? Do you have any great ideas to make the trip even better? (Do you want us to visit you? ) Is a bike trip any different in the UK and in France (for those who know France!).
And please feel free to suggest us anything you may think of! Thank you in advance for your help and maybe see you soon
Gabriel

 

[Hacienda71]

Bonsoir Gabriel

Best to try to book campsites first. There is a good resource here which shows most of the campsites across the country. People can be a bit funny about wild camping in England, although if you can find the landowner they may be ok with it.
Be prepared for slightly narrower roads in the UK than in much of France. I am sure plenty of the others here will give you specific info on the local areas you mention.

Bon chance et bon voyage

 

[mcshroom]

My advice would be to aim further north if you can. The country gets more rural the further north you go in general (though also more hills), although even out in the Scottish Highlands you are unlikely to be more than about 20km from somewhere with a shop. Also there's the added extra that 'wild camping' is legal in Scotland (and Dartmoor in Devon, as well as tolerated in the Lake District) which makes it a bit easier if that's what you want to do.

That's not to say that there's nothing worth cycling round in Southern England. The North and South Downs, the Chilterns, The Cotswolds and the uplands of Devon and Cornwall are all nice areas.

Also if you are route planning, have a look at http://www.bikehike.co.uk which will allow you to see both a google map and a proper walking style map (referred to as Ordinace Survey or 'OS' map) of the country.

 

[middleagecyclist]

I don't know this part of the UK very well but one place within your scope I would like to cycle is the Devon Coast to Coast (C2C).

This is a web site you might find useful.

Hope you have a great time.

 

[RaRa]

If you do end up starting in Bournemouth I can recommend a route called the Castlemain way that will take you through the New Forest - it's a nice ride that i can recommend.

 

[bof]

Finding Food is rarely a problem. Shops in the UK open longer hours than France and most petrol stations sell food. Pubs do cooked food during lunch and in the evening.

It is not as easy to find cycle shops and repairs as France.

Roads are not as smooth as France and around bigger towns they are often dug up and then poorly repaired making them bumpy.

Had a quick look at your route in Wales. Suggest you ride the A road between Chepstow and Monmouth along the Wye valley. It is not busy and very beautiful. Then go Monmouth to Hay-on-Wye using back roads and the Gospel Pass which climbs to 500 meters.
The section Swansea - Port Talbot is not great. An alternative is across the mountains from Aberystwyth to Rhaeyader then Brecon - Cardiff. You can ride almost all the way from Brecon to Cardiff off-road on purpose built trails using old railway lines.

 

[Globalti]

Salut Gabriel.

A few words of warning: bicycles are often stolen in Britain, even from campsites while you sleep in your tent. Make sure you use a lock and try not to leave the bikes in a public place out of your sight.

In rural parts of the UK we have a tiny biting insect called the midge. You would not think this can be a problem but they can ruin your camping holiday because they love the evenings and mornings when there's no sun and no wind. Bring an insect repellent with DEET and some mosquito coils, which you can burn around your tent. They are worst in Scotland but can be a pain in the derriere anywhere damp and green. There are lots of websites on midges, for example: http://www.themidgieman.com/

We have half the land space of France but about the same population so our roads are very busy. You need to research traffic-free routes with Sustrans etc and avoid the major A roads (our equivalent to your RNs)

Generally our coffee is not good and our croissants are horrible, on the other hand our beers are excellent and much better than France's Euro-fizz.

In Wales, make sure the people do not mistake you for English. They don't like the English very much and sometimes in pubs young Welsh people try to start fights with us, especially if they haven't enjoyed a relaxing evening with their favourite sheep recently and they are feeling a bit frustrated.

Bon séjour!

 

[albion]

You really need to ensure you have the National Cycle Network app (Sustrans APP)

 

[doog]

Salut Gabriel.

A few words of warning: bicycles are often stolen in Britain, even from campsites while you sleep in your tent.

its also as rare as rocking horse poo ....basically unheard of. You get a few isolated incidents on the big commercial parks when left outside mobile homes etc but please dont scare the bloke needlessly

 

[middleagecyclist]

its also as rare as rocking horse poo ....basically unheard of. You get a few isolated incidents on the big commercial parks when left outside mobile homes etc but please dont scare the bloke needlessly

+1

 

[doog]

Hello everyone,

I’m a French student, my English might be unclear, I’m sorry!
I’m planning to do a bike trip in the UK this summer (from the 08th till 23rd September) with a friend and we’re wondering where to go and what to see.
We expect to ride an average 100kms a day and want to make a loop so as to start from and arrive in Bournemouth. As for now the journey would go through Plymouth, Bideford, Bristol, Aberystwyth, Ruthin, and Bournemouth again.
Please find here two GoogleMaps screen captions of our planned journey:
http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=566054Boucle1.jpg
http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=135531boucle2.jpg
We would like to ride in the nature and not through big cities (though we’ll need to go to some on the way to buy food for instance), and we enjoy the sea and national parks.
Our questions:
Where to go, where not to go? Is it possible to sleep with a tent in the countryside? Do you have any great ideas to make the trip even better? (Do you want us to visit you? ) Is a bike trip any different in the UK and in France (for those who know France!).
And please feel free to suggest us anything you may think of! Thank you in advance for your help and maybe see you soon
Gabriel

I live near Bournemouth, those roads you have picked between Plymouth and Bournemouth and Bournemouth and Bath are not good cycling roads. The A35 and A350 are dangerous, rarely do you see cyclists on them .Try and plan to keep clear of them by taking minor roads.

 

[Globalti]

A group of my mountain bike club pals had their bikes stolen from a campsite in the UK; they had cable locked all the bikes to a tree, which was out of sight from the tents. A van drove unchallenged into the campsite late at night and their bikes and several others were taken. That's enough for me never to leave my bike anywhere out of my sight, I would dismantle it and lock it in a car.

What about that German bloke who cycled all the way round the world then got his bike stolen in Portsmouth or somewhere? This is a classic case of people relaxing because they think the UK is a safe place; it's not - it's full of thieving scum and pikeys and red light jumpers.

 

[Bikerchick]

Hiya,
Would love you to come and see us. I am doing a tour myself in France in Aug till about 10 September but when I'm back call by.
We have great routes round here, as already suggested, Monmouth, Hay on Wye, Wye Valley.

I recently did a 3day trip in Wales, around saundersfoot, St David's and Aberystwyth, lovely scenery although a little hilly!!

 

[hoopdriver]

I recommend Wales as well. Sustrans has several good routes there with fine maps readily available. The Welsh are very friendly despite what some other poster has said, and while it is always a good idea to keep a good eye on your bike thefts are not as common as the scaremongers would have yo believe.

In general you are well advised to keep clear of the busy A roads in England. Traffic can be swift and hostile. But if you stick to the quieter roads and country lanes this is a beautful country in which to ride. As noted above, there are other nice places in Britain to ride - the Scottish highlands, the Lakes etc, but there s nothing wrong with your proposed route and it is also closer to where you will land coming over from France.

 

[hoopdriver]

A group of my mountain bike club pals had their bikes stolen from a campsite in the UK; they had cable locked all the bikes to a tree, which was out of sight from the tents. A van drove unchallenged into the campsite late at night and their bikes and several others were taken. That's enough for me never to leave my bike anywhere out of my sight, I would dismantle it and lock it in a car.

What about that German bloke who cycled all the way round the world then got his bike stolen in Portsmouth or somewhere? This is a classic case of people relaxing because they think the UK is a safe place; it's not - it's full of thieving scum and pikeys and red light jumpers.

I assume the red light jumpers to which you refer are those bicycle thieves who are making their getaways? Otherwise why are you mentioning them in a discussion of bicycle security. It is a complete non sequitur.