Yorkshire to Scotland - Planning my first ever tour

[Dharma Wheel]

Hi Guys, I am planning my first ever tour for late summer so i thought i'd dip into this extensive pool of knowledge. I'm a newbie to all this malarky not nearly fit enough but getting there and reckon if i get the practice miles in i could do 240km over 3 days,Harrogate to Scottish Borders, even with the constant elevations.

My first issue is sorting a route to avoid larger roads without zig zagging and adding too much distance on the clock. I had thought about the A68, never too bad for driving but what about riding? anybody gone up it?

Secondly i need to consider a route with either camping or hostels on route i reckon 2 nights stay over on route, again without proper research i reckon the A68 would over more options? some where near Darlington for the first night and north newcatle (Otterburn areea) for the second.

All speculation and thought at the moment, was going to start with the C2C but have recently been given some serious thought to it.

Has anybody done a route close to this and can recomend/scare me of?

All the best and keep them wheels turning.

 

[rich p]

Everyone has a different idea of what is fun or acceptable in terms of roads and routes.

FWIW, I like minor roads with little traffic even if it adds some miles to the journey and very likely hills too as the main routes tend to take the geological line of least resistance. In general I avoid like the plague, A roads unless it's absolutely necessary through lack of time or lack of alternatives.

In terms of route planning, I guage how far I want to do in a day given the likely terrain, and then look at a decently scaled road map to find out where that takes me. Factor in the campsites, B&Bs or hotels available and narrow your possibilities down. Depending on the size and popularity of your accommodation choice, it may be prudent to pre-book to avoid sleeping under a bridge.

 

[vernon]

The A68 is fine at weekends - I don't know what the traffic's like during the week though.

You might like to try www.viamichelin.com as a route planner. Select the bike option and keep the legs of the trip less than 200km to see what it comes up with. Usually it finds low traffic routes that are pleasant.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Here is a route for you which should provide a variety of terrian for you to ride through, as you did not say where you wanted to finish up, I have taken it to Hadwick.



Harrogate, Aldfield, Masham, Richmond, Greta Bridge, Barnard Castle, Eggleston, Alston, Haltwhistle, Bellingham, Kielder and finally Harwick

 

[Dharma Wheel]

Here is a route for you which should provide a variety of terrian for you to ride through, as you did not say where you wanted to finish up, I have taken it to Hadwick.



Harrogate, Aldfield, Masham, Richmond, Greta Bridge, Barnard Castle, Eggleston, Alston, Haltwhistle, Bellingham, Kielder and finally Harwick

hawick's close enough!

 

[Dharma Wheel]

Here is a route for you which should provide a variety of terrian for you to ride through, as you did not say where you wanted to finish up, I have taken it to Hadwick.



Harrogate, Aldfield, Masham, Richmond, Greta Bridge, Barnard Castle, Eggleston, Alston, Haltwhistle, Bellingham, Kielder and finally Harwick

Good route cheers, may take a look at hat with a few tweeks here and there.

 

[Telemark]

Have you had a look at the NCN1 North Sea Cycle route? There are some really pretty parts to it, mostly on very minor roads (and some short sections off-road) - we have cycled Alnmouth to Edinburgh via Dunbar (NCN1 changing to NCN76 -?not sure about the number - at Berwick-upon-Tweed) in 3 days, and once from Berwick-upon-Tweed via the NCN1 through the Borders to Edinburgh in 2 days. I can't comment on the sections further south, but I wouldn't like to cycle on the A68 when there are so many quiet winding roads about to explore... but everybody is different.

Our touring tends to be at a leisurely pace, 17-22 kph rolling depending on wind/hills/looking around rather than aiming for speed. We also stop lots to look at castles, beaches etc, watch the local wildlife, have plenty of cake stops, pick cherries along the road... doing about 90-100k per day without tiring ourselves out.

I find looking at maps to decide where to go is (almost) half of the fun ... enjoy wherever you end up going!

T

 

[Dharma Wheel]

Have you had a look at the NCN1 North Sea Cycle route? There are some really pretty parts to it, mostly on very minor roads (and some short sections off-road) - we have cycled Alnmouth to Edinburgh via Dunbar (NCN1 changing to NCN76 -?not sure about the number - at Berwick-upon-Tweed) in 3 days, and once from Berwick-upon-Tweed via the NCN1 through the Borders to Edinburgh in 2 days. I can't comment on the sections further south, but I wouldn't like to cycle on the A68 when there are so many quiet winding roads about to explore... but everybody is different.

Our touring tends to be at a leisurely pace, 17-22 kph rolling depending on wind/hills/looking around rather than aiming for speed. We also stop lots to look at castles, beaches etc, watch the local wildlife, have plenty of cake stops, pick cherries along the road... doing about 90-100k per day without tiring ourselves out.

I find looking at maps to decide where to go is (almost) half of the fun ... enjoy wherever you end up going!

T

No i havent, will try look for a map of that route, longer but lovely.

thanks

 

[Telemark]

No i havent, will try look for a map of that route, longer but lovely.

thanks

We've put a write up here of the Alnmouth-Edinburgh tour, with photos and a link to a route map at the bottom, + you can see the CycleChat cycle kit in action. Photos etc of the Berwick-Edinburgh tour here.

One great thing about the NCN1 is that is runs parallel with the East Coast train route, so fast/frequent transport to the start/from the end point is not a problem (as long as you book ahead for bike spaces - which you can do yourself at the time of booking the tickets on the East Coast trains website). We solved any timing issues with taking the train out and cycling home for both these tours .

Be careful though, once you start this touring malarky, you may find yourself addicted!

T

 

[Dharma Wheel]

We've put a write up here of the Alnmouth-Edinburgh tour, with photos and a link to a route map at the bottom, + you can see the CycleChat cycle kit in action. Photos etc of the Berwick-Edinburgh tour here.

One great thing about the NCN1 is that is runs parallel with the East Coast train route, so fast/frequent transport to the start/from the end point is not a problem (as long as you book ahead for bike spaces - which you can do yourself at the time of booking the tickets on the East Coast trains website). We solved any timing issues with taking the train out and cycling home for both these tours .

Be careful though, once you start this touring malarky, you may find yourself addicted!

T

great stuff! i hope it is addictive, cant belieive i've spent all these years bikeless! is there any top class web sites about ncn1 or is sustrans the best place?

 

[Kirstie]

I've done York - Edinburgh and I did it in 3 days. The first leg was York - Bishop Auckland; then Bishop Auckland to Kielder, and then Kielder to Edinburgh. Each day was between 75 - 85 miles. I did go up the A68 from Bishop Auckland over to the hills just south of Hexham, and it was OK - it was a Sunday morning when I did it. I'll have to have a look at my tracklogs files to give you the exact route, but it was all on lanes (apart from the A68!) and it was a really great ride. It was part of my LEJOG. Would you mind bearing with me for a couple of days when I find the details?

 

[pkeenan]

I cycled from Coldstream to York in 10 hours last summer. It was an awesome day (probably one of the sunniest days!) but I was doing it more as a form of transport (no money, so train was not an option, also couldn't hitch a lift with anyone!), so took a quick route (160 miles), which meant I was on the A19 for about 90 miles.

All I can say is *don't* do that. (Which goes without saying, really.) It was a great days riding though - I loved every minute of it, apart from A19 between Newcastle and Hartlepool - south of Hartlepool and the A19 actually became very cycle friendly, believe it or not!

The A697 which goes from Coldstream to Morpeth is an absolute beauty for cycling. It's not busy, and even when there are cars, the roads are big and they give you a lot of space. It's got some lovely scenary - the cheviots to the east, going through hills, woods - it's just a great road!

I actually live on NCN1 and have explored it up to Edinburgh, and down to Newcastle. I couldn't recommend this route enough - it's really lovely.

Let us know what you do eventually, as I'll be doing it in July and want to see what others come up with interms of routes!

 

[Fnaar]

The A697 which goes from Coldstream to Morpeth is an absolute beauty for cycling. It's not busy, and even when there are cars, the roads are big and they give you a lot of space. It's got some lovely scenary - the cheviots to the east, going through hills, woods - it's just a great road!

Well, it's a good road and the scenery is lovely. but the stretch from Morpeth to Longframlington can be very busy at times, and cars go very fast indeed. I cycled it once, and vowed I'd never do so again! Horrible!
A longer (far pleasanter, but much hillier too) alternative would be (from Morpeth) to go Pigdon Netherwitton Forestburn gate Rothbury Thropton Cartington Lorbottle Callaly Glanton (where you could either join the A697 nearby or cross it ...(carefully... cars absolutely hammer it on this stretch IME) and go on to Eglingham, Old Bewick, Chillingham, Chatton, Wooler... on the whole, this would be a much lovelier journey, though it comes at a price (hills and distance)