The Route

It didn’t take me long to figure out a route for myself. I’d read a couple of books and looked at the routes suggested by the Cycle Touring Club, but none of them satisfied my own style. I wanted to avoid as many cars and roads as I could and the obvious way to do this was to look at the official cycle routes that criss-cross the country and see if I could link them up together. The focal point of my route was to try and incorporate the Pennine Cycleway into the plans, as on a personal note it will be 30 years since I first did the walking equivalent, the Pennine Way, which I did with my father in 1976.

I used the Sustrans web-site to gather most of the information that I needed and purchased a set of maps that cover the dedicated cycle routes that I would be following. The result is a superb trip in prospect, longer and hillier than most people would choose, but perfect for me!




Here is a list of the cycle routes that I have linked together with approximate mileages:

The Cornish Way. Land’s End to Padstow. 76 miles.
The West Country Way. Padstow to Chew Stoke. 229 miles.
The Avon Cycleway. Chew Stoke to the Severn Road Bridge, via the Clifton Suspension Bridge. 38 miles.
Link from Severn Bridge to Bromsgrove via back roads. 100 miles.
West Midlands Cycle Route. Bromsgrove to Etwall. 70 miles.
Pennine Cycleway (Peak District). Etwall to Holmfirth. 73 miles.
Pennine Cycleway (South Pennines & the Dales). Holmfirth to Appleby. 124 miles.
Pennine Cycleway (North). Appleby to Renwick. 25 miles.
Link from Renwick to Innerleithen via back roads. 100 miles.
Coast & Castles Cycle Route. Innerleithen to Edinburgh. 138 miles.
Edinburgh to Aberdeen Cycle Route. Edinburgh to Kinross (B916). 33 miles.
Link from Kinross (B916) to Perth via back roads. 20 miles.
The Salmon Run. Perth to Pitlochry. 32 miles.
Lochs & Glens Cycle Route (North). Pitlochry to Inverness. 100 miles.
Aberdeen to John O’Groats Cycle Way. Inverness to John O’Groats. 170 miles.

The total approximate distance is 1328 miles, which I am hoping to complete within 3 weeks. Obviously, this is a very challenging route and I am mindful that there are many ups and downs in terms of the terrain involved, especially with a fully laden bike with all the camping gear.