Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Cycle Tours => Topic started by: jags on December 23, 2012, 02:59:40 PM
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Where in scotland is best to tour.
great scenery
not to many hills ::)
no big citys
frindly campsites.
great roads.
that should cover most things, am i'm dreaming or will scotland fit the bill.
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I am a West coast man myself.
Lots of folk miss out South West Scotland but it's a great part of the country.
I have done Arran Islay Mull and Skye
Great places but the ferries can be off in bad weather and muck up schedules.
SYHA are great places. The one on Arran is first class.
I did Fort William to Inverness and then Aberdeen. Last leg was a wee bit hilly - past the ski slopes ;)
PM me if you need more details
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Jags,
South West Scotland (near Dumfries) has the CTC KM Rally around the end of May over a long bank holiday weekend.
Good camping, roads, routes, company and evening meals in the local village hall.
Recommended.
There are quite a few hills though…
Julian.
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jags - you probably have checked this out but a good place to start is the Tourist Authority site which has a cycling page ...
http://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/activities/cycling/ (http://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/activities/cycling/)
I am based in the Borders and the local tourist board has a free cycling guide that they can send you.
The local Borders web site for cycling is ...
http://www.visitscottishborders.com/WhatToSee/CyclingAndMtb/default.aspx (http://www.visitscottishborders.com/WhatToSee/CyclingAndMtb/default.aspx)
The Borders is very quiet and becoming popular for touring cyclists. There are several marked local and national bike routes through the area. The area is moorland and hills in the West slowly descending to farmland and the coast in the East. Roads are good and quiet. Some options ...
There is the marked Borders Loop (250 miles/402 km). Guide available for the route and to accommodation.
There is also the marked 4 Abbeys Cycle Route linking Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso and Jedburgh (55 miles/88 km). Guide available.
Or you could cycle the length of the 89 miles/143 km River Tweed Cycleway to the sea - all downhill with a gentle descent. Guide also available.
This site is good too ...
http://www.cyclescottishborders.com/ (http://www.cyclescottishborders.com/)
Hope that helps. It's a beautiful area. Why not cross Southern Scotland from Dumfries and Galloway (also superb) and on through the Borders to the East Coast?
great scenery TICK
not to many hills ::) TICK
no big citys TICK
frindly campsites TICK (and you can wild camp in many places under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/ (http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/))
great roads TICK
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Thanks lads i reckon scotland is a lot like ireland only more rugged and wild whick i love ;)
i've been thinking about that KM rally this couple years and i like the idea of a base camp 8)
stunt pilot thanks for the links i'll check them out as soon as my grand daughter gets off my lap she wants to watch micky mouse on the computer,guess whos gonna win this one. ;D
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I did a circle from Resipole to Glenfinnan via Moidart, then down the east shore of Loch Shiel (forest road) then over a big hill down into Strontian. Beautiful, but not a lot of accommodation en route. The Loch Shiel - Strontian hill is steep and long, the other hills are not too bad. A lovely ride.
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Thanks lads i reckon scotland is a lot like ireland only more rugged and wild whick i love ;)
i've been thinking about that KM rally this couple years and i like the idea of a base camp 8)
stunt pilot thanks for the links i'll check them out as soon as my grand daughter gets off my lap she wants to watch micky mouse on the computer,guess whos gonna win this one. ;D
Sorry if I disapoint but the north of Scotland is nothing like any scenery I saw in Ireland. All the areas from the Trossacks north, are in my opinion, much nicer and grander.
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ah not one bit disappointed every where is different whats that saying
beauty is in the eye of the beholder ;D ;D...
i'm never disappointed when i see other countrys especally if the sun is on my back my wee legs are flying and the company is good ..
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Your legs won't be flying if you go up the fantastic climb of Beadlach na Ba http://www.scotlandinfo.eu/applecross-peninsula-and-bealach-na-ba.html
It makes the Healey Pass seem short and level.
Leg might fly on the way down though.
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Wow that is sure beautiful reckon it would be worth suffering.
ah if i got my act together loose a couple stone and another 5000 miles in my legs then there only hills.
bring it on.
should we ask you know who to come along ;D ;D ;D
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My recommendation Jags would be to do Skye, South Harris, Lewis and the Western coast upwards from Ullapool to Cape Wrath. If you do go to the Outer Hebrides, the Golden Road which goes around the entire coastline of South Harris is probably the most beautiful single day ride I've ever done, stunning contrasts of landscapes between east and west coasts, about 55 miles round trip to Tarbart, where I left my luggage for the day. Would also highly recommend going from Portree in Skye around the Trotternish peninusula, the eastern side of which you can get the ferry to Tarbert. The West coast is hilly however, but not too mountainous!
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Cheers Fred and happy christmas buddy.
Fred did you take photos of that trip ;)
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My recommendation Jags would be to do Skye, South Harris, Lewis and the Western coast upwards from Ullapool to Cape Wrath. If you do go to the Outer Hebrides, the Golden Road which goes around the entire coastline of South Harris is probably the most beautiful single day ride I've ever done, stunning contrasts of landscapes between east and west coasts, about 55 miles round trip to Tarbart, where I left my luggage for the day. Would also highly recommend going from Portree in Skye around the Trotternish peninusula, the eastern side of which you can get the ferry to Tarbert. The West coast is hilly however, but not too mountainous!
Whilst I agree the road around to Lochinver and Drumbeg are well worth doing, it would be a pity to miss out on Applecross Loop and Ardnamurchan Point.
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should we ask you know who to come along ;D ;D ;D
He would have a problem as there are no alternative roads or places where he could cheat. ;) ;)
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He would have a problem as there are no alternative roads or places where he could cheat. ;) ;)
payback time so ;)
anyway do you lads have route marked on a map you could show me, it's all fine well telling me i should go here and there but these name places are all just names to me ::)
will it be a circluar route how many miles in total are there loads of campsites on those routes.
i know i know i should research this myself but i always find it much better to ask someone who done the tour. ;)
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As others have said, Arran, Mull of Kintyre, Islay, Jura, Moidart, Etc, etc. all fantastic.
There is a foot ferry (a big RIB) from in Antrim to Campbeltown . The trip across in itself is worth it. I did it this summer in flat calm conditions. We were skimming along at 30+ knots between Scotland and Ireland with dolphins rising either side of the boat.
The ride up Kintyre from Campbletown is lovely and gives you loads of options to branch off at the top.
One key difference between Scotland and the rest of the uk and I guess Ireland is that wild camping is possible. Just be careful of the ticks in moorland areas.
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I followed the NSCR from Edinburgh up to Tongue and would recommend the route. To me the best part was from Inverness upwards the A road is single track with passing places and is remote but beautiful. Camping and stopping places are infrequent but there are plenty of places for wild camping. I stayed at the Crask Inn They have a bunkhouse and I thing they also allow camping.
As I am sure you know the weather can be wild at any time of the year I went in May and had to alter plans due to the (70 miles an hour) severity of the wind.
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Cheers Fred and happy christmas buddy.
Fred did you take photos of that trip ;)
Cheers Jags, a happy Xmas to you also - yes I did but alas not digital ones and haven't got around to scanning them yet. Also an error in earlier post, you catch the ferry to Tarbert from the western side of the Trotternish peninsula, not the eastern side!
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What a great idea Jags!!
I wish I could join you.
When I did LEJOG I rode from Gretna Green to Dumfries to Ardrossan then the ferry to Arran. Thence to Oban and along the Great Glen to Inverness. There's a great off road option beside the Caledonian Canal! From Inverness to Bonar Bridge, to Crask, Tongue and then across to John o Groats!
It was fantastic! The SYHA is a well organised and Carbisdale Castle YH near Bonar Bridge is particularly good.
There are a few spots where you can feel that you really are in a remote area, which I enjoyed particularly. Frm the Crask Inn north to Tongue was very pleasant indeed.
Also, I discovered Scotland's national drink. It's called Irn Bru and I took to it with gusto.
Scotland was the best part of the whole LEJOG experience. If I can work out how to attach photos to this list I will post a couple.
Cheers Jags and I hope Santa was kind to you.
Cheers,
pj
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cheers peter all just a dream at this moment work is not to plentyful so money is pretty tight.
but having said that its no harm planning a tour just in case.
i'm sitting here in my cycling gear waiting for the rain to stop the sky is black and it's lashing it down .
think i'll have another coffee.
chers
jags.
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cheers peter all just a dream at this moment work is not to plentyful so money is pretty tight.
but having said that its no harm planning a tour just in case.
i'm sitting here in my cycling gear waiting for the rain to stop the sky is black and it's lashing it down .
think i'll have another coffee.
chers
jags.
Yep, me too. I spend ages planning trips. Next one will see me travel from Dumfries to Kirkwall and back in 5 days.
It's doable if the ferries run to time!
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ah i will more than likely spend most of my time next year cycling the country lanes here,
a few overnighters will do me fine i reckon yeah sure i'de love to get away but you need money for any kind of tour somethng i dont have at the moment ;D ;D
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Hi Jags,
Dan kindly PM'd me to explain photos, attaching, procedure for.
But I uploaded a small selection to Photobucket instead.
http://tinyurl.com/brbhf4e
And then it occurred to me that I took these because they appealed to me from my own selfish "Australian" perspective and you may not find them as interesting, seeing as you live in a greener place than I do!
Cheers,
pj
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thanks peter really beautiful photos glad you posted them .
looks like you had great weather as well.
cheers
anto.