· A friend and I cycled this journey in 1996 to raise money for CLIC charity and also to enjoy a two-week holiday seeing the best bits of Britain. The route chosen links up the most interesting areas from the point of view of landscape and also visits some interesting historic cities. Our families drove each day in a mini-bus and we met up each evening either staying in YHAs or camping. It took 15 days and added about 200 miles to the shortest route between the two places:
Lands End - Tintagel YH via Penzance, Helston, Truro & Wadebridge
Tintagel - Lynton YHA via A39, Bideford,Tarka Trail cycle route, Barnstaple, Blackmoor Gate and Woody Bay
Lynton - Bristol - A39 across Exmoor, Minehead, Bridgwater, then A38
Bristol - Ludlow YH via Old Severn Bridge, Wye Valley, Monmouth, Hereford, B4361 to Ludlow
Ludlow - Shrewsbury - A49 (rest day)
Shrewsbury - Southport - via A49, Whitchurch, A41, Chester, Birkenhead - Ferry to Liverpool, A456 to Southport
Southport - Hawes YH - via, Preston, A59, Clitheroe, Slaidburn, Ingleton, B6255 to Hawes
Hawes - Once Brewed YH - via Kirkby Stephen, Brough, Middleton-in Teesdale, Alston and Haltwhistle
Once Brewed YH - Byrness via Bellingham
Byrness to Edinburgh via A68, Jedburgh, Galashiels, A7 to Edinburgh Edinburgh to Killin via Forth Bridge, A985, Stirling, A84, Callander to Killin
Killin to Glencoe - A85, Crianlarich, A82, Rannoch Moor, Glenco YH
Gelncoe to Drumnadrochit (Loch Ness) via Fort William, A82, Great Glen
Loch Ness - Carbisdale Castle YH at Boanr Bridge via A833, Beauly, Dingwall, Alness B9176
Carbisdale to J O'G via Loch Buidhe, A9 coast road, A99 to Wick then last 17 miles along A99
An extremely enjoyable route - helped of course by very good weather.
Chris France, Tiverton, Devon
· Try contacting the National Cycle Network 0845 1130065 - they have great maps of lots of cycle routes around the UK (which even list pubs along the way!). They can also help you to plan your journey. Their website sustrans.org.uk has an online system where you can also plan your route.
Gill Harrison, Bristol 0117 946 6255
· My wife and I cycled Lands End to John O'Groats in 1997 and used the route in Lands End to John O'Groats The Great British Bike Adventure by Phil Horsley. It is a CORDEE book with ISBN 1-871890-08-X. This guide uses quiet roads and cycle tracks wherever possible. The route is laid out as a line map showing all the junctions, roundabouts, bridges as well as features such as canals, railways and motorways crossed. Cultural and historic highlights are described and tourist information centres, pubs and cycle repair shops are listed. We only missed the route once!
John Dennis
· Join the Cyclists' Touring Club (0870 873 0060; ctc.org.uk). They can provide youth hostel and B&B based routes which use minor roads as much as possible. The Lonely Planet Cycling in Britain also contains a route description. We used a combination of all these, plus some of our own variations, when we did our sponsored cycle earlier this year. On the whole, we found the routes and directions very accurate and useful. We can supply more detailed information about our own route if wanted.
