7 nights touring by bicycle - where? Now w/Cycling UK question

You could try the Trafalgar Way from Falmouth (Cornwall) to Trafalgar Square in Central London - the route taken by the Kings Messenger to convey the news of victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. Pretty much by definition it passes through historic towns and a few cities.
You can still stay in a fair few of the historic coaching inns the messenger used to change horses at in his non stop trip.

There are cycling, walking and driving variations of the route.
In November 2027 there is an organised cycling sportive along the route.
Not by cycle, but by a mixture of public transport and walking I have done the whole lot in the last 3 years since Covid, bit by bit.
One seriously amazing journey, which for me wasn't done sequentially for all sorts of reasons.

I saw Plaque 2 one day in Falmouth one day and it fired my imagination.

In case you don’t know it, the Sustrans website is a good place to start: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/

It has lots about the national network of cycle paths: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/national-cycle-network/

The first port of call for cycling should be the Sustrans website - it's a charity that has managed the development of the National Cycle Network (NCN). These are routes all over the country, mostly on quieter roads and sometimes off road. You could easily piece together a trip of your own for that.

Are you bringing bikes or will you need to hire them? If hiring you will presumably need to hire some form of panniers as well for your stuff? If you need to hire you probably need to arrange that asap, before planning accommodation.

Would you be interested in an organised ride? That could be a group ride, although it might be difficult to find one with your dates at short notice. But there are also plenty of self guided tours, which will provide accommodation, bag transfers and bike hire if needed. there are a number of companies but Saddle Skedaddle is a good one, with plenty of choice.

https://www.skedaddle.com
https://www.sustrans.org.uk

Edit: slower typing than Golden Girl!

Thanks so much for the link to Sustran! Britain has an impressive cycle way network. Will come in handy.

And the Trafalgar Way looks great too. SO much good information out there about cycling this route.

I've also come across an organization called Cycling UK, an advocacy group that is creating vetted gravel road routes for multi-day cycling trips. If any (or many!) could be so kind as to take a look at their list of 8 existing routes and opine on which might be most interesting/fun/practical etc, I'd love to hear your takes.

If one of these Cycling UK routes works, it seems like it would be nice to be away from car traffic in the country.

Firstly I would be a bit wary of the Trafalgar route, mainly because it would mean traversing both Cornwall and Devon. There is a famous cycling challenge route from Land's End in Cornwall to John o' Groats at the top of Scotland, known colloquially as LEJOG. Many do it and it is well known if counter intuitive that the hardest part is getting through Cornwall and Devon. There are some serious hills there.
All of the Cycling UK routes would be worthwhile except perhaps for the Cornish one. But it all depends on how fit you are and how much cycling you do. If I were to choose I would go for either the Traws Eryri (Snowdonia) route of=r some parts of the Great North route, but they would all work.

As I remember it you are an extremely experienced cyclist so I suspect any of those would work for you. There are some very interesting possibilities there.
One I'm a bit surprised not to see on that list is the C2C (the cycling not Wainwright's walking route). Technically it is from a ceremonial start at Whitehaven (dip wheels in the harbour) across to Sunderland. However many people would say to start from Ravenglass on Hadrian's cycleway (National Cycle Route 72) as a short extension. Or just stay on NCR72 all the way to South Shields.

Stuart - I think Cycling UK has looked to create some new routes and so well established ones like the C2C and the Way of the Roses (from Morecambe to Bridlington) have been left out.

Come to think of it an experienced cyclist could probably do both the C2C and The Way of the Roses as one big circle with a bit of train relocation in between in a week. That would be plenty of hills but some unparalleled scenery to take in across Northern England twice.

I was looking for a link route from Sunderland to Bridlington and was reminded that there are actually 5 trans pennine cycle routes to permutate. Each being distinctive from the others.
As well as the above there is the Reivers Cycle Route (Whitehaven to Tynemouth - takes you north of Hadrians Wall into the much wilder debateable lands), Walney to Wear (Barrow to Sunderland, lots of hills) and the Trans Pennine Trail (TPT- Southport to Hornsea.
The TPT is a tiny part of a Trans European cycling and walking trail from somewhere on the West Coast of Ireland to Istanbul. I have no idea how much of that whole trail is open for cycling yet.I

The UK has very good cycling infrastructure even if sometimes a bit disjointed. One example is the C2C. You make the grand start at Whitehaven harbour, come up the road past the Zest restaurant then promptly find a missing 3/4 mile before starting the trail proper.
I was in a brainstorming meeting a few months ago as to how to fill that tiny gap. Everyone uses a perfectly good and sensible route currently, but apparently it doesn't quite meet national specifications, especially concerning installing a toucan crossing!

C2C or Hadrian's cycleways are looking pretty good to me. I like the idea of crossing the England coast to coast, and the cycling infrastructure of both routes looks reasonably safe. Distances look manageable as well, which would leave some days for riding elsewhere maybe closer to London.

If I am correctly appraising route maps, both ride use the same terminus east of Newcastle. Other end of Hadrian's west of Carlisle; C2C tracking a bit farther south, passing through the Lakes District, ending in Whitehaven.

SO a few questions about these routes if you'd be so kind.

Scenery, villages, accommodation opportunities (I'll be booking online same day) - is there a preference?

I'm assuming the most usual wind direction in the region in July will be blowing out of the southwest, with west and south in the mix? If that's correct I'd prefer to ride west to east. Given that, is it logistically feasible to leave London in the morning, train to near either of the eastern termini, and start riding for at least a couple of hours same day? I'm not a route purist - won't feel less fulfilled if I don't actually ride saltwater to saltwater. SO I could start at train stations a bit inland from official western termini if accessing those means doubling back.

Or is it a generally better idea to ride east to west?

C2C looks harder from an elevation perspective. Is the scenery better to an extent that justifies?

Thanks, I need to do some more research :)

In North West England we have plenty of cycle routes. A good one would be the Leeds - Liverpool canal, 129 miles long IIRC. You could possibly do it in 2 days with an overnight stop in the Blackburn area, although 3 days would be more leisurely.
You could catch a train from London to Liverpool.
Once in Leeds, another train 30 minutes south to Barnsley where you can pick up the Trans Pennine trail back to Liverpool across stunning countryside, following a more southerly route.
Along the route, you have the cities of Manchester, Leeds and LIverpool which are good tourist destinations, lots to see, especially Liverpool, where you could spend a day or two recharging. Sounds like my kind of holiday.
BTW I was recently in the Netherlands and their cycle network is unbelievable. But they have no hills to get in the way.

The C2C has it's eastern terminus at Sunderland, Hadrians at South Shields.

From Sunderland there are direct trains several times a day to London on Grand Central trains.
From South Shields a fitting end is probably road cycling down the coast to Sunderland.
Or take the Tyne and Wear Metro (think Seattle Light Rail) to Newcastle Central for LNER to London.
In the west C2C starts at Whitehaven, Hadrians at Ravenglass (30 minutes drive south of Whitehaven). However due to coastal erosion it is closed between Ravenglass and Sellafield.
All three places have stops on the scenic Coastal Rail line. TBH for Sellafield I would get off at Seascale, get an ice cream from Mawsons, and fish and chips from Salt (if open), then the next train to Sellafield an hour later, a two minute journey.
At Lancaster get a seat on the left side of the train if you can.
From London Euston, leave at 0830, change at Lancaster and Barrow, arrive Seascale 1407, Whitehaven 1437.
Or 1030, change Lancaster only, Seascale 1518, Whitehaven 1540.

Yes better to ride West to East with the wind.

At Whitehaven it is obligatory to start at the C2C big sign at the slipway (2 minutes ride from the station), and (if he's not at the Beacon) get Barney the Goose in the picture. The town has had a Barney the Goose resident for over 100 years.
Oh and a coffee from the adjacent coffee truck at prices so cheap you will do a double take

I agree with the assessment that C2C will be a lot more challenging than Hadrians. Through Cumbria it's more mountain scenery. Hadrians is more coastal scenery and a lot of Roman history.
On Hadrians you pass through Workington - until very recently a big steel making town. Among export destinations for the rails was Seattle for the transcontinental railroads, sent of course round South America.

I got a bit diverted on Sunday night re- accomodation
Not sure if it's this July or next July.
Bear in mind this is peak season. I'm also not sure how much sightseeing you want to do, or how hard-core the riding is planned to be
Hadrian's Cycleway-
Night 1- Whitehaven. A lot of cyclists stay at the Lismore Guest House. For somewhere a bit more up market try the Chase Hotel. For a cookie cutter hotel the Premier Inn. Or for somewhere that little bit special the Moresby Hall Hotel. Except the PI best to book any of those ahead of time.
Night 2- Silloth, Bowness on Solway or Port Carlisle.
If you're struggling push on into the City of Carlisle or ideally Brampton. If you want somewhere a bit special in Brampton look at the Oakwood Park hotel, although any where will do. I think Whitehaven to Brampton would be a long day.
Night 3- Hexham, Chollerford (probably my first choice) or Corbridge.
You could even divert up one side of the Tyne Valley to Wark or Bellingham, and come back down the other side next morning. If you did that be sure to have your helmet camera on

If you're struggling hop on a train to Newcastle.

Hank,
I've been reading this morning (on the Gilnockie Tower Facebook page, of all places) about the Kirkpatrick coast to coast coast cycle route - 256 miles from Stranraer to Eyemouth.
The route is apparently just two years old, and is named after Kirkpatrick MacMillan who apparently invented the pedal cycle (a velocipede).
You reach Stranraer by train from London via Glasgow (or fly into Glasgow/Edinburgh) and from Eyemouth Reston or Berwick on Tweed are your closest rail stations - about 5 and 8 miles respectively.
It takes between 4 and 8 days - reading your current TR I suspect you could achieve and enjoy the 4 day version.
A really interesting route across Dumfries & Galloway, then the Scottish Borders.
Skeddadle do it as an organised trip to and from Carlisle, with included transfers.

Thanks for this last suggestion re trans Scotland. I'm waiting to decide on a UK touring route until the weather forecast is quite close to departure, going to prioritize dry if it is looking quite rainy in more northern sectors.

Thanks again!