Route help/inspiration

[adjustablewench]

After having spent far too long contemplating routes and ferries i thought i ask for inspiration on here...

At easter i am taking my two youngest off for our annual big cycling holiday (they will be 7&8), each year their goal gets bigger - and harder to fulfil! The hardest bit being the low traffic or traffic free routes.

My 8 year old has requested the trip contains;

Ferry - preferably to another country (and he'd rather not do the isle of man - but he will ultimately do as he's told!)

To cycle more than 100 miles (last easter it was 60+)

He would like to cycle over a coutry border - and was trying to convince me hook of holland to zeebrugge would be good (but looking at that bought back my nightmares of living in the fens!)

As much of it off road as possible (but not too technical as they only have 20" wheels!)

To wild camp as much of it as possible.

After much deliberation I have started to look at Ireland, getting the ferry to Dublin. has anyone got any experince of this or know of any sites that have good route information?

and thoughts and ideas much appreciated!

[adjustablewench]

and if anyone knows about rights of way over in ROI that would be handy - found several places referring to lots of private land with no access and their online os maps don't shed much light on it either. sites like this just make it sound horrendous....

http://backpackingbongos.wordpress.com/ ... n-ireland/

Has anyone dared to take a bike over?

[Ian]

I've no experience of access outside of a national park in Southern Island (around Wicklow). I have been to Northern Island, and it's a nice place to visit actually, though I have little knowledge about available bike routes. However, as it is part of the UK, are the public access rights not the same as in GB?

Alternative suggestion:

How about Norway? Ferry from Newcastle to Bergen seems reasonably priced though takes a while (18 hrs). I've not ridden in Norway, only Finland - which in itself would be a good option to satisfy the 100 mile of traffic free wild camping requirement, if it were not for the extra distance to get there. Perhaps worth a look at the Scandinavian options all the same?

[royAB]

Oi! them Fens is wonderful! :) - particularly this morning with snow to the horizon

[royAB]

More seriously though, you could avoid the Norfolk flats by taking the train to Harwich ...

[adjustablewench]

I did look at the scandinavian crossings, reasonable until you add the price of a cabin. looked at on from harwich to denmark for me a two kids it would be £518 if we ate on board - not sure if i they would just let me put a tent up on deck instead! will look at the newcastle routes later.

After looking further into the republic of ireland i am not sure i will bother these photos are scary! there are some nice ones but check out the fences!

http://www.keepirelandopen.org/gallery.html

may look at northern ireland later - sustrans shows some routes that cross the border so may be interesting.

I am thinking the Isle of Man is looking the best at the moment, its about 100 miles around the island - so a good immediate challenge for the boys, will look into camping etc later, should be big enough to find places to hide i think!

and what can i say;

Oi! them Fens is wonderful! - particularly this morning with snow to the horizon

There is no off road or decent single track for miles!! great if you like head wind too. I was down at christmas and tried to get a few miles in ahead of Mach and back - but so hard to find anywhere interesting or remotely hilly to ride. I left there for Sheffield 14 years ago and am very happy here, have a night ride in the snowy peaks lined up for tonight - you just can't do that down there.

[adjustablewench]

the train to Harwich is handy, but suffers with the 'you can only book two bikes on the train' syndrome that most of the small services have. And it's a long journey from Sheffield, not that i have ruled it out, but would probably drive down to norwich stay with friends and jump on the ferry with bikes in the morning.

I will contemplate further, whilst i turn some old Mirror sails into some very cute small frame and seat bags - why didn't i think of that before!! all this time lugging everyone's stuff in a bobyak!

[royAB]

Give me a holler if you're ever back in this neck of the woods and need some exercise - have miles of offroad track, single & other right on my doorstep, and plenty of hills - true, not Welsh or Northern ones and not much snow (today excepted) but, if you put them together right, can be just as exercising....

[royAB]

New policy on 'Greater Anglia' (just recently become a Dutch railway franchise) is:

'We encourage the carriage of cycles on our trains and you may take your cycle on our trains free of charge.
On Rural services in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire we can carry 4 cycles on each train. Reservations not required.'

They don't allow trailers or trikes ... but do accept tandems! (Been looking into the same route for me & Mrs B for later in the year)

[Nick]

What about something on the French/Italian border?

Use Tesco clubcard vouchers to pay for the Eurotunnel crossing, drive down to the Alps, use lifts to get the height etc, accomodation seems pretty reasonable in the summer and they are very cycle friendly.

For convenience the IOM would be pretty hard to beat though.

[adjustablewench]

Would love to Nick, but time and driving all that way with stereo 'are we there yet' may just be a bit much! I think IOM will win this time. I will save a trip to the alps for some me time when i can enjoy it to the full.

I see on your blog you are planning on doing a frame bag too, let me know how you get on. i will be doing the boys first - so they can act as trial runs whilst i wait for the fabric i want for mine

[99percentchimp]

Hi AW,
You could try some of the North Sea Cycle Route http://www.northsea-cycle.com/default.a ... u=1&lang=1 (say Harwich to Esbjerg, Denmark), or north through Jutland on the West Coast Cycle route (http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/route_sheets/de4.doc) - looks like loads of good offroad and camping, then over on a short hop ferry to southern Norway (Kristiansand) then north or NW along the coast to Stavanger (or onto Bergen by bike/ferry or back to Hirstals, Denmark by ferry and then back to Esbjerg/Harwich).... looks ace and my experience of camping in Denmark/Norway is all good - there is the "Allemansrätten" - 'every mans right' laws - Access as long as you are responsible and a few 100m from any occupied house then alls good. Cheers, Mark

[touch]

What about the Hebrides?

Very low traffic volume.
Plenty of opportunity for wild camping.

You could get the Ullapool > Stornoway ferry then down to the south and back to the mainland via the Lochboisdale > Oban ferry. That would be around 100 miles cycling.

Another option would be the Mallaig > Tarbert ferry and return on the Lochboisdale > Oban ferry. That gives 77 miles.

[adjustablewench]

Could do, but I think they want to do something different - we did a Scottish trip last year.

Mark, Denmark and Norway do appeal but think I may look at that when they are big enough to go further, will see how may miles per day they manage on the isle of man. May pick your brains about Norway etc another time if thats ok