Bristol to Manchester

Kaise

Afternoon all, before i embark on having a fight with my computer, has anyone ridden from eithe Bristol to Manchester or the reverse?

I want a route that isnt to demanding in terms of climbs but that said i dont want it to be completely flat either!

My aim is to ride this in 2 or 3 days

i have ridden to london in a day a few months back so this is the next challenge for me really

any help would be great!

IronHorse100

straight up the M5/M6 dude. Straight as a die, flat as a pancake - no pesky turnings, just keep on going. You might want to stop for a coffee at Sandbach services.

Sirius631

IronHorse100 wrote:

straight up the M5/M6 dude. Straight as a die, flat as a pancake - no pesky turnings, just keep on going. You might want to stop for a coffee at Sandbach services.

IronHorse100, are you an accountant by any chance? It's just your advice may be accurate, but it's useless.

To the OP, Google Maps with the 'Avoid Highways' option clicked will give a route, but I can't testify to how interesting or safe it is for a cyclist. The first route it came up with when I plugged in Bristol and Manchester as start and destination went out of Bristol on the A38, joining the A430 at Gloucester, then heading Herefordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire. Looked like a lot of busy road to begin with, but you can always pull the route line about to investigate.

skinsey

Suggestion, and I've ridden this as part of a Land's End-John O'Groats:

- leave Bristol and cross the old Severn Bridge
- go through Chepstow and then up to Hereford through the Forest of Dean (not the road to Monmouth, too busy)
- take the A4110 north from Hereford, not the A49
- join the A49 at Craven Arms and take it to Shrewsbury; it's not great but there's no real alternative
- from Shrewsbury go north thro' Wem, Whitchurch, Nantwich, Middlewich, Holmes Chapel, Alderley Edge.

Parts of that are really nice riding, and it strikes a balance between minimising busy roads without making navigation a nightmare.