UK cycling in easter
djhnz
Posts: 50
I'm recently moved to London from New Zealand, and i've just realised Easter is a 4 day weekend. I'm keen to get on a train and head somewhere which is a decent sized city, but has some decent 50 ish mile routes to do. After some research everything seems to say Wales or North Scotland.
Would somewhere like Cardiff have some fun climbs and keep me entertained in the evenings? I have limited knowledge of UK roads/regions.
Thanks in advance,
Would somewhere like Cardiff have some fun climbs and keep me entertained in the evenings? I have limited knowledge of UK roads/regions.
Thanks in advance,
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Have a look at BristolI'm sorry you don't believe in miracles0
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Cheltenham ain't so bad. there is a vibrant student scene and the Cotswolds are right on the doorstep. The problem with a lot of cities is the crap miles just to get out of town.0
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Edinburgh. Close to the Scottish borders for cycling, and a great city.0
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Edinburgh has the worst road surface I've ever came across.
My recommendation (if you like hills) is the west coast of Scotland. Glen Coe and Fort William or Ullapool and Applecross."The Prince of Wales is now the King of France" - Calton Kirby0 -
Vibrant student scene. Thats a good reason not to go there then. Haha.0
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The problem with Scotland at this time of year is that it's likely to be very cold still. Spring arrives at least a month later in the Highlands than the south. And, I agree, roads in Edinburgh are shocking. Bristol for nightlife or Bath for culture.ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH0
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ben@31 wrote:Edinburgh has the worst road surface I've ever came across.
My recommendation (if you like hills) is the west coast of Scotland. Glen Coe and Fort William or Ullapool and Applecross.
My recommendation would be to avoid it like the plague. I was there in August and it was cold and wet, in April you might add a bit of snow to the mix. Besides, it takes you two days just to get there, what's the point to go to Applecross for a long weekend?
Although the scenery is spectacular, there is hardly any tarmac road to ride on... Fort William is actually worse, as all roads around it are busy A roads, with very few exceptions. It's great walking/MTB territory, not so good for road cyclingleft the forum March 20230 -
Sheffield and head into the peak district.0
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Yeah i guess a main thing i want to avoid is a place which takes a long time to get out of and into any decent roads/hills.0
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Ugo, its daft to single out a single week anywhere temperate and suggest that it is like that all the time, and I'm sure you know this. Its just damp most of the time..... I'd agree avoid the highlands for cycling purposes for the most part - you have to know where to go and when to go. Its also a feck of a long way to go from London.
Its 15C and sunny here in Edinburgh this weekend and the riding in the area, particularly the Borders, can rival anywhere in the UK. Plus as city cycling goes, its tame. But its not a particularly small city.
OP, god knows why you want to base yourself in a city anyway, but if you do, go to EXETER. It is small, pretty, friendly and on the doorstep of Dartmoor, which is cycling heaven, plus there are hardly any Welsh people. Absolute no-brainer if you ask me.0 -
Lake district offers the most spectacular cycling in the country... weather can be a hit a miss, but on balance more chances of something decent than west Scotland.
On balance, for April, I would consider the Isle of Wight... the cycling is good, there is hardly any motor traffic and some of the coastal roads are very scenic... weather can be good too and it's only 3 hours away from London including the ferry from Portsmouth.
I went once in February and it was warmer than Applecross in Augustleft the forum March 20230 -
God I'm not so sure about recommending the Lakes for weather. Its less far to go to be disappointed, I'll agree. Problem is, its absolutely rammed, absolutely all the time in the Lakes, with groups of brightly dressed retired hikers, singing. And families with children more bothersome than a cloud of highland midges.ugo.santalucia wrote:Lake district offers the most spectacular cycling in the country... weather can be a hit a miss, but on balance more chances of something decent than west Scotland.
On balance, for April, I would consider the Isle of Wight... the cycling is good, there is hardly any motor traffic and some of the coastal roads are very scenic... weather can be good too and it's only 3 hours away from London including the ferry from Portsmouth.
I went once in February and it was warmer than Applecross in August
The best time to visit the Lakes is immediately after a mass human extinction event.0 -
First Aspect wrote:
God I'm not so sure about recommending the Lakes for weather. Its less far to go to be disappointed, I'll agree. Problem is, its absolutely rammed, absolutely all the time in the Lakes, with groups of brightly dressed retired hikers, singing. And families with children more bothersome than a cloud of highland midges.ugo.santalucia wrote:Lake district offers the most spectacular cycling in the country... weather can be a hit a miss, but on balance more chances of something decent than west Scotland.
On balance, for April, I would consider the Isle of Wight... the cycling is good, there is hardly any motor traffic and some of the coastal roads are very scenic... weather can be good too and it's only 3 hours away from London including the ferry from Portsmouth.
I went once in February and it was warmer than Applecross in August
The best time to visit the Lakes is immediately after a mass human extinction event.
We stayed in Keswick for a couple of days to dry our clothes on the way back from Scotland... the weather wasn't glorious, but neither terrible. I found most cycling passes (Honister, Newlands, The Struggle) having very little traffic in August, much less than the Bealach Na Ba... much much less than that... there are more people, true, there are also more roadsleft the forum March 20230 -
York? Yorkshire Wolds, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, interesting Roman city.......FFS! Harden up and grow a pair
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Svetty wrote:York? Yorkshire Wolds, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, interesting Roman city.......
I agree with Svetty. Yorkshire has some great routes and scenery. Good enough for Tour de France stage.
Lake district is good but not at Easter, every man and his dog are there over the Easter weekend.
You don't need a city for a good night out. Small towns are good night's out and the accommodation is cheaper.
Us northerners are used to the crap weather, most b&b's are set up for this and will dry your gear. They also advertise bike storage. I doubt you will get that in a city.0 -
First Aspect wrote:
OP, god knows why you want to base yourself in a city anyway, but if you do, go to EXETER. It is small, pretty, friendly and on the doorstep of Dartmoor, which is cycling heaven, plus there are hardly any Welsh people. Absolute no-brainer if you ask me.
Good suggestionI'm sorry you don't believe in miracles0 -
Bangor.0
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Bluemoon17 wrote:Bangor.
Full of students and Welsh people. Or northern irish if you mean that other Bangor.0 -
ugo.santalucia wrote:
FTFY0 -
If you're here over Easter do yourself a favour and avoid riding on "good" Thursday - it's road rage central from midday onwards0
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pppp0
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There's a reason that all the lakes are in the Lake District... It rains. A lot. I love the Lake District but rarely go now because there are just too many people (unless you head to somewhere unfashionable).
As for where the OP should go from London - a hint of what sort of riding would probably help in where to recommend (also how long he's planning to travel...)
Off the wall - what about a Eurostar to Lille or Brussels and have a futter around Belgium and/or Northern France?0 -
The island of Anglesey , north Wales. A great network of lumpy lanes , I found one at 35% !
The inner lanes are almost traffic free , you are only ever a couple of miles from a small town for cake and coffee , or drop down to the coastline and see the seaside coffee shops ,.
I expect to do more exploring this Easter .0 -
Anglesey is a great shout. Although I'm surprised not many people have backed you up on Cardiff - I think Cardiff would be great for you. There are plenty of routes that could take you towards the Vale of Glamorgan on some of the quieter roads/lanes that Luke Rowe & Geraint Thomas can sometimes be seen on. Or you could head towards the valleys and up a number of quality climbs.
Never done it myself but I've heard of people cycling along the coast towards Swansea, pottering around the Gower and then catching a train back to Cardiff.
On top of that Cardiff's a great city with loads to do as well as never feeling too congested/spread out.0 -
If you're taking the train anywhere in the UK, make sure you can also take your bike, some train companies make it VERY hard. I've heard stories of having to reserve a space for the bike, but there are only two spaces on the whole train and if others arrive before you with reservations, you're stuffed. It won't be cheap either.
Again, if the train is important have a look at travel times - some places the train journey is massively shorter than others. I think York would be a lot shorter journey than Exeter or the Lakes, never mind Anglesey, for example.
The Lake District is arguably the most scenic part of England, but as others have said the weather can be very unpredictable. It's also very hilly, so unless you're a strong cyclist or plan some routes to avoid hills, you might struggle to do 4 days of riding.
You could just get the train to get out of London, and just do 4 day rides, staying in B&Bs along the way. Paddington to Newbury is 45 mins on the train, then ride west towards Bath (about 60 miles). Once there you could go north into the Cotswolds, or a bit further west to the Mendips or south towards Salisbury and maybe the New Forest.0 -
Chester. easy to get here and you can do wales or cheshire.0
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Fenix wrote:Chester. easy to get here and you can do wales or cheshire.
You've got to try harder than that...
left the forum March 20230 -
For something a bit left field you could head down to Portsmouth (don't laugh) - great Naval history and dockyard, jump on the ferry to the Isle of Wight - the circular coastal route is about 70 miles and some lovely scenery. Or head West to the New Forest (but mind the locals)0
