Travelling Great Britain: From Land's End to John O'Groats - End to End: Travelling the length of Great Britain in 14 days
"End to End" is a loosely defined route of around 1,400 kilometres. As the wind usually blows from the west or south in the summer months, we recommend cycling from south to north, as you are more likely to be pushed by a tailwind. The route first takes you through the hilly counties of Cornwall and Devon into the flatter Somerset and over the Severn Bridge into Wales. Plymouth, Exeter and Bristol have to be crossed. Along the English-Welsh border, the route heads northwards through rural areas via Hereford, Shrewsbury and Chester to the Manchester/Liverpool conurbation. After Blackburn, the Pennines hills await, followed by the beautiful Lake District. After Carlisle, you reach Scotland and Loch Lomond on a traffic-free long-distance cycle path. On busy roads via Glencoe and Loch Lochy as well as Loch Ness into the Highlands. Beyond Inverness, the largest city in northern Scotland, lies the barren north. The last stage leads along the undulating north coast to John O'Groats.
You can ride "End to End" on any terrain. The fastest route is along the major country roads, where you can expect a lot of traffic. Our author mainly used tarmac minor roads, which were in more or less good condition; choose 25, better 28 millimetre tyres! There are potholes everywhere, in Scotland the surface is very rough and often broken. Our route includes three short sections on dirt tracks: near Penzance, behind Carlisle and Fort William. You soon get used to driving on the left. But be careful when driving on after a stop - the reflex of mainland Europeans is to drive on the right-hand side of the road. Also be careful in urban areas and especially at the huge roundabouts. In the hills in the south-west and north of England, there are poisonous ramps with gradients of more than 20 per cent. So that you don't have to push there, you need an appropriate hill transfer, especially with luggage.
