Request for must ride roads - England, Wales and Scotland

I will be in the UK during the second half of September.

I am an experienced rider and will be on an FJR1300. I am comfortable riding any type of road, but would prefer no gravel/dirt due to type of bike and it being a rental.

I am definitely hitting cat and the fiddle, Isle of Sky, and some roads on the west coast of Scotland. As of now my itinerary includes hitting the areas that look like national parks and have mountains/hills.

I would love any local knowledge of must ride roads.

Hello, When you are up on the west coast of Scotland area get yourself across to Applecross via the cattle pass, you will be impressed i feel sure.

some good tight bends round Corby and new market way south Leicestershire by tight bends I mean the type that curl back on themselves so be careful went in abit hot on my 400 sportsbike and just about got round.

This road looks like fun!

I've never been on the Cat nad Fiddle road, although heard lots about it. However, last weekend, I rode from Leek to Buxton, and then east on the A6. All was well as I came out of Leek, until i hit the sign which said, "Welcome to Derbyshire, we are total killjoys and hate bikers"...ok it didnt say that exactly but thats what they mean.
Give the Peak District a miss, because the speed limits have ruined the roads there. Try the A44 road from Worcester to Aberystwyth, especially the section west of Kington. Plenty of nice cafes on it too. Some good twistys and only a few limits.
Enjoy

Plenty of great roads in Wales.

How long are you over for? If for more than a couple of weeks, think about heading to Europe, the Alps, Dolomites, Vosges, Picos & Pyrenees all have excellent roads and views.

Buy this:

14 riding days. Truth be told I am planning/thinking of riding up along the west side of the UK and catching a ferry from Newcastle Upon Tyne to Amsterdam and trying to get to the ALPS and back to London. we'll see how it goes. I have trouble following schedules/plans, I may end up dawdling too long in Scotland before riding back down through Newcastle. Who knows.

I spent 7 days in the pyrenees last September. Absolutely awesome.

I found my favorite roads in the Northern Highlands and at the northern coast. Just look for the small roads (single tracks) and look for those roads near to small rivers and lakes.

Avoid the typical tourism roads (e.g. instead of using the main road west of Loch Ness use the small one east of Loch Ness).

Anyway, especially Scotland and the Highlands are great - you cannot go wrong

Kind regards from Kabul

Thanks for the suggestion, I was planning on doing a full loop around Loch Ness as it is not much total distance, maybe 75 miles.

To be honest - I did the same. Came from the north on the east side of Loch Ness, going back to the north on the west side. Fortunately if was October and the road was empty. During main season the road must be crowded and you are doing stop-and-go.

On the east side there is a very idyllic graveyard between Loch Ness and the road, worth to stop for taking some pictures.

On the west side there is a very old stone bridge west of the road, also worth some pictures.

The Loch Ness information center is located on the west side as well. We stopped there and visited the shop but in general it's just tourism staff

Enjoy your trip. And if you are looking for any accommodations, we used Youth Hostels (e.g. Carbisdale Castle), and backpacker hostels (e.g. http://www.sleeperzzz.com).

Good tips for Scotland you can find here: http://www.visitscotland.com.

Kind regards from Kabul

Going to the Alps is great, but I think with 14 riding days you have enough roads in England/Wales and Scotland. If you have too much time, take a ferry to Ireland. I loved the Lake District, Snowdonia, the small Isles onnthe scottish Westcoast, Arran Distillery with the warmest welcome on a cold rainy day, Applecross Inn of course, the small roads east of Loch Ness, Cairngorms Nat. park. 14 days are even too short for all of it.

I have a RR with that trip, see my signature...

I loved specially the road of the Cairngorms, from Ballater to Tomintoul. The rest are nice too, Inverness to Thurso, Durness to Ullapool... Other roads are less good twistied roads and more scenery roads.

About the Cattle Pass, it didn't impress me. I'm used to Picos de Europa, and spanish mountains in general, and that was a little pass in comparison. But i understand the point of view of the brits, they don't have too many passes. Anyway, once you're there, you have to do it to talk properly about it.

I like this website.
http://www.bestbikingroads.com/moto...-in-united-kingdom-/united-kingdom-__134.html

Its not about the pass, its about the Inn

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I'm off on the ride tomorrow!

Sadly the trip became a bust. Reserved bike was unavailable. Rental company offered a different style of bike and a very well used one at that - more than 60,000 miles and 6 or 7 years old at the same price or a much lower spec bike at the same price.

Currently trying to get a refund, flew back to the States already. Pretty angry and a bit disenchanted with the UK, London in particular. Will probably do a reboot in the Spring.

When is the best time to start in the spring with similar weather to mid September? May?

Thanks all

What a mess. Thats what you may expect at a Delhi Enfield shop in Karol bagh, but not in the UK. Hopefully you sue the hell ( means all your trip cost) out of this guy.

Weatherwise you need more luck in spring, I would suggest May, though April could hav nice days, too. Def. not earlier since you still have a high risk of frost/snow.


Sent from my IBM Simon using morse

I'm not surprised. Which rental company?

Ill update when the final decision is made by my credit card company.