Is it signposted?

No, because there’s no single LEJOG route. That said, many miles of this route follow the National Cycle Network, and there’ll be entire days when you can just follow the little blue signs for a stress-free navigational experience. Still, we’d recommend you load a Garmin or smartphone with the route.

What other routes can I choose?

Probably thousands of LEJOG routes have been ridden through the years. Here’s a few starting points if you’d like to consider alternative routes:

• Cicerone publish a popular guidebook to a route going up the west of England. This is probably the most commonly ridden route.
• The Cycling UK routes are similar and are now free to download. There are three variations: a fast route on busy roads, a quieter one using B&Bs for accommodation, and another planned with youth hostel stays in mind. (Note, however, that many youth hostels have closed since the latter was drawn up.)
• The Sustrans route follows the National Cycle Network exclusively and as such has the least traffic of any route, though it is longer as a result.
• CycleLEJOG.com is an informative, well-designed site dedicated to the route, full of helpful advice. Their suggested route follows the East Coast, like ours.
• Cycle End to End is an enthusiasts’ site collecting people’s routes and journals and has literally hundreds of rides.

Can I do this the other way round?

Land’s End to John O’Groats (LEJOG) is the most popular route, but some people ride it in reverse (JOGLE). In fact, our research trip for the southern half of this route was done in reverse! So yes, you can take this route and reverse it – use the ‘reverse’ button on our route-planner/map. 

Two things to beware of. On occasion, we’ve chosen a long, slow ascent followed by a fast, steep descent. You’ll want to adapt the route here, unless you really want to climb the 16% hill out of Newlyn (hint: you don’t). Second, and more significantly, you’ll be against the prevailing wind. You won’t notice this much in the Midlands, but on the flat, near-coastal route from Gloucester to Taunton, a headwind can seriously slow your progress.

How do I get to Land’s End?

The nearest railway station to Land’s End is Penzance, 12 miles away. Services to Penzance are operated by GWR and CrossCountry, both of which now have pitiful accommodation for bikes in upright-hanging cupboards. Book as far in advance as possible, including a bike space. Not all train booking websites have a facility to book a bike space, though GWR’s does. But we would strongly recommend going to your nearest staffed station if you can – booking office staff can sometimes find a bike space when the online systems are saying “no”.

See if you can get a reserved seat near to the bike compartment so you can keep an eye on your bike. When on the train, you’ll need to take your panniers off when hanging the bike up.

Consider too the Night Riviera service, GWR’s sleeper train from London Paddington to Penzance, which has space for four bikes.

How do I get back from John O’Groats?

By train: John O’Groats is 16 miles from Wick station or 20 from Thurso. Services are run by ScotRail. The bike space is a little less parsimonious than on the Penzance trains, but you’ll still need to book as far in advance as possible.

Train services on the ‘Far North Line’ are infrequent and slow! In practice, this means that getting to England in one day from Wick or Thurso (changing at Inverness and Glasgow/Edinburgh) requires catching a train around 8am. One alternative is the Caledonian Sleeper from Inverness.

If you do want to try for the 8am train from Thurso or Wick, we’d recommend changing your last few days’ stopping points: Tain (not Cromarty) at 965mi, Bettyhill (not the Crask Inn) at 1035mi, then the next day, reach John O’Groats at 1090mi, and backtrack to Thurso or Wick for your overnight accommodation.

By taxi: You can also consider a courier service from John O’Groats to Inverness. This is, surprisingly, quicker than the train and can help you make a daytime connection. Here’s one such service.

By ferry: This might sound counter-intuitive, but it’s definitely the most fun, and can be the quickest. Take the ferry to Orkney either from John O’Groats itself, or from nearby Gills Bay (a short ride back along the coast). Each ferry runs two or three times a day. Then ride across Orkney for 15-20 easy miles to Kirkwall. Take the overnight ferry from Kirkwall to Aberdeen, which runs around three times a week. You’ll arrive early morning in Aberdeen, ready to catch your train home.