End-to-End (LEJOG)

End-to-End (LEJOG)

Our major cycle tour of 2012 was the End-to-End, starting from Land’s End and finishing at John o’Groats (LEJOG). Over two years in the planning, countless hours of preparation, and plenty of training.

We eventually set off in spring 2012 on this iconic British cycle ride. For our team of eight intrepid cyclists, ahead lay more than three weeks of cycle touring and 1000+ miles.

We began the LEJOG by cycling through the rolling hills of Cornwall and Devon, resting at Cheddar before crossing the Severn Bridge and then skirting the edge of Wales. From there we continued up through the industrial heart of the North-West of England to the Lake District and our second day of rest. We then crossed into Scotland and took a ferry onto the Isle of Arran for a glorious few days before crossing back onto the mainland and heading up the Great Glen. Finally, we cycled up through the barren and endless north of Scotland until eventually reaching John o’Groats. It was a monumental achievement!

Land’s End – the start of LEJOG – only another 1000 miles to go!
Reaching John o’Groats in 2012

The Itinerary

You can follow our End-to-End (LEJOG) adventures by clicking on the links below:

One of our team (Andy S) collected all our thousands of photo’s and put together a little video. You can watch the video below – we think it’s great!

2 thoughts on “End-to-End (LEJOG)”

  1. we love your website !!!!

    hopefully, in september, we aim to cycle lands end to john o groats.but cant find many websites/youtube videos which do the ride like yours. they all want to do it in 9-10 days and we are aiming to cycle over 20 days, approx 55 miles a day. this is why we are studying your route with intent. our only query is how hilly is cornwall/devon? compared to the C2C or lochs and glens or coast and castles routes, which we have also enjoyed, how bad will it be?

    jackie and gerry stone
    stockton
    teesside

    Reply

    1. Thank you for your kind comments.

      Regarding the End-to-End. In our opinion, Cornwall and Devon is probably the toughest section. I (Andy) have completed the E2E twice, once in each direction, and each time I found Devon and Cornwall the most challenging part (and at least as tough as the C2C). Scotland has big hills, but the climbs are long and steady. Devon and Cornwall, on the other hand, while it may not have big hills, it is like a rollercoaster ride, one sharp climb after another. The high hedges on either side of the ride, also make for more challenging cycling. When cycling LEJOG, our distances were dictated by youth hostels and hence we began with several tough days. Second time around, we weren’t limited to youth hostels when finishing the JOGLE, but still decided to change our final day and cycled in via Penzance rather than the hillier St Ives route we had originally planned – we were exhausted after what we had faced before.

      Our advice. If you have the time, keep the distances down while cycling through Devon and Cornwall. Additionally, avoid the coastline where possible. It’s the dropping in and climbing out of the bays that sucks the energy out of you. Roughly following (though not literally) the route of the A30 would be a good choice. If treated with full respect, you will get through Devon and Cornwall and remember it for its beauty rather than its tough climbs.

      We are sure that taking your time while completing LEJOG will ensure you have a memorable journey (we are jealous!). In the meantime, we hope our guidance is of help and should you require any further assistance feel free to get in touch.

      Andy & Sarah

      Reply

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