UKC

Hi, I’m looking for suggestions on somewhere to go abroad on a solo bikepacking/touring trip.  Parameters would be;

• Can get there on a ferry.  I’ll be travelling from Yorkshire, by car, stopping out from a port and riding in.
• Maybe 5 days riding.  More time for travel, if necessary.
• Around 50 / 60 miles per day.  Possibly more, depending on conditions but would prefer to play it safe.
• Staying in digs, not camping
• I’ll be on a gravel bike
• My command of all foreign language is poor.
• Easy logistics would be good.  This’ll be part of a tester trip.  I can get more adventurous next time, if goes well.
• Less traffic and more nice places
• Not costing a fortune would be good
• A loop would be a bonus, rather than out and back.

I have only done multi day trips in England before, but have ridden in the French Alps and Mallorca, but don’t want to fly this time.

Thanks in advance.

Travel by ferry+no language barrier=Ireland or maybe Netherlands.

Plymouth-Santander then ride to Picos de Europa. Great scenery, quiter than the Alps, can stick the bike on a coach if needed. If you like the crossing and have more time next time either head across to Galicia via Santiago or head in the other direction into the Pyrenees.( Bear in mind though that the western sides are steeper than the eastern so you might be better to bus into the mountains and ride back to the boat).

Less far would be western Channel crossing to Normandy or, as mentioned, Hull-Rotterdam. We found touring in Holland to be a breeze but the food was expensive. Northern Spain by contrast was cheap on living but the cycling is much harder (and much more interesting)

Maybe go to Belgium, Flanders and Wallonia? Ferry from Hull I believe. Lots of history, good cycling network, they like cyclists, nice beer. 

Alternatively what about this?  https://www.visitscotland.com/things-to-do/outdoor-activities/cycling/hebri... 

The Netherlands has loads of signposted long distance cycling routes called LF routes, although I think most are linear. The cycling infrastructure there is phenomenal too. Me and my partner did a loop over 2 weeks last year combining some LF routes and using Google maps to get to places that we fancied. I think about 80% was probably on dedicated cycle lanes and the bits on roads were the sort of quiet farm roads you'd seek out to cycle on in the UK. They all speak fantastic English, although they are modest and say they can only speak a little. The menus are rarely in English though so Google translate helps.

This year we cycled from Ijmuiden to Calais on some LF routes through de bieshbosch national park, then through Antwerp and Bruges, down to Ypres then along to Boulonge sur mer and up to Calais. 

We camped most of the trip but there's plenty accommodation options using air b and b and booking.com we'd just choose how far we wanted to go each day and see what accommodation or campsite were around that distance. 

Both good suggestions; but... I live in Scotland and whilst the weather can be extremely good the midges just now are at their worst (in the west) and the weather at the moment is poor for cycling.  I tend to find Belgium less reliable for weather too; but if you're a Northern Classics kind of guy thats all part of the fun, I suppose. Certainly a gravel bike would be just the thing for the cobbles!

Ferry Hull or Newcastle to Rotterdam then you can cycle to and from Ferry but there will then be a slight language barrier but a lot of people in the Netherlands speak English very well. 

alternatively ferry to dublin and cycle the coastal route - i've cycled dublin to galway a few times along the coast and while i don't know any off road routes there may well be some - perhaps look at Komoot?, i certainly enjoyed it albeit changeable weather and over 15 years ago now. i've heard about a scheme where it is £50 for train from anywhere in the uk and ferry to ireland if you're a pedestrian which you could look into. may not quite be the same now but a quick look and you can still get fairly cheap tickets including ferry.

otherwise there are quite a few routes such as the length of wales and across scotland in one way or another but i don't know if a prerequisite is being abroad?

this is what I was going to say . There are some  proper passes to get your teeth into , roads are quiet , lots of infrastructure , nice little touristy  towns / villages . language wise you will manage with a phone for help . I like the idea of getting a bus somewhere and riding back to the boat . 

https://www.s-capetravel.eu/holidays/picos-de-europa-cycling-mtb

Thanks for all the replies.  I'm leaning towards the Netherlands, because I've not been and because I've heard so much positivity about the infrastructure.  I'd like to do them all

Train to Ayr. Ferry to Arran, cycle to other side, ferry to Campletown peninsula, cycle to Kennacraig, ferry to Islay. Islay cycle from Ellen to Askaig. Ferry to Jura, cycle around, back to Islay. Ferry to Oban via Colonsay (cycle around it). Cycle or train from Oban towards Glasgow. Swap to train.

Lots of ferry, but might struggle with the language 🤣

You need to recalibrate from cars being the threat to pedestrians and other cyclists!

If you come to the Netherlands I'm sure you'll have a lovely time. As mentioned the LF routes are well thought out and cycling on them is very low-stress compared to in other countries. They can be found at https://www.nederlandfietsland.nl/lf-routes/. The routes in the Netherlands are generally linear but it would be easy to take a train with your bike from anywhere in the country to the airport. If possible I would let the wind forecast determine which direction to take, as the Dutch countryside offers very little in the way of cover. In addition to these LF routes the country is filled with Fietsknooppunten (nodes) which have a network of signs pointing you from node to node. These can be helpful when making your own route, as the roads between these nodes are usually low in car traffic. 

Regarding lodging, a fun alternative to hotels could be the organisation Vrienden op de Fiets (Friends on Bikes, https://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/en/veelgestelde-vragen) which allows people to offer spare bedrooms as low-cost lodging for those traveling by bike (or other slow forms of travel). There is the expectation that you are sociable, i.e., arrive and leave at reasonable times, have a friendly chat about your plans with the hosts, etc.

(I'm Dutch and have done a lot of cycling around the country, if you have more specific questions I'm glad to offer any help I can)

If you’re on a gravel bike and your setup allows for off road riding, there’s also some awesome bikepacking routes in the Benelux.

bikepacking.com features some and there’s also a bunch on Komoot. The Green Divide and Nijmegen-Maastricht to name just a few. 

We drove to Portsmouth a few years ago, left the car in someone's driveway (parkinmydrive.com) and sailed to Caen then looped round Normandy, briefly into Sarthe and back via Fougeres and Dinan before sailing back from St Malo. I'd do similar again.

There always Orkney, great for cycle touring if you like your cycling interrupted by short ferry crossings.

Why not fly to where you can leave bike bag in left luggage? ive done it many times.

fly to geneva bag in airport station left luggage, cycled grand route des alps to nice, train back to Geneva, fly home.

Fly to Nice bag in airport left luggage cycle along to ferry to corsica, cycle northern part Corsica.  back to nice fly home.

fly to Catania Sicily, bag in local train station, cycle part of sicily, fly home.

fly to Palma Majorca, quick taxi to hotel with left luggage roon, cycle round island, fly home.

many others also...

Thanks.  I’ve done the Alps previously (road bike, MTB and snowboard) and fancied somewhere new.  I also did Mallorca about a month ago (lovely).  Plus I like the idea of ‘travelling’ with the bike.

After a recent trip to the Netherlands, I'd highly recommend it. We went on the overnight ferry from Newcastle to "Amsterdam" (actually Ijmeiden) and did a loop around Amsterdam (1 night), Utrecht (2 nights), Gouda (1), Den Haag (2), Noordwijk (1), then back to the ferry.  Like you, it was a bit of a tester trip. We weren't covering big distances, because we had small kids with us who needed stops to play, toilet, eat, etc. You'd be able to cover much more ground on your own.

Digs: StayOkay hostels are available in some cities. Get an International Hostelling Association membership card to save money. Alternatively, stop out of the big cities to save £££

The Dutch all speak embarrassingly perfect English and consequently I didn't learn a single word of their language.

There is a plethora of signed cycle routes. It really is like the photos/videos.

The coastal track along the dunes between Den Haag and Ijmeiden is particularly lovely for a good day's ride. If you go to Den Haag, have dinner at De Resident. In Gouda, go to the Kamfhuisen Siroopwaffel factory!

Thanks for taking the time to put that.  I’m currently mulling over whether buying a bikepacking specific tent and mat will save money over booking digs.

Good advice! 

Fun fact about the Dutch language. Words starting with the digraph 'ij' are capitalised as IJ. So IJmuiden, IJburg, IJsselmeer etc. 

Dutch Wikipedia claims that Dutch is the only language where two letters are capitalised together (unlike for example Hungarian, where csésze becomes Csésze), but this statement has no source so I don't know if it is true...

I have to say that I don't think I saw a single campsite. I wasn't looking for them, but I don't recall seeing any signs to any. Not like in France, or Cornwall, where it's common to see signs at the roadside.

We looked briefly at Vrienden op de Fiets but concluded it wasn't realistic for a group of three adults & two young kids. I would look at it again if it was just me, or me +1

The best campsites for cyclists in the Netherlands are generally those that are part of Natuurkampeerterreinen https://natuurkampeerterreinen.nl/?lang=en 

These require a membership (16 euros a year), but they are "natural" meaning that you are not sleeping next to large mobile homes with roaring generators and facilities are more minimal (but still there is a shower, toilets, etc. so not too minimal). Generally at these camp sites you are okay to just show up if you have only a small tent and a bike, but this is not a strict rule, so best to call ahead. 

How about a tour on your bike in one of the many French national parks?. Plenty not too far from Dieppe.

No national parks close to Dieppe (they are mostly in the high mountains), but there are some parc naturel regionaux - 

https://www.parcs-naturels-regionaux.fr/les-parcs/decouvrir-les-59-parcs

That is the ticket 😁

There are loads of campsites available. I was told they all save room for cycle tourers/bike packers (or whatever we're called), but I always liked booking one the night before arriving, just so I had the peace of mind that I'd have a pitch at the end of the day. I did meet a couple that told me they had been put up in the campsite owners garden because there was no pitches on the site once though. I'm pretty sure rough camping/"wild" camping is illegal so you need to be on a campsite. 

Wild camping is indeed illegal in the Netherlands and at best you’ll be sent packing in the middle of the night and at worst you’lL be fined.

People do bivy sometimes, but it’s definitely not recommended. There’s more than enough campsites in the country though. They’re not always directly on routes though, so best to check which are close to your itinerary.

I’m a big fan of logerenbijdeboswachter (look up the website). Smaller, more natural.