Land’s End to John o’Groats, LEJOG, End-to-End… for most, this Iconic Journey needs little introduction, but for those unfamiliar, it’s your chance to ride from the bottom of the UK to the very top. It’s an epic challenge of over 1,000 miles through 3 countries and countless counties – something we at Saddle Skedaddle like to call a cycling extravaganza – it’s Britain at its very best! But what can you expect if you decide to sign up? Read on to discover everything you need to know about this legendary long-distance route.
A classic route, the Skedaddle way
Saddle Skedaddle has been offering Land’s End to John o’Groats since 2006. Our co-founder, Andrew Straw was even the one to guide it back in the day. As a journey, LEJOG has been around well before Skedaddle even existed – two brothers John and Robert Naylor first walked from John o’ Groats to Land’s End in 1871. However, there is no fixed route for completing your LEJOG journey and over the years we have carefully developed our itineraries to bring you what we believe to be the ultimate way to enjoy it at the speed of the bike.
With many years leading LEJOG tours, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of our experience and wisdom. Long-standing and recently retired Skedaddle LEJOG guide Peter Eagan, has guided the route at least 40 times with us, tweaking the itineraries each year and hand-selecting the very best roads for their quality of cycling and scenic sights. He’s also been known to add in sections based on feedback from folk who have ridden the route with us over the years, locals from regions we pass through who are aware of even better roads to take.
This was my 4th trip doing LEJOG (first with Skedaddle) and it was most definitely the best route by far.
LEJOG is a challenge ride but at Skedaddle we go above and beyond to make sure it’s also an enjoyable holiday. Everything is meticulously planned to give you the best possible experience on what, for many folks, is the trip of a lifetime. Our LEJOG cycling holidays are always led by our outstanding guides, with small group sizes, and we offer excellent hire bikes, legendary picnics and hand-picked accommodation.
We pride ourselves in offering a diverse range of cycle-friendly accommodation, from traditional B&Bs, to family-run hotels and cosy country inns. Although we do sometimes stay at larger hotels, we try to select independent local accommodation wherever possible. We love characterful places that allow you to experience the local culture and hospitality.
We love hearing what an amazing time Skedaddlers have had riding from Land’s End to John o’ Groats with us.
Excellent – our first cycle with Skedaddle and very memorable indeed – something that I think will be tough to beat.
Both Lorna and Jo were absolutely amazing and very professional going above and beyond to give us all a great holiday challenge.
Trip of a lifetime! Great route, excellent small inns and wonderful guides.
As a single lady joining a group I was made to fell welcome from the start. Peter and Les were amazing. So patient, thoughtful, encouraging and such good fun. Excellent mechanics.
The Highlights
With over 1,000 miles to conquer there is a lot to see on the route! Everyone has their favourite day and memorable moments, for a variety of different reasons – they’ve maybe seen it on the television and always wanted to visit, have friends and family in the area or just never thought they would make it to the hotel that day. Having led over 40 tours for us, we asked guide Peter for his favourite parts of the LEJOG route…
Entering into the Trough of Bowland in Lancashire you see proper remote countryside and you often hear riders asking where all the people went. There’s more sheep here than folk and it honestly blows their mind – some riders have never seen such big open spaces and they start to realise there are still some truly wild places left in the UK.
Talkin to Peebles has to be one of my favourite days of the entire journey – it’s the day we leave England and cross the border into Scotland. The views are just amazing. It’s a long, hard day and very remote, but it is a great day of riding. We also take you up to Hadrian’s Wall – the final frontier of the Roman Empire and a UNESCO Heritage Site, which always goes down well with riders.
Tomintoul to Inverness is another cracker of a day. We re-routed so we could ride past the Clava Cairns which date back to the Bronze age. We also cycle under the impressive Culloddon viaduct. From Inverness, you’re in the wilderness really and we leave civilization behind, passing by the gorgeous Shin Falls for the chance to spot leaping salmon.
Just before Bettyhill is the first time on the trip you see a John o’Groats sign and folk get really excited. Coincidentally, Bettyhill is the first time you see the sea on the tour and the beaches here are amazing, very rugged and absolutely breathtaking – it’s a really lovely place with bright blue seas (when the sun is out.) The brave amongst us even go for a swim. At John o’Groats we have bubbly and head to the signpost. Emotions are high – there are folk who thought they’d never be able to do it, and of course, lots of hugging.
LEJOG route highlights
Here’s what some of our customers have to say about their favourite LEJOG highlights…
“Amazing scenery, pastures of lambs, stone walls, stone ruins and bridges, hedges, flowers, waterfront views … lots of variety. Narrow roads with good surfaces and extremely considerate vehicle drivers. Easy to follow electronic guidance on your handlebars. Nights in smaller towns at smaller B&B’s, the vast majority of which seemed like 5 stars. Pubs and restaurants all excellent. French press coffee and good snacks at mid morning stops, salads and bread/meat/cheese/olives and more at picnic lunches. E-bike lets you pedal enough to wear some of these calories off, and makes it possible to ride the hills! Epic!” Mark
“What an iconic trip to have been able to complete! The routes were great! I was amazed at the extent to which major roads were avoided and as a result the beautiful scenery and villages we enjoyed cycling through. I loved Day 4 – Wells to Hereford : so many iconic locations: Cheddar Gorge, Clifton Suspension Bridge, Severn Bridge, Tintern Abbey and Wye Valley!! I loved Day 14 – Lairg to John O‘Groats : Beautiful scenery all the way – we were very lucky with the weather, absolutely stunning views all day and of course ending up in John o’ Groats.” Karen, UK
“I liked the variety, some remote areas, some villages and some cities. I particularly liked the first day of riding from Lands End because the weather was good and everyone was excited about starting a great adventure. I have been on 30 plus guided bike tours and Peter did something I haven’t experienced. Not only would he tell you about the highlights of the day, but he would also wait at the side of the road so you wouldn’t miss them. We got to see pagan stone circles, the world’s highest hedge, jumping salmon and something great almost every day. He also knew the location of every “cheeky” hill on all twenty days of the tour.” Jim, USA
“This was the ride of my life! I have three favourite days: 1) Riding through Cheddar George in the cool early morning sun was a really enjoyable experience; 2) My 50th Birthday! The Skedaddle team really made it special for me with a birthday celebration at every stop, morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea, plus a special birthday dinner joined by my wife; 3) Arriving at John o‘Groats as a team, having completed our 1,000-mile journey together, a brilliant experience and one I am sure I will never forget!” Mark, UK
An incredible achievement for everyone
If you’re looking to ride LEJOG then you can choose to join us for either 2 or 3 weeks, depending on how many miles you want to ride each day. We are one of only a few tour operators who provide a 3-week option and electric bike option. We have found this to be very popular, opening up the opportunity to many more cyclists and enabling them to savour some of the amazing sights you’ll encounter along the way and giving you more time to explore and unwind on an evening. In our time we have seen so many people take up this iconic challenge, with folk coming from around the globe, each with their personal story.
Back in 2009, Scottish surgeon Chris signed up as part of a health drive to lose over 27 pounds. He smashed his goal (and LEJOG). In 2014, we welcomed Keith and Robin on their tandem. Robin and Keith, who is visually impaired, had previously taken on the Way of the Roses with us, a terrific feat of its own. But they were eager to complete their first truly long-distance tandem journey – doing just that and have since joined us on several overseas challenges. In 2016, we met fit-as-a-fiddle octogenarian Anthony, born in 1936. Partway through the journey his son also joined us for 4 days to give his dad some support.
In 2018 we had recumbent cyclists come all the way from Singapore, one of which represented his country at the Paralympics and went on to conquer the Land’s End to John O’Groats route using only his strong arms. The same year we also catered for our first-ever electric bike on the route, now we have a full guided e-bike tour! If that wasn’t enough, in 2019 we assisted 2 American couples who wanted to ride it in just 10 days by doing 100+ miles every single day! The inspiring stories go on and on and each one has been an absolute pleasure to help make happen.
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A regional food feast
Our epic cycling holiday in the UK will showcase not only the very best roads this island nation has to offer but also the diverse flavours you can find in each region you travel through. Each region has its specialities and we’ll make sure you get to experience these along the way. From Cornish pasties and scones with clotted cream in the south to Bakewell tarts, Cumberland sausage, Haggis Neeps and Tatties, Cullen Skink, and various dunnocks delights in Scotland. There’s a rich heritage of cooking traditions here and all the better enjoyed after packing in the miles.
If that wasn’t enough our experienced guides always take great care to locate the very best places for our legendary picnic lunches, packed with fresh produce and local treats. Country estates, village greens and woodland all feature on our picnic hit list and provide a quintessentially British backdrop for us to relax and unwind over good food that fuels us for the rest of the day in the saddle. One of our favourite picnic pit stops is an old-fashioned bus shelter beside an ancient church in St Tudy, Cornwall. It’s an amazing setting and we’ve stopped here so many times over the years that the locals know us and will often come to say hello! One of our favourite cafe stops is overlooking the Firth of Forth just north of Edinburgh – it’s a real treat after crossing the landmark Forth Road Bridge.
Your advert said pack lunch provided, I was expecting a sandwich, crisps & a Mars bar, instead we were provided with an excellent feast for a King! Prepared & presented to a superb standard, nutritional & something for everyone, we were very pleasantly surprised.” Michael, UK
The lunches were absolutely amazing! So much delicious food, and all of it was healthy and delicious. If we had any requests, all we had to do was ask and the item would be available during the stops. Plus, there was always a local ‘surprise’ that we got to enjoy.” Anne, USA.
LEJOG route features
The LEJOG route may be world-renowned, but here are some things that you may not have heard before…
- On the 22 day LEJOG tour, we encourage folk to head into the historic town of Kirby Lonsdale, where you can enjoy ‘Ruskin’s View’ described by the famous poet as one of the ‘loveliest views in England, therefore in the world’. It can be spied from the town’s churchyard and is best savoured with nice ice cream.
- On both itineraries, we stop off at the Crask Inn in Scotland towards the end of our epic journey. This is known as ‘one of the most isolated inns in Scotland’ and is a place we have a special connection with. We have been visiting the inn for many years as part of this route and another mountain bike tour we offer in the area; back in the day, we used to stop here overnight with our riders. In recent years we donated several bike stands to the Crask, allowing more riders to safely store their bikes and helping the Crask host more cyclists in need of shelter and some much-needed tea. We are always sure to get a lovely warm welcome here!
- The highest point along our LEJOG route is the Glenshee Ski Centre where we’ll ascend to just over 650 metres.
Take a closer look at our LEJOG route
Eager to secure your space on one of our Land’s End to John O’Groats departures? Well, here are some parting words of wisdom from our guide Peter:
This is a tough trip so get fit before you come, you’ll enjoy this tour a lot more and have a better time because of it. Be sure to wear cycling gear that is comfortable and bring your own saddle if you can.
Taking on this Iconic Journey is sure to be one of the greatest achievements of your life and something we’d encourage all fit and confident cyclists to give a go at some point! If cycling the length of the entire country sounds too physically challenging but you would still like to see the country in a way you never have before we now have an e-bike LEJOG option.
Learn everything about our Land’s End to John o’Groats trips here!