UKH

I've finally come to terms with the fact that I really really hate flying...for numerous reasons which I won't get started on.

Consequently I am going to cycle to Toulouse for my mum's 80th but having never been further on a bike than the neighbouring glen have no idea how I chose the best route....all help very much appreciated

Where are you starting from?

Did a 9 day ride from channel to Pyrenees, ten years ago. Marvellous, all done on very quiet roads. I simply got a French road atlas and planned the route avoiding cities and using small roads. Did between 90 and 120km a day. I booked Logis hotels in advance but if you took more kit you could easily stay in municipal campsites. Look for books on long distance cycling for lots of tips. Have fun. 

Aberdeenshire

In terms of getting out of the UK, if you can get onto National Cycle Route 1, that goes all the way down to Dover, although not necessarily by a fast route - you'll have a lot of nav to do at tiny junctions on country lanes, if the bits I've done in Kent are anything to go by. It is all signposted though, and keeps you off the scarier A road, but make sure you've left plenty of time.

Cycle touring maps of both Britain and France exist, and these should be your go-to for planning, but make sure you've both planned your entire route in advance, and have created some back-up options for sections in case they turn out to be impassable for whatever reason.

Best of luck!

Yes, sustrans routes will give you enjoyable cycling. See their website.

Sustrans route 7 from Inverness to Carlisle via Glasgow might be a start. Depends whereabouts in Aberdeenshire you are.

As others have said try their website.

Friend of mine who lives a little north of Inverness has used http://www.bike-express.co.uk/ a few times to start &/or finish cycling holidays in France; Trains are another alternative but seem to be getting more & more difficult to use with a bike

It’s something i’ve been thinking about for sometime with my parents also living down that neck of the woods, i’m such a slow cyclist I reckoned it would take too long...so i’m very jealous, should be a great trip.

can’t help with the roads but we did go cycle touring in Brittany once and getting the Portsmouth to St Malo was great....would save you some Km cycling as you would be starting further south than Calais.

To use an old cliché, you've got a match of two halves. It's probably more of a cycling challenge to get to the Channel Ports in the UK than it is to do the other half in France. As has been said, any of the western French ports (Le Harve through to Roscoff) are closer to Toulouse, but they're still 1000km away which is a very steady 50 hrs of cycling, gently spread over 10 days would be very enjoyable. But each day you cycle, you will get more 'experienced' and it's very possible that if you start gently enough and increase the hours each days slowly, you could cut several days off that. Halving it would be a big ask.

Get a Michelin Road atlas with the original 1:100,000 scale mapping and simply trace the straightest 'back roads' route and follow that. Any that look like they might be rat-runs or otherwise busy, you can check on Google Street view. Once you've planned your route, cut out the relevant pages and off you go.

Getting to the English Channel is either quite convoluted via Sustrans routes (including Routes 6, 7, etc) or shorter, quicker but much busier. I would suggest it's worth investigating either Bike Express as has been suggested (but now coming to the end of the season) or the trains from Edinburgh/Glasgow to Birmingham and either Portsmouth or Plymouth. It's a pain in the arse but possible with a bike given enough planning.

I've always camped in France and usually there's a municipal campsite 'there' at the end of every day. But in the north, they'll start to close by the start of the school year. I've never used them, but I've heard good things about the "Warm Showers' organisation. 

Thanks for all this..real useful stuff

You'll need a pedalo to get across the channel...

Another option could be to take the long ferry to Bilbao and cycle down through the Pyrenees. It's a bit shorter and a great area for biking.

I cycled with my partner from Caen to the Dordogne, it was very enjoyable, we didn't have a detailed route planned but just made it up as we went along, with an eye on interesting sights along the way. The michelin yellow maps are good for this as they show campsites and points of interest and scenic routes. Every village has something of interest though and always a nice patisserie/boulangerie for your lunch.

We got the train to Portsmouth because frankly cycle touring in France is much more pleasant than in the South of England.

Municipal campsites are all over the place but many of them get eerily quiet as soon as the holidays end.

Edit: oops - looks like i've just repeated Jim Lancs advice.

Echo above comments - maybe train at least part of way in UK as having the time to cycle in France likely to be much more enjoyable.

To avoid Dover/south east england and nothern france perhaps consider ferry from portsmouth or plymouth to santander or bilbao, then to Toulouse through and over the Pyrenees (beware of season - passes can close in October).

If heading form northern France there's a cycle route along the Atlantic coast, which then intersects with the Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo route at Bordeaux which goes to Toulouse.

Enjoy