@caley_fretz , you might want to tweak you complete guide given the information I’m about to provide.
TLDR version: nice scenery, but complete traffic gridlock, and not the route profile people seem to think. Go to Forest of Bowland or Clitheroe areas instead, or Liverpool, unless you are willing to have a long weekend in the lakes.
Why can I give this info? I have visited the lakes most years, often twice a year, for 40 years.
I will be avoiding the Lakes like the plague during the grand depart. Why? Well:
- The lakes area cannot cope with the number of visitors during summer weekends as it is, never mind throwing in loads of extra people and road closures on a number of key arteries.
- Ambleside, Windermere and Grassmere areas are often gridlocked anyway, so on Tour day expect to be sat stationary a lot, as if trying to drive through LA, only with nicer views.
- Modern cars are too big for most Lakeland roads, just like they are too big for European cities. There is a knack to driving in the lakes, and it starts with not caring too much about your car, and expecting your journey to often be slower than cycling (and in Windermere area, often slower than walking).
- The traffic on small number of roads in and out of the lakes is also often stationary.
- The Tour route is taking about the flattest route through the lakes it’s possible for them to take - no climbs of any substance.
- The one pass they are doing is pretty tame, and an A road. There might be break away attacks, but more likely the action will be in the rolling, twisting roads to the south of Grasmere where the undulations and short visibility might present opportunities to run and hide.
If you really want to see the tour in the Lakes, and it will be spectacular thanks to the scenery so I can understand why you might:
- Park a good distance out and cycle in, or
- Book a long weekend to avoid trying to get in/out on Sat or Sun, walk/cycle to spectating location, and otherwise use the good bus service (very regular, but not necessarily on time due to said traffic).
Note: cycling in the Lakes can be like cycling in a city - I.e have your wits about you, take control of the road, and expect a lot of drivers to act like d***s.
The tour route south of the lakes will be tough, as it looks like it will make the most of the punchy, often steep climbs in the Forest of Bowland and Clitheroe areas. I would be surprised if there isn’t good racing action, and in my view this is the better option for roadside spectating.