All true.

Sorry, can't help otherwise with your route except to say, be at your transport departure points, especially the international ones, well beforehand. Like up to three hours before departure out of the States. And be prepared to wait for up to 90 minutes in long queues on arrival in Britain for passport and customs checks. Don't lie about the contents of your bike box -- the flight people aren't stupid. You will likely be charged quite a bit to get the bike on the flight.

Waiting for loading on board ferries also can be a bit of a bore, as we experienced in Newcastle last week. But once you get cycling, things will settle down.

Oh, and if you are going to take the trains at any time, be aware that you can't just go on board with the bike. You likely will have to book a seat in order to get the bike on, and pay for the bike as well. You can do this on the internet, or just go to the ticketing office. If you book on the internet, you will find the fares are much cheaper, and then you have to collect the tickets at the ticket machine at your departure station.

On the long-distance trains, you may have to put the bike in the goods wagon, but generally they will go in designated passenger carriages, and those carriages may not be the ones for your booked seats. You will have to remove your panniers, because the bikes are hung from hooks on most trains.

Some metro/tube trains, such as the deep underground in London and the Newcastle metro, do not allow bikes on board, either. The trains also don't go all the way to John O'Groats.

You will likely find it a bit daunting initially, but we got the procedure down pat by the time we left Britain.