Originally Posted by
axolotl
Most of the country roads I was on in SE England were too narrow for even one bicycle and one moderately-sized motor vehicle to safely pass one another without one of us stopping and going into the hedgerow. The one stopping was sometimes me, and sometimes it was the driver. It wasn't unusual for both of us to be surprised by the other and we'd have to quickly brake due to the complete lack of sightlines thanks to the extremely narrow road and hedgerows. And lest someone say I should have been on other roads or trails, there were some specific places I wanted to visit, so I often had little choice. I was also warned by a B&B host about the potholes on many of the roads in East Sussex and Kent, and she was absolutely right to warn me. Often when there was a bike path I could ride on, the vegetation (mostly tall grasses & stinging nettle) wasn't trimmed at all, turning the otherwise decent and reasonably wide bike path into a narrow strip with vegetation hitting my legs & panniers. I'd sometimes have to stop to remove grasses from my chain, derailleur, or spokes. I also had to watch out for stinging nettle which is extremely common.. If there happened to be a cyclist coming in the other direction, we both had to stop to safely pass one another. The only consistently good paved bike path I rode on was in Devon from Bristol to Bath, which isn't very far. Parts of unpaved trails in Devon were unrideable when I was there earlier this month. There was sometimes water streaming across the unpaved trail & thick mud in places. It was frankly pretty unpleasant riding, and I was very disappointed after the good memories I had of cycling in Scotland at the same time of year. I was very happy when I disembarked the ferry upon my return to France.
You weren't in Devon riding from Bristol to Bath- the city of Bristol is in the county of Bristol, Bath is part of the county of Bath and Northeast Somerset (BANES), and if you were on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, you also travelled through the county of South Gloucester. These counties are nowhere near Devon (you have Somerset and North Somerset, and potentially Dorset in the way depending on your route to Devon).
I grew up in the US, both riding and driving in the UK is but very different to the US. If you're on a narrow lane, it is advised you to take primary position to discourage unsafe overtakes, but also gives you somewhere to go in case someone is a bellend.
The surface on our NCN routes do vary- they can be great or it can be a bit of overgrown singletrack or bridleway. It is what it is. The best thing to do is ask on local UK based forums about your route and things to be mindful of. You can look at places to avoid or to get advice on routes in general. Or times to avoid certain areas. It rains a lot in the winter in the south. I would avoid anything that potentially goes off road, through the woods, etc in early spring as it is likely to be flooded or thick mud.