Manchester to Birmingham

I've done liverpool to B'ham in a day, it was bloody grim, and then i was in B'ham, which is bloody grim.

I'd advise:
1- Planning a decent route, I didn't and ended up on horrible A roads.
2-Not making it your first cleated ride. I did and ended up doing a zero mph crash at a busy roundabout.
3- Not continuing on to London the day after. I did and then went to see Andrew Wetherall at the Eagle, which was interesting.

Good luck though

In terms of route planning for uk longer distances are there any good online resources?
I'm planning Manc-Cornwall and Manc-London next summer stopping at friends along the way.
It would be nice to use roads avoiding Eastern European truck drivers who've never seen a tachograph.