c2c whitehaven to tynemouth route advice

k3vinjam3s

A group of us are doing the coast to coast from Whitehaven to tynemouth in a couple of weeks. I have a route planned which is the "official" route with a couple of detours to save some miles and time hopefully. We are all on road bikes so would like to stick to road and good surfaced cycle paths. I would like any advice from people who know the roads we are taking and if they are suitable, also any warnings of bad roads I may have chosen regarding traffic or similar. As for the climbing part I'd love people's experience of the climbs we will he taking as Im unsure what to expect. We will be looking at stopping a few times so if anyone knows any good cafes to stop on route that would be great. The first link is Whitehaven to the top of hartside, the second hartside to tynemouth.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2211727

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2211829

Captain Slackbladder

About 12 of us did it last month in terrible conditions....rained constantly till we hit Alston.

Linky to the route we did below, i wasn't involved with the planning and just rode with the flow...note, we split at Consett and rode into Sunderland.

Our main stops were Keswick, top of Hartside cafe and then Parkside cafe...

http://app.strava.com/activities/53645576

durhamwasp

We too took stops in Keswick, Hartside Café and Parkhead Station Café.

k3vinjam3s

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'm thinking of taking a different route from hartside. I'm thinking of staying on the A686 for around 20 miles and was wondering if this stretch of road is cyclist friendly.

Taranty

I did it last weekend on a road bike, so will answer as much as I can in the order in which you'll encounter it. We finished in Sunderland though, so won't be able to help with the last section.

- The railway path out of Whitehaven is an excellent surface, better than most of the roads. There is one very short section which is a bit rougher where you are changing paths, but nothing to worry about. It's a long gentle climb, so you can do a decent speed.

- The climb up Whinlatter is not that tough. The first section is pretty steep, but it doesn't last all that long. Once you join the B5292 the gradient is pretty easy. Don't be afraid to take the first off road bit you get to, where it is signed to turn off the road to the right. If it's dry it's a good surface, and it's a really nice wide track through the forest.

- We took the off road option down Whinlatter, mate I was with is a mountain biker at heart so likes to take his road bike wherever he would take his MTB! I wouldn't recommend it though, it's not that it's particularly dangerous, it's just that it's bloody hard work keeping the speed off and it's very bumpy, so the net result is that on a road bike it isn't much fun. The road option would be a lot more enjoyable, and it's also a fair bit shorter.

- Railway path from Keswick to Threlkeld is not the smoothest, the main issue are large stones embedded in the path rather than loose stuff on top. Keep an eye out for those big stones as you get jarred good and proper when you hit them. It's a lovely path though, views over the river on all the bridges are beautiful. Two good pubs in Threlkeld, we stopped for lunch there on day one.

- We didn't cut the corner off where your route does at mile 36, so not sure what that road is like. Looks ok on the basis of Google satellite view. The longer alternative up the valley and back is a nice route though, although the gates get pretty annoying.

- Greystoke has a nice little green with a pub and a shop if you fancy a stop there.

- Shortly after leaving Penrith the road where you turn left off "Beacon Edge" (mile 51 on your map) was closed. I don't know if it still will be closed when you do it, but if it is the diversion takes you straight on, onto the A686 and then left onto the B6412 to pick up the official route again. Sensible to not bother with that last turn as it creates a big loop. If you carry on the A686 you'll pick up the route again about 500m down the road, just before the bridge into Langwathby. Langwathby looked nice, village green with a pub.

- There's a few undulations before you hit Hartside proper. Hartside itself isn't desperately steep once you are on to the climb proper, so if you've got easy gearing you can just sit there and spin your way to the top (my triple was handy for this!). It just takes a long time. The good thing is that the view to your right just gets better and better as you go up, so that helps take your mind off things.

Map two in next post.

me-109

Taranty wrote:

The good thing is that the view to your right just gets better and better as you go up, so that helps take your mind off things.

Surely if you are going up from Penrith then the view to your right is the hillside? :?

k3vinjam3s

MANY, MANY thanks taranty. that really was a helpful post. ill look in more details at your suggestions when im not on my mobile. im looking forward to your next post!

Taranty

- Descent from Hartside is excellent, not too steep that you have to worry about picking up too much speed, but steep enough to be very good fun.

- If you do decide to stick on the A686 (I assume up towards Haydon Bridge) I reckon you'll find that road is fine. I'm fairly local so have ridden most of the "A" roads round there and there is very little traffic out in the moors.

- If you stick to the "official" route, I think the bit out of Garrigill is very tough, although don't know personally because we went via Alston and out on the A689. I think Alston is probably the easier option.

- Climbs through the Pennines are probably steeper than Hartside, although much shorter. Toughest is probably the drag out of Allenheads, but you do get a really long descent into Rookhope down the other side to balance it out. The route you've got marked where you turn left before Rookhope is very steep for a short section at the bottom, then it's a long drag with another lovely long drop into Blanchland.

- Beyond that I don't know the route you have marked, but don't necessarily rule out following the official route via the Waskerley Way to Consett and then picking up the Tynemouth route from there. Waskerley was no problem on road bikes, even where the surface is a bit looser there are two tracks where the loose stuff has been pushed off so didn't have any trouble down there (and I am far from the best bike handler). It was a really nice run downhill all the way to Consett.

- If you do pick that option, it's probably easier (although a bit longer) to carry straight on out of Rookhope to Eastgate rather than the signed route which takes you up a near vertical side road. Without that climb the longer route is probably quicker. You've then got the big climb from Stanhope to the start of the Waskerley Way which is pretty brutal in the middle section through some houses, but once that's done it's not too bad. Nice café at the top as an incentive!

Hope that's all helpful (and hasn't bored you stupid), very happy to provide any further info if you have more questions.

Taranty

Me-109 wrote:

Taranty wrote:

The good thing is that the view to your right just gets better and better as you go up, so that helps take your mind off things.

Surely if you are going up from Penrith then the view to your right is the hillside? :?

C2C route up Hartside (not the main road) runs mostly in a southerly ish direction, so hillside is on your left and Eden Valley, Lake District and the coast are off to your right.

me-109

Ah, right! Surprised at that, though have seen plenty of bikes crossing below the hairpin. Just don't get a chance to see where they go.

k3vinjam3s

Thanks again for your informative posts. the route im planning to take now on day two from hartside differs from the route ive mapped in the link. i plan now to stay on th A686 to whitfield then take the B6305 to hexham. then just head easttill i hit the tyne and rejoin the official route there. do you have any experience with these roadsk?

MarksMintness

I'm doing this in about 6 weeks time! Spread over 3 days though so should be ok. I've been checking out the Strava maps with interest!

Taranty

Me-109 wrote:

Ah, right! Surprised at that, though have seen plenty of bikes crossing below the hairpin. Just don't get a chance to see where they go.

You're right, on that top section once you join the main road the view is to the left, well, until you round the hairpin that is when it swaps sides again!

Taranty

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Thanks again for your informative posts. the route im planning to take now on day two from hartside differs from the route ive mapped in the link. i plan now to stay on th A686 to whitfield then take the B6305 to hexham. then just head easttill i hit the tyne and rejoin the official route there. do you have any experience with these roadsk?

I only know the 686 as far as the pub at Whitfield, and that's only because we were staying out that way and went along it in the support car from Alston! It's a long drag out of Alston in that direction. Other than that afraid I don't know any of those roads, bit too far from home in Durham for me to have ridden them.

durhamwasp

Its not a bad option to basically follow the A66 from Keswick to Penrith. There is the old A66 road just on the otherside of the fence/hedge and its good to ride on. We did that on our road bikes.

Glad somebody has had good views on the Hartside climb! I can't count the amount of times ive been up there, and everytime its either pee'd down or been low dark clouds.

bobbydazzla

Taranty wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Thanks again for your informative posts. the route im planning to take now on day two from hartside differs from the route ive mapped in the link. i plan now to stay on th A686 to whitfield then take the B6305 to hexham. then just head easttill i hit the tyne and rejoin the official route there. do you have any experience with these roadsk?

I only know the 686 as far as the pub at Whitfield, and that's only because we were staying out that way and went along it in the support car from Alston! It's a long drag out of Alston in that direction. Other than that afraid I don't know any of those roads, bit too far from home in Durham for me to have ridden them.

I'm from up that way so know the roads quite well.

From Whitfield you could head to Hexham on the B6305. Then from Hexham you could go to Corbridge and once in Corbridge you have a couple of options:

a) Make your way along either the north or the south side of the Tyne until you get to Ovingham, then go on the road that runs along the north side of the river to Wylam. Both options are relatively flat and bike friendly.

b) Or you could head slightly north of Corbridge and make your way along roads that are a little bit more challenging but great for riding. A good route would be Matfen - Stamfordham - Ponteland. And maybe include a trip up the Ryals if you fancy a last climb before you hit the final stretch of your ride.

Once you hit the outskirts of Newcastle there's plenty of ways to make it down to Tynemouth, none of them are particularly interesting. I think most people opt to go via the Quayside then following the cycle path through some pretty shitty estates to the coast.

k3vinjam3s

Completed the c2c at the weekend in quite possibly the two wettest days of the year. Still had a good weekend despite a load of punctures on day 1.

Of the routes we did on day 1 the cycle route out of Keswick was horrible and totally unsuitable for road bikes imo. The cycle paths in tynemouth were ok to ride but boring and too much stopping and starting.

After the descent of hartside we stayed on the A686 all the way through Alston then took the B6305 to hexham. these were superb riding roads and I'd recommend them to anyone who isn't arsey about following the "official" c2c route.