Coast to Coast Cycling

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Day 1: Arrive Whitehaven

Make your own way to Whitehaven. This is a pleasant, blustery Georgian seaside town, with an attractive harbour and remains of pit wheels and shafts from its mining past. The town was designed in a grid-like fashion, a way that was soon to be adopted across North America. It is also the only place in the UK that has been attacked by the USA in 1778. There is an interesting harbourside museum, and you can visit the church where George Washington’s grandmother is buried. If you are hiring bikes, you need to collect them on the morning of day two (except on Sundays).

• Accommodation: Glenfield House (Whitehaven) or similar

Day 2:  Whitehaven to Keswick | 50km

Today, having dipped your wheel in the sea, the ride rolls out gently for the first few miles along the former Ennerdale Railway Line. Leaving this, you approach the Lake District with views over Ennerdale Water and then you pedal around Loweswater. The big hill of the day is up over Whinlatter Pass (318m) and, shortly after the top, there are views over Keswick and to the peak of Skiddaw. It is then a fast and undulating descent and ride into one of the most popular towns in Cumbria: Keswick. An old cheese town, with a market charter going back to the 1200s. From those days the town grew wealthy from local mining, from the popularity of Lakeland poets and writers and finally from the coming of the railways and the growth of popular tourism in the Lakes. There are plentiful shops, pubs and restaurants. Keswick is a town that nestles beneath giant Skiddaw by the shores of Derwentwater.

• Cycling for the day: 50km
• Accommodation: Glendale Guest House (Keswick) or similar

Day 3: Keswick to Alston | 75km

The hardest but perhaps most picturesque day. A steep climb out of Keswick takes you to the famous ancient stone circle, which bestrides a hillside reflecting the contours of the surrounding mountains. Descending to cross the River Greta, you wheel through pretty Threlkeld Village before a quiet road takes you on a loop round the hamlet of Mungrisdale, which, at intervals, offers beautiful views of the northern Lake District. Next is a long traverse of the Vale of Eden, starting with a visit to the ‘Green Village’ of Greystoke and then on to historic Penrith. The afternoon is punctuated by a number of steep climbs, culminating in the longest ascent of the trip up to Hartside Summit (580m), which is also the watershed between the Irish and North Seas. Here you enter the Pennines, a great viewpoint from the summit over the Vale of Eden and there is a convenient café stop, before a fast ride down into the traditional market town of Alston.

• Cycling for the day: 75km
• Accommodation: Alston House (Alston) or similar

Day 4: Alston to Stanhope | 36km

Ascend out of Alston and into the region of old lead mines through the village of Nenthead. There is a steep climb out of the village until you reach Black Hill, the highest point on the C2C, leaving Cumbria for Northumbria. You then descend into the valley of the River East Allen and through the village of Allenheads with its heritage centre and coffee shop. There are also interesting Victorian pumps, especially the Armstrong steam pump that was used for clearing water out of the lead mines in the area. From here, there is a steady climb out of Allenheads until you reach the summit of the hill at Currick, entering County Durham and riding with the sound of the Curlew. This is followed by a long descent into the Rookhope Valley. Scars (or hushes) from centuries of lead mining are evident in the valley. Another climb takes you along the ridge of a hill before descending into the small pretty town of Stanhope, which has a fossilised tree stump in its churchyard, and a range of attractive local shops.

• Cycling for the day: 36.1km
• Accommodation: Red Lodge (Stanhope) or similar

Day 5: Stanhope to Tynemouth | 67km

The ride up out of Stanhope is the steepest, but not the longest ascent of the C2C, and it runs parallel to where train engines were once steam hauled up the incline. At the top you could have a quick coffee at Parkhead Station before making your way for a good 19km on generally flat or downhill terrain along the Waskerley Way, a reclaimed railway path. You will cross the Hownsgill Viaduct, and then continue on, bypassing Consett and joining another former railway cycle path along the Derwent Valley, with some beautiful views over the Durham countryside. The route crosses the River Tyne and turns towards Newcastle, soon passing under its different bridges, including the famous Tyne Bridge, which was built by the same company who built the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Tyne is now wide looking across to Gateshead and, by the Millennium Bridge, is a great dedicated bicycle café. The ride progresses out of the suburbs, passing Wallsend, where Hadrian’s Wall ends, or begins! On the final run, you pass docklands and new marinas to reach the bay near Tynemouth. You can dip your wheel in the sea here, because where you finish at the castle and Abbey is high above the water! There is a pub right at the end where you leave your hire bikes and celebrate your completion of the famous C2C.

• Cycling for the day: 67.5km
• Accommodation: 61 Guest House (Tynemouth) or similar

Day 6: Departure

Departure or extra nights upon request.

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• Glenfield House (Whitehaven), Glendale Guest House (Keswick), 61 Guest House (Tynemouth), Red Lodge (Stanhope), Alston House (Alston)

*Hotels are subject to availability. In case a particular hotel is fully booked for your desired dates, we will replace it with a hotel of equal or higher value and quality level. We will provide exact accommodation details to you upon booking confirmation.