The Cyclist's Coast to Coast

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. 

If hiring bikes from Whitehaven, collect from the hire shop.

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), 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. Literally, an old cheese town, with a market charter going back to the 1200s. 

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. The afternoon is punctuated by a number of steep climbs, culminating in the longest ascent of the trip up to Hartside Summit 1903 ft / 580 metres. 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.

The ride up out of Stanhope is the steepest, but not the longest ascent of the C2C, it parallels where once train engines were steam hauled up the incline. At the top you could have a quick coffee before making your way for a good 12 miles generally flat or downhill along the Waskerley Way, a reclaimed railway path. Later on, the route crosses the River Tyne and turns towards Newcastle, soon passing under its different bridges. The ride progresses out of the suburbs, where Hadrian’s Wall ends, or begins! The final run and 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 Coast to Coast.