Katherine rode the C2C over Easter and recommends the following
In Nenthead the 'Overwater Lodge Restaurant' does excellent food and wine for decent prices, the owners Julie and Simon are friendly hosts, definitely the best meal we had on the whole trip.
In Consett the YMCA was decent and cheap accommodation, maybe check when you book to see if they're full of school trips....



Shazza, Lucy and Shiona rode the C2C over the May Bank holiday weekend.
Signing generally very good apart from Consett. No sign at start of Waverley Walk. End of the trail sign at Tynemouth bit of a let down especially after 65 miles on the last day.

Sherpa Van Co transporting of luggage very good.
Rivendell Guest House at Keswick - good
Bunkhouse at Nenthead - great value.
Caravan at start of Waskerly Way - just after the massive climb out of Stanhope the soup was FANTASTIC.

This submission is from Nik Prowse and concerns the misleading C2C signage in Consett
15 May 2002

What's going on in Consett? I'm lucky to live near enough to the C2C to be able to build it into half day rides from home. I also rode the complete route 2 years ago. I live in Durham, and recently I ventured on to the Consett-Sunderland section of the route for the first time in about a year or so (mainly due to more time being spent recently on my pride and joy, a new road bike).
The most up-to-date Sustrans C2C route map (2001 edition) shows that the route through Consett has been changed (since the 1997 map was printed), and that the route now goes towards the town centre. However, the signs on the route are confusing: there is a mixture of old and new signage. Before my ride I had decided to follow the new route, but when I got to the stainless steel sculptures on the edge of the town the old signs seemed more prominent, so I followed them. However, halfway along, the signs disappeared, replaced by ones pointing into the town centre! Having examined the map more closely, the new route takes you across the A692, towards the town centre, and then back over the A692 across a footbridge. Take care when following the signs on the route itself, as some are misleading, and pertain to the old route. Following a mixture of both might cause you to become quite lost! It's not helped by the local authority map on a board welcoming you to Consett, near the sculptures, being hopelessly out of date…
I'm sure that used in conjunction, the new map and signs can help you though this North Durham labyrinth.
Happy riding!
for more details see the Urban Areas page and Doug On The Tynes message further below

Trev did the C2C in March and had this to say
Did C2C in the mid March. The best Bed and Breakfast by far was Cherry Tree at Nenthead, very friendly and great value.

Deryk and George (thanks for the meal guys - we enjoyed it) from New Jersey, USA rode the C2C in late May and offer the following recommendation
If anyone needs rental bikes we would strongly recommend contacting Chris at Ainfield Cycles in Cleator. They rented us a couple of new Gary Fisher Lamda mtbs equipped with racks and water bottle cages and even helped instal our own bar ends and suspension seatposts. The bikes were ready and waiting as promised and needed no adjustments on the trip. We suggest placing an order by phone and backing it up by e mail. They were new to e mail in April and were still getting used to using it.

We parked our car with Jim Hewitson at Parton, near Whitehaven for a very moderate fee and good confidence that all would be well on our return (as indeed it was). Jim's house is only about 1 mile from Whitehaven harbor along a bike path. He is a Sustrans Ranger so you also get good advise on the Whitehaven area and in our case a cup of tea on our return. On the way back the train from Carlisle will make a request stop at Parton, about 1/4 mile from Jim's house, great if it is raining.

Hazel and Tony's East View Bed and Breakfast in Garrigill is given an A++ rating, quite memorable, Hazels dinner and breakfast were something no one should miss! Their hospitality and Hazel's dinner was one of the many highlights of our C2C trip.

Kathy Guard rode the C2C with friends in early June and offers this advice
The railway bridge footpath near to the start at Workington is very narrow and is difficult to get your bike across if you have wide handlebars or fully loaded panniers.

The off-road track at Wythop Woods is just that -an off road track - which is very narrow, rocky and difficult (dangerous!) to ride down with touring bikes and panniers especially in the wet.
for more details see the Off-road Bits section page of the C2C Guide

The route is generally well signed apart from the sections at Workington and Tynemouth where the finish point was also a bit nondescript and depressing.

David and Susan rode the route in June over 3 days on their Bromptons and offer these observations
David comments on the disappointing, low key finish at Tynemouth and mentions that maybe some of the off-road path leading to Tynemouth could be cleaned up. David's suggestion is that maybe Sunderland is a better choice of finishing point.

David's last comment is that they weren't able to buy stamping cards in Whitehaven and it seems that some of the stamping points along the route hadn't seen cyclists for months, some points had closed and were replaced by other establishments. He wonders if stamping cards are out of fashion?
The C2C Guide has a Stamping Card page which has the latest stamping points listed and also where you can buy surplus cards before you travel. >>more info on stamping cards

Louis Dawson rode the route with Richard on 8/9/10th July and notes that.
The C2C sign out of Allenheads to Rookhope is missing. At the same location I found the amendment to the Cowshill sign amusing - 'Cowshitt'
'Norcroft' at Penrith was good friendly accommodation but I was disappointed they could not provide a packed lunch when requested in the evening.
Bonny Moor Hen at Stanhope excellent accommodation, friendly, helpful and a mamoth packed lunch.

Mark & Julie rode the C2C from Whitehaven to Sunderland in July 2002 and offer the following tips with regard eating out and accommodation:
There is an excellent Tex Mex restaurant in Whitehaven just 100 yds from the start sign, good value meals and friendly staff. The Overwater lodge restaurant at Nenthead was the best place to eat that we found on the C2C, they even opened up especially for us on their night off, the food was excellent and included a history lesson on the village and the local mines.

I would recommend Lattendale Farm in Greystoke for accommodation and a good breakfast. The YMCA is good value in Consett but I would go out for breakfast next time! The Crown and Crossed Swords in "Consett" is at the bottom of a very steep hill, so you get a hard start coming back up it after breakfast in the morning and it is well off the route.

Doug on the Tyne has been out and about on a Reivers trip during July and for the C2C/Reivers shared section from Workington to Cockermouth offers these pointers:
Route 71 Workington to Cockermouth
1/. Mile 0.8 footbridge alongside rail bridge very awkward to negotiate even with normal bikes. Unusual bikes / Tandams need to detour via Havelock Road & New Bridge Rd to rejoin route at Mile 1.3
2/. Mile 1.1 to 1.6 Have to use road at present while new dual carriageway road being constructed which will have a segregated cycle track alongside on the south side between the road & river.
for notes 1 and 2 see Workington route map
3/. Mile 4.2 sign ambiguous for leaving railway path. Easy to do 180 deg loop
(As I did and from being in front ended up behind everybody much to their amusment)
4/. Mile 4.6 Camerton - signs at first road junction are ambiguous and not easy to sight as you come down the steep hill. Turn sharp left for Cockermouth.
Same from Cockermouth direction sign indicates ahead to Seaton not Right uphill to railway path.

Stuart and Sheila Nisbet completed the C2C in four days from 1st to the 4th of Aug 02 and offer the following info. gleaned from their trip.
It wasn't route through Consett that stumped us, but the bit immediately outwith web map, heading for Newcastle. The left turn back on to the "Derwent Walk" is not clearly signposted and we ended up lost at the foot of a very long steep hill near Shotley Bridge.
Main problem on route was misleading information on shops on latest c2c map. We ran out of drinks several times. Shop at Kirkland closed several years ago. Post office indicated in Renwick before long climb to Hartside only opens two afternoons a week. Shop on Rookhope was also closed at 10am.
Second leg from Keswick to Langwathby was in constant torrential rain. We were confused by an angry farmer before Mungrisdale who growled at us and purposely shut every gate immediately in front of us! If there is ongoing conflict with locals on this part of the route (we went very slow through the farm with all the slow down signs) it would be better sticking to opposite side of A66.
We took the main road route through Alston. This saved some hills and wasn't busy (apart from very fast motorcycles) but at present the roads are being tarred and loose chips are a hazard. We had to stop several times to scrape tarry chips off tyres, which ruined our shoes.
Overall great fun and a satisfying achievement.

Peter Walker rode the C2C in August 2002 and has the following bits of cyclist friendly advice
1 - The old Railway path out of Whitehaven towards Cleator Moor. There are somewhat deceptive signs no doubt to lure cyclists to outlying villages. I fell for one such sign(wooden structure) and went a few miles out of my way before someone put me back in the direction of Cleator. There again if youve been stamped in Whitehaven, as I was, why get stamped in Cleater a few miles only up the road? A local told me in Cleator it is a perrenial problem. Many cyclists find themselves on route to Egremont as a result of turning off the old railway track as I did. Stay on it!
2 - Accommodation in Penrith. The Norcroft guesthouse gives excellent service and one of the best B&B breakfasts we've ever sampled, anywhere and anytime!!Its on the route, near town centre and offers secure bike parking.
3 - Accommodation in Allenhead is a problem. If the pub is full then there aint no where else it would appear. We tried. But if you push on to Stanhope there is much more selection albeit limited eating venues. Rookhope, the stop before Stanhope seems to be permanently closed!! Stanhope makes for a good base for a final days bike into Sunderland.

Peter Wallwork rode the C2C in August and has this to say about the Mungrisedale detour:
I strongly advise everyone to ignore that part of the sustrans route which leaves the A66 at mile 36.There is a wide well surfaced cycle path separated from the traffic alongside the A66. The sustrans recommended detour is four miles long whilst staying on the A66 is only one mile. Quite apart from that the sustrans route is very steep,narrow, bumpy, barred by numerous gates covered in gravel and completely without merit. One of our party missed the turn off to that route and gained an hour on those of us that did it.

Chris and Denise Orton completed the C2C in August and offer the following advice:
After descending down the long hill into Nenthead you will come to a cross roads at the main road. The Post Office is opposite and so is the route. However, this will lead you to the off road climb over Black Hill. To avoid this, turn right at the cross roads and then take the first road left. This is an `approved` route, albeit poorly signed.

For three day C2C`ers using Keswick and Alston Youth Hostels along the route, your mileage from Whitehaven to Sunderland will be thus:
Day 1 - 35 to Keswick
Day 2 - 45 to Alston
Day 3 - 67 to Sunderland.
Day 3 is particularly hard and the hills along the way should not be under estimated. The climb out of Stanhope is nigh on tortuous. The downhill from Waskerley Way will be very welcome!

Andy, Jon and Steve completed the route from Whitehaven to Tynemouth in 2.5 days at the end of August, here are a couple of observations from them:
There were a couple of points on the Whitehaven stretch through the housing estate that were not obvious.
We did not experience any problems around Consett. The Park in Consett is now open and people were very helpfull along the route.
The closure of the Derwent ridge is a bit of a faf so we followed the hadrian's way watch out for broken glass.
Is it me or is the finish at Tynemouth a poor relation, we all thought compared with the excellent starting point and sculpture that the signpost not even near the water was a dissapointment.