More info from Doug on the Tyne regarding his section of the C2C on finishing at Tynemouth

1/. NCN 14 along south bank of R.Tyne in Gateshead opposite Metro Shopping Centre and railway station.
The cycle route is subject to diversions & temporary stone surface whilst a new bus only flyover is built over the rail line into the bus station.

2/. NCN 72 Hadrian's Cycleway - mile 126.9 - new signs have been erected by Newcastle Council but only serve to confuse the route. Take care to only follow Brown Hadrian's Way which have a bike logo PLUS route number 72- the ones with no number patch are for the WALKING trail. Note - The temporary Sustrans Blue stick on signs will remain in place until the new signage is satisfactory

3/. NCN 72 Hadrian's Cycleway - mile 123.2 - Scotswood Road Newcastle
To avoid crossing road at the blind bend by the small roundabout it is safer to use the following alternative route shown as dotted line on Sustrans C2C map:
- after leaving off-road section cross directly over the dual carriageway at the large central refuge ( a toucan x-ing is to be installed later this year )
Turn east and follow the somewhat rough shared use foot-way along to the Traffic Light and turn right to regain NCN 72 ( it is hoped that this rough foot-way will be temporally patched up until new cycle route is built alongside new road later.

4/. Hadrian's Cycleway - Advance notice. Bank Holiday weekend
On May 23rd the Hadrian's Wall Path - National Walking Trail will be officially opened at Segedunum - Wallsend - mile 130.3. it can be expected that the route will be affected during the opening ceremony - with high dignitaries etc. plus hoards of walkers as well.
Might be best to consider the south bank route NCN 14 and use Cycle Tunnel at Jarrow to cross the river.
On the plus side all the broken glass should have been cleared away !!!!!!!!
Don't want the guests to cut themselves !!!

5/. Some sections of NCN 72 are presently plagued with broken glass - make sure you have a couple of spare inner tubes !!!

A few points that may be of use:
In Whinlatter the section where it turns off the B5292 road into the forest (miles 23 to 24) is closed for forestry work. The diversion carries on along the B5292.

The Whinlatter visitor centre is undergoing renovation. The café etc. is closed, but toilets are open. There is a souvenir shop in a portacabin, but no sign of any substantial food.

There is an abandoned burnt out car blocking the low level route at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. There is no alternative but to turn round and take the high level route.

I found there to be a lot of glass on the route. Mainly from Consett to Sunderland, but also under the Phoenix Bridge at Cleator Moor. I ended up carrying the bike a couple of times, to be on the
safe side.
- Dik adds that Whinlatter Visitor Centre should be fully open by late June but the cafe, I am now told, is up and running again.

Fraser Petrie and two friends cycled the C2C in May and have this glowing recommendation regarding The Old Vicarage at Rookhope:
We (3 lads from Newcastle) have just completed the C2C Whitehaven - Tyneside route and loved every minute, well almost! Anyway, we just wanted to let you know that whilst in Rookhope we had the pleasure of staying at the Old Vicarage as guests of Pauline and Colin. I can honestly say that their hospitality went far and beyond the call of duty and if there was such a thing as a 'medal of honour' for entertainment - then Colin deserves it! - I will never forget laughing till I cried at breakfast, as Colin recounted one of a number of funny stories..... On top of this, the food was absolutely superb (we had and evening meal as well...) and I was sorely tempted to stay for a week, however this would have involved a lot of explaining when I got home!

Mike and friends rode the C2C in June and offer the following comprehensice advice:

I'm Mike from Ilkeston and I just did the C2C with my friends Sue & Reg from Solihull and Gunter from Germany on June 19-21. We found that 3 days were quite right for fairly fit weekend and commuter cyclists. For the off road parts you should have proper tyres - Gunter had 4 punctures and spoke problems with his 27 road tyres. The C2C map is very clear and the route is excellently signposted, you only can get lost when you dream. The parts we enjoyed most were the Old Coach road and the Rookhope Incline, but all the small country lanes were very nice as well. All in all a very enjoyable ride with demanding climbs in a beautiful scenery. However, try to avoid weekends - we hardly met anybody on the C2C but when we drove back along on Sunday there were lots and lots of cyclists on the route.

Day 1 Whitehaven-Greystoke (51 m) - a fairly long day which two hard climbs (especially the Old Coach Road).

- We had booked for the night before at the Glen Ard Guest House in Whitehaven, saying that we might arrive late because we had to pick up Gunter at Manchester Airport. When we phoned them at quarter to eleven to say that we would need another 45 min the Landlord told us that he would not let us in and we should look somewhere else to stay. Fortunately the Chase Hotel still had (expensive) vacancies. Do us a personal favour and boycott Glen Ard Guest House in future!

- Up Whinlatter pass the first off road section into the forest is still closed for forestry work (no chance to sneak past: there is a huge harvester sitting right on the track).

- Very good food and friendly people at the Lakeland Pedlar Wholefood Cafe in Keswick

- Absolutely stunning scenery along the Castlerigg Stone Circle and the Old Coach Road. The Old Coach Road was not rideable at the steepest incline because lots of loose stones between protruding rocks - much worse than indicated in the website. However, once the track flattens out it is absolutely great and worth every effort!

- Lattendales Farm in Greystoke was a very good B&B. We could not get any food at the local pub - we arrived 20 min to nine and they said they had closed the kitchen at half past eight. We ended up in Penrith at La Dolce Vita - excellent Italian food, friendly people.

Day 2 Greystoke - Nenthead (36 m) A short day but with several tough climbs

- The steep middle section of the off road part up Hartside was not rideable - it's a steep grass flank with ill-defined tracks. The Hartside cafe is a well-earned rest, although it's a shame they do not have a non-smoking section. Our speed down Hartside was 44.9 mph, and we almost shot past the right turn for Garrigill.

- the short off road section out of Garrigill is not worth the pushing. It can be bypassed by following the road option until it crosses the B6277; turn right there and the road brings you to the start of the off road section to Nenthead. The track over Priorsdale is fun, but mind the sharp bend before the ford!!

- The Mill Cottage Bunkhouse in Nenthead was really charming, although the only toilet and bathroom will be a bottleneck when all nine beds are occupied. The Overwater Lodge Restaurant offered a great metropolitan menue, absolutely surprising in the middle of nowhere. The Miners Arms had an excellent breakfast with Harvey the begging dog and a landlord who knew his Hemingway books.

Day 3 Nenthead - Sunderland (56 m) A long day but mostly downhill after a tough start. The downhill cycle ways allow for fast cycling: we managed the whole way from Waskerly Reservoir to Sunderland marina in 3 hours despite the annoying barriers.

- We did not take the off road option out of Nenthead because even the tarmac road up Black Hill is a killer.

- Rookhope Incline is steep but all rideable; conditions are much better than indicated in the website. The single track later on is mountain biking at its best and worth every effort!

- Waskerly Way makes fun. The last 20 or so miles into Sunderland are quite disappointing after the scenery of the Pennines, and the numerous barriers along the cycle path are a real pain. Stupid enough the barriers are too narrow for mountain bike handle bars, and you have to twist and twine your bike through the gaps. The abandoned burnt out car below the Stadium of Light has been removed, but there is plenty of broken glass along the low level route.

- We had not booked accomodation for Saturday night as we were not sure how far we would come. We were very surprised to learn that all B&Bs were full, and we ended up in Consett in the Castleside Inn mentioned in 'THE ULTIMATE C2C GUIDE' by Richard Peace. Although the Landlord was quite friendly, the place itself was the filthiest B&B we ever have been in - unless you are interested in collecting various species of bathroom mould you better sleep in your car.

Doug on the Tyne has submitted more advice for C2C'ser this time concerning the Tynemouth section of the route:

1/. Miles 128.0 to 130.0
Access control barriers have been re-installed between at each road crossing on each side - these are of the over lapping type and standard bikes can be ridden through without dismounting. Gap is wide enough for a standard wheelchair so recumbants / tricycles should be OK.

2/. Mile 127.3
The track through the avenue of trees is rather bumpy and disintegrating in places due to tree roots breaking through the tarmac.

3/. Mile 130.3 to Finish Mile 136.3
New direction signs are being installed and will be completed soon.
A new C2C FINISH Sign has been installed at the end of the river promenade.

4/. Mile134.0 to 134.5 Change of signed route
The route is now signed via the Marina promenade eliminating the on-road section through Royal Quays Estate.

Doug on the Tyne also has this piece of info regarding accommodation at Sunderland:

most of the B&Bs at the Sunderland finish of the C2C at Roker are full of asylum seekers hence no room at the Inn for C2C'rs so its best to book and confirm before you start your trip.

Sarah & Brian Rycroft completed the C2C recently and offer this:

Just done the C2C from 27 June to 29 June in pouring rain and then 2 days of sunshine. Excellent hospitality from B&B The Hollies in Threlkeld, accommodation etc superb, friendly and very good food.

Excellent evening meal at the Horse and Farrier in Threlkeld - pricey though!

Nenthead stayed at the Miners Arms, good hospitality - excellent meal at The Overwater Restaurant in the evening.

Refreshment stop in caravan on top of hill after crossing Stanhope Moor/Rookhope hill was wonderful - biggest and best scones ever tasted v.gd value for money.

Tina Nagy offers these insights gained from her recent C2C trip:

My husband and I recently completed the C2C in 4 days and can highly recommend the Old Vicarage Guest House at Mungrisdale well worth the detour off the A66 and the alternative round to Greystoke.

If you're struggling with where to stay around Consett then the best place is Bee Farm Cottage B&B it's right on the route just off the Waskerly Way, do book in advance as some guys infront of us were turned away as they were fully booked, we had a very warm welcome a wonderful meal, no its not near the pub but yes it is licsenced and it's set in wonderful surroundings and lets face it with the last day down to Tynemouth/Sunderland it's that final bit of p'n'q before you hit the suburbs. Not only that but it saw us in Tynemouth by 2.00pm at a leisurely pace leaving plenty of time to catch trains. OK very disappointed with the finish (but we relocated ourselves to the Turks for a pint) who's idea was it to finish there surely infront of the Priory or Tynemouth Bay would have been better?

Diana Lawson rode the C2C recently and has this recommendation for you:
I can thoroughly recommend the Old Vicarage at Rookhope, an extremely pleasant B&B run by the Lomas family. Excellent food, good wine, great views and a warm, welcoming relaxed atmosphere - a place to rest and recover from the daily rigours. We have stayed here several times and find the experience always a pleasure.

A few notes from Martin Gibson of Houghton CC from his C2C trip done over the weekend of 16-17 August 2003.

My Houghton CC Clubmate Jon Mawson and myself completed the c2c over the weekend of 16-17 August 2003. We did the full ‘classic’ route [inc Old Coach Road, off road climb of Hartside and out of Garrigill etc]. we had 2 days of wonderfull weather, views and cycling. But here are some points to note:

1 - We took the 06.35 train from Newcastle to Whitehaven changing at Carlisle, there was space for 6 bikes on the train and 7 cyclists wanted to board at Newcastle, the Guard very kindly lett all 7 of us on after we demonstrated that we could get all of our bikes on and keep them from obstructing the carriage. But after that at other stations along the route there were other cyclists wanting to board but had to be turned away because there was no room on the train for cyclists. When bearing in mind that there were no more that 15 passengers on this train at any one time [I counted] and 7 of these were cyclists. On the journey from Carlisle to Whitehaven, there were 5 passengers on the train all the way to Maryport, all c2cers, and only space for 5 bikes. About 6 people got on at Maryport and another 3 or 4 at Workington. Again had more cyclists wanted to travel from Carlisle to Whitehaven, we would have been snookered because of lack of room on the train for bikes. I know the train companies [very kindly] don’t charge for bikes but I think they are missing a trick by having to turn paying passengers away on this kind of route. Does Sustrans have any kind of influence with the train companies ti maybe look at the design of the interior of trains when rolling stock is renewed / refurbished on routes like this, [folding seats maybe]

2 - The signposting on the route was excellent apart from when dropping down into Nenthead from Priorsdale, we ended up in some kind of lead mining centre [interesting in itself] and had a bit of a fiddle around trying to find our way out ending up coming out onto the A689 a few yards up the bank from Nenthead.

3 - And finally, we did not quite complete the whole route because I was Knocked off my bike by some local inbred on a motorbike at Pelton and my clubmate lifes just off the track not far from there so we abandoned out trip there and then to get my injuries seen to. Again does Sustrans have anyway of getting the ‘No Motorcycles’ rule on these tracks enforced, I have since heard that there are ongoing problems with motorcyclists along this stretch. My advice to others contemplating doing the C2C and using the run to Sunderland to finish [my preferred option and much improved since the reroute along the north side of the river] is to keep a loom out for motorcyclists and take it very cautiously as you ride past them, if you see them telephone the police with their location and maybe something might get done about it if there are enough complaints.

4 - Other than this, we had a brilliant weekend and I can recommend Blueberries in Alston as somewhere to stay overnight and the Turks head pub also in Alston for bar meals

Two C2C cyclists took a tumble on a bridge located on the Tynemouth section of the C2C, below are the details of the bridge.
Location: mile 134 on the Tynemouth section. The bridge is over Chirton Dene in front of waterfall cascade on the route around the Marina
Warning - the wooden decking on the bridge has become very slippery when wet, the sharp turn on both sides can lead to falls. Work is planned to install a non slip surface - in the meantime TAKE CARE when crossing this bridge. Warning notices are to be put in place.
Please note that a new non-slip surface has now been installed

An accommodation recommendation from Louise Watson who rode the C2C recently:
7 of us recently completed the c2c and used your accommodation listings, I would just like to give the Norcroft Guesthouse in Penrith a special mention as they were extremely welcoming (coffee, tea and a huge plate of biscuits) on arrival, very helpful (did our washing but might not want that advertised!) and generally very accommodating. Highly recommended!

Doug on the Tyne has the following route information regarding the C2C and Hadrians Cycleway section at newcastle Quayside:
C2C through Newcastle Quayside - the road along the Quayside between the Guildhall - under the Tyne Bridge to the Law Courts has been temporally been diverted through the Quayside car park. This is to allow a gas main to be renewed.
The lanes are very narrow and cyclists will have to use the road at this point - which can be very busy all day with traffic.
Take care especially going eastbound as you will need to cross the traffic flow twice, once to join the road and again to get back onto the promenade

Leon completed the C2C and has the following advice for fellow C2C'ers:
At milepost 56, Penrith/Langwathby section there is a left downhill turn where a number of cyclists have ended up in the woods, as shown by the skidmarks. Luckily I got round courtesy C2 brakes and nothing coming the other way. This turn is poorly signposted and you can arrive at high speed, take care! By the way, highly recommend the Old Vicarage B&B at Rookhope, good fun, cyclists only, superb food, just don't count on an early start next day!

Keith Miller has ridden the C2C twice and offers the following comprehensive tips:

We live along the coast at Whitley Bay just 2 miles from Tynemouth so Tynemouth itself was our preferred finish this year (although we rode home as well!). However, If riders wish to do both finishes it is more than possible along the coast from Sunderland to South shields using the sustrans route and then on the ferry from South to north shields ...then back on the C2C route to tynemouth. Allow an extra 1.5 hours to complete. we did it last year in the rain and enjoyed it.

We too had problems this year trying to board the train at Carlisle with 4 other riders. Persuaded guard to let us on if we took off wheels (back AND front ) so that we could slot bikes in between seats. Bit of a worry but it was in June which is a very busy time for C2C. If you can,avoid this time of the year. B & B's get booked up well in advance. We reckon that at the end of June 2003 several hundred riders were out on the route. Support wagons in abundance. Long days etc so bound to be popular. avoid weekends if you can at this time.

Boot and Shoe Inn , Greystoke is fine as is the Allenheads inn....both do good food and real ale but get in early as they stop serving around 9.00pm especially at the busiest time of the year i.e JUNE!

If you can do all the off road sections. Watch the descent from Whinlatter, deceptive at times, rocky in the middle and VERY fast at the end also watch out for the barrier at the bottom especially in the wet!

Old Coach Road rideable for the majority of the way if on MTB with grippy tyres. You will push a little in the first part though, especially if wet. Loose /rocky surface. The off road part after this is great on the way to Greystoke but watch out for 2 unexpected steep uphills on road before Greystoke......hard work with tired legs!

Miss out the middle off road bit of Hartside, its not worth the effort as one section is totally unrideable. We are experienced MTB riders and pushed a good part of it. The first section is great (the bit that joins 2 road sections. And the last bit is a MUST......people are watching and you get the extra brownie points!

Watch the fast downhill section after Hartside. Yes 45mph is easily achieved . Last year we met someone who heard a click, click, click only to find that his quick release was undone!!!

The off road climb out of Garrigill is NOT 100% rideable. You will end up pushing for a min of 50 yards. My pal mikey kept going back to try it again and again but did not manage it. It is very loose after the water splash and grip is lost I am afraid. Just get off and push for a bit...

The off road climb out of Nenthead is fine....no problems for someone with decent off road tyres. Not very technical..just a gradual up hill climb...no worse than rookhope...in fact easier as it is shorter

Watch out at water splash 2 miles after rookhope climb just before the cafe at the station at start of waskerley Way. fell off and damaged shoulder....rocks submerged in water ......

Enjoy the Waskerley Way and make sure that you stop at the station cafe where you get the map stamped. Excellent food at good prices!!! This will be a B&B for 2004 with plenty of rooms and a cafe for riders.........

After Consett take your pick but off road section to Newcastle is better...less glass on tracks...and you get to see the "winking eye" bridge.....

Yes, there is a new sign at Tynemouth that states C2C finish....continue up tarmac track and then down to small yacht club where there is a small sandy cove ....this is the place to dip the wheels and take those photos . Smile! .....and enjoy.....................heres to next year!!!!

Keith Miller of whitley Bay