Steff, John and Bevs C2C trip -
9th - 11th August 2003
Workington to Penrith – 52 miles
We stayed with friends in Cockermouth on Friday 8 August and drove from Cockermouth
to Workington on Saturday morning. We started later than planned -11.30am.
We took the traditional photos of dipping our wheels in the Irish sea. The
first 5 mins were pretty hairy, cycling over the harbour wall which was very
narrow and we could easily have fallen into the harbour. The narrow railway
bridge was ok for Steff and myself but John's handlebars were too wide and
he made some strange noises!! It looked like it was going to be a very slow
trip, we'd only gone about 50 yards and Steff was stopping to take photos.
There were no major incidents to Cockermouth where we stopped for our first
stamp and because we had to come off the route to get the stamp we nearly missed
the track along the river. We didn't have our first planned tea stop at the
Squirell's Pantry because it was off the route and we still had to make up
some time.
The first big climb was up to Wythop woods which we really felt
but it was worth it for the off road descent - fantastic, the website
is right about the
sharp right bend. Fantastic view of Bassenthwaite lake – absolutely stunning – we
had to stop to take some photos. We just loved this off road downhill section.
We stopped in Keswick for our 2nd stamp and had minor navigation
problems finding the railway line to Threlkeld. We would have opted
for the Old Coach road but
because of setting off 2 hours later than planned and meeting up with friends
in Threlkeld we went for the faster route along the old railway track plus
we were starving. We arrived at the Horse and Farrier in Threlkeld to discover
they had stopped serving food but had the best ever Pimms served in a pub with
strawberries, mint and cucumber – you just don't get that down south.
Threlkeld to Penrith was tough mainly because of the heat – it
was the hottest day ever recorded in the UK this day and every
little hill was becoming Mount
Everest. We took the route though Mungrisdale and Greystoke preferring to take
the longer scenic route than the shorter route along the busy A66. We met up
with another group of 4 cyclists along here who were suffering big time with
the heat, the next day we found out one of them actually collapsed later on
with heat exhaustion.
We arrived in Penrith exhausted and hungry. We stayed at Tynedale
B&B,
had dinner in Gianni's and were sensibly very conservative with the alcohol!!
Penrith
to Allenheads with optional extras (Thanks John) 44 miles
Before leaving Penrith we stopped at the Spar to get our next stamp and then
we missed the turn for Fell Hill so ended up taking the A686 to Langworthy
but we more than made up for it later. 10 minutes into our cycle it started
to rain which was so welcome as it would keep the temperature down, the forecast
was for it to be even hotter than the day before. Our first planned tea and
cake stop was to be the Water Mill in Little Salkeld but it was closed because
the Miller had just got married. Never mind onwards and upwards. Why do cafes
always seem to be at the bottom of a climb?
A few miles later we were to start the climb up to Hartside and
us being keen off roaders had to opt for the off road sections
wherever we could. The first
part was meant to be the easy part and I have to say it was not that easy.
Anyway, not to be put off easily we still continued and did the middle section
of off road. Yeah the website is right – it does not lie - there are sections
on here that are nearly impossible to cycle – we nearly added to the statistics
of serious injury at the packhorse bridge. John nearly threw himself over the
ravine and it was only the fact that he was still attached to his bike by his
spuds that he didn't go down. The part immediately after the packhorse bridge
was extremely steep and covered in boulders and if anyone can cycle up there
they must be amazingly fit and incredibly skillful on their bike. It was extremely
difficult to get enough momentum to get pedals turning again after that but
I believe we did well to cycle about 90% of this section and we certainly had
a good laugh. The last section up to the café was okay and we managed
to cycle all the way up this the only thing that made it difficult were the
lose stones.
Hurrah – Hartside Café – and it was open – first stop and well needed
after that climb and the rain had stopped and we could see the view. Of course
we had to do the traditional photos by the sign. We met the 4 from the previous
day on this section and one of them had a serious mechanical problem with his
bike and needed a bike shop. We never did see them again – wonder if they
were okay.
Anyway, after the much needed tea and cakes we carried on down
hill to Garrigil. Where we stopped for lunch in the local (can't
remember the name but you can't
miss it – it's at the junction of the road and off road sections) and contemplated
the next section – road or off road. It had to be off road of course. We met
a bunch of chaps from Sunderland here who were also contemplating road or off
road – we tried to convince them to take the off road but they bottled it
and missed out on some fun. Again the website tells no lies the first section
is
a short, very steep, very stony track and we had to walk up most of it but
after that it is fantastic and the ford was fun. The downhill section was
brilliant. We stopped just before getting back on the road and the climb
up Black Hill
to have some lucazade and a banana. We did the road section here as we had
passed the start of the off road section. The climb up Black Hill was not
as bad as we thought it was going to be and we made it to the top not too
out
of breath and of course had to have the traditional photo shoot. Then the
Sunderland boys turned up but they carried straight on, Allenheads was within
grasp.
Now, this is where it all started to go horribly wrong. We had
approx 5½ miles
to go to our next B&B – the Allenheads Inn but NO we had to make it a little
more challenging. On this well earned downhill section John, who was in front,
got carried away and instead of looking out for C2C signs was checking out
his computer so missed the first turn to the right. I spotted it and shouted
but he did not hear. Steff heard and took chase while I waited at the junction
and checked out the map. Using my map reading skills I thought we could take
John's route, take a right and a 2nd right and then join back up with the route
so feeling sorry for John and Steff having to climb back up the hill I took
pity and I followed them. Well actually my map reading skills lapsed and we
were not on the road we thought so to cut a long story short we ended up just
short of Allendale and added a further 10 miles onto our day. However, it was
very scenic and we went over another ford which was fun – added a couple
of interesting climbs and met some local characters which we would not have
done
on the traditional route. If Sustrans want to make the C2C route 10 miles
longer we can recommend a little detour.
So we arrived in Allenheads in need of some alcohol and food. The Sunderlands
boys arrived over an hour ahead of us but then they didn't do the optional
extras. The Allenheads Inn is very sweet and we had a much needed meal and
a few drinks and met some more interesting locals. We also got another stamp
for our collection.
Allenheads to
Tynemouth – 52 miles
(The day of heather)
Again, there are no lies on the website – the climb out of Allenheads
certainly wakes you up. No chance to get the legs and the lungs
working, you are straight
into a serious climb. About half way up we went into the clouds and we cycled
in the mist for a while. At the top we stopped to take some photos of the crossing
of county borders and noticed the large amounts of heather which we would see
lots of over the next couple of hours. Then it was downhill to Rookhope.
In Rookhope we opted for the off road again – it was 11 August
so we just made it before the Grouse Shooting Season started. It
was a tough climb but fun
and we managed to cycle all the way up there and then the track over the moor
was such fun and there was lots of heather and lots of sheep.
We arrived at the Bike stop for a cup of tea and a muffin, another stamp to
add to our collection and to purchase our much sought after C2C towels (I've
since learnt we got the last 3 towels ever!!). Then from there it was a nice
easy cycle along the Waskerly Way disused railway to Consett. We stopped at
the Grey Horse in Consett as this had been recommended to us and had a fantastic
lunch with some of the crazy locals. It was Steff's birthday and the landlady
gave us all some cake and Steff a glass of sherry.
As we were going to Tynemouth and the Grey Horse is actually on the Sunderland
route we had a few navigational problems here not helped by the crazy locals
directions. Anyway after some debate we made it back on course and the Derwent
Walk track which is a nice easy track and we made up some time.
We had a few navigational problems through Newcastle and around
but generally the C2C signs were very good. Gateshead was a bit
dire and Wallsend was rather
scary. We were warned by a lady walking her dog that some lads were on a bridge
throwing stones at passing cyclists – we never did come across them fortunately
but we did meet a couple of gangs drinking out of beer cans which was rather
daunting but we managed to live to tell the tale and we were lucky not to get
a puncture between us with all the broken glass on the cycle track.
Finally we got to Tynemouth. We went down to the sea and dunked our tyres in
the Sea for the traditional photo.
We stayed at the Rex hotel in Whitley Bay so we could celebrate the completion
of the C2C and Steff's birthday. We chose the Rex as it had a restaurant, a
bar and night clubs. We were the only people eating in the restaurant and the
bar and the clubs were closed and so was most of the rest of Whitley Bay but
we still managed to celebrate in style with a couple of bottles of champagne
and our own private disco down at Dunes on the sea front.
The C2C was everything I expected and more. We had a fantastic
time, we had done just the right amount of training. The signs
were great most of the time.
The map and the Ultimate C2C guide became our bibles. We had a wonderful support
vehicle and driver who turned up at just the right moments – thanks Dennis.
The over night stops were just right. We did a total of 152 miles, our average
speed was 10.2 miles over the 3 days and our total cycling time was 15 hours.
It was a fantastic experience – what are we going to do next? The North Pennine
Cycle Way?????
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