DERBYSHIRE FIVE RAISE FUNDS ON C 2 C
by Martin Speed

The day arrived to start our much awaited Coast 2 Coast ride. Up at 4.30 am to meet the
team and be on the road North to Whitehaven by 6.00am.

All gathered together in Bru’s van with Mike, Matt, Tony, Pete our support driver and myself we set off. Arriving at Whitehaven for 10.30 am we had made good time, the weather was good on arrival and we started to unload the van next to another bunch of guys doing the same trip. We soon discovered after coming all that way our friends next to us where from Tansley, Derbyshire just 3 miles over the hill from us.

All sorted we posed for the official photo and we are on our way at about 11.30am heading for Keswick and our and Tansley’s first stop.

The ride out of Whitehaven went well with no punctures from the glass in some areas, it is as well to take care and lift one’s bike here (advice taken from the Shelton Bikers, all 2 of them, also from Derbyshire).

Soon we are warming up on good trails not unlike the Tissington and the High Peak trails back home, when we are presented with a fantastic view of the Lakes ahead of us.



On to Loweswater for a short lunch at the Kirkdale Inn, a beautiful place with very good baguettes. Onwards to meet our challenge but not before a short detour in Low Lorton to see Tony’s old house by the river.

From here we are faced with the first big challenge of Whinlatter Pass and so begins a long drag to the top through the forest and eventually out at the visitor centre at the top of Whinlatter for a well earned cup of tea and an excellent coffee.



From the top we have a great ride down through the forest to Bassenthwaite which is over all too soon but we have made good time from our start and can enjoy the final gentle ride in to Keswick.

Keswick is a great little town with lots of places to stay and eat and for our first night we had been booked in to The Twa Dogs pub (not to be recommended) however following a great meal at the George Hotel in town we retired to our rooms.

The following morning the heavens opened and it was coming down in stair rods, so with all the wet weather gear on, bikes checked over and lubricated we are on our way at 8.30 am heading for Alston, our longest day with some 48 miles to cover and Hartside to climb.

Taking the alternative route from Mungrisdale kept us well out in the countryside and away from the A66 and did not prove to be any harder. We passed the Tansley crew going the other way, we had taken yet another detour to see a friend of Tony’s in Motherby and stop for tea and coffee, thanks John a great pick us up by which time the rain had stopped and we were able to get some wet gear off and start to dry out a bit.

On through Penrith and some fantastic views from the top of Fell Lane after another good climb and stopping to chat to two chaps one 68 the other 63 from Newcastle with heavy bikes and panniers doing a great job, I just hope they made it home.



Carrying on you pass through Langwathby the last chance to take on some sustenance before Hartside so do not miss it as we did thinking there might be something a little further on - there isn’t!

We resorted to sharing 2 energy bars, 1 banana, a small bar of chocolate, a few bags of nuts and lots of water on the roadside at Renwick.

However feeling buoyed up Tony and I decide to tackle the off road option up Hartside and the others took the road. The off road track can be reached easily from Renwick without having to go back and you pick the route up just as the track starts.

The first third of the climb is fine, hard work on a good track for mountain bikes we described it as Ible with attitude (Ible being our final climb back home on our rides out). We crossed the on road option with the other 3 just in front of us so we pushed on off road.

The track soon turns into a sheep track which was very wet, hard going and we only just managed to avoid getting any wheels stuck in the little foot bridge over the stream. From here the middle third to us seemed un-ridable for mere mortals and only super human all action hero’s could have managed this section, so we had to walk a bit. The top third before you meet the on road bit again is ride-able but very wet, boggy and tough to keep going but we made the road in good shape and continued up the final off road section to Hartside café and a well earned cup of tea and cake.

The effort was well worth it as the weather was fine, the views were fantastic and we saw our first Grouse of the tour.




From the top of Hartside down to Alston, 6 miles in about 10 minutes, great fun and not too busy.

In Alston we were booked in to the Lowbyer Hotel and Lillian, Laura, Philip and Robert could not have made us more welcome. Very comfortable rooms, a cosy bar and a good recommendation to eat at the Turks Head pub where the food was excellent and Tony, his Wife and Daughter looked after us all very well.

A great breakfast the next morning set us up for what was supposed to be a steady day.

With lots of ups and downs, the off-road section out of Nenthead was particularly tough to the highest point on C2C.



On to Allenheads Inn for lunch and then we continue to Rookhope to tackle the off road climb to the top of Stanhope Common. Ride-able all the way it was a very good test but worth all the hard work as the ride across the top of the moors to Park Head Station is fantastic.

Arriving at Park Head we where made very welcome by Terry and Lorraine. The bedrooms were comfortable and all brand new as they continue to convert the buildings in to a haven for cyclists and walkers alike. A quick trip to the local in Stanhope and back for a delicious home cooked dinner interspersed with a bit of kite flying at 9ish on the moors in a howling gale.



A beautiful rainbow set the day off well with another full English breakfast to keep us going down to Sunderland.

A downhill ride all the way mainly on traffic free tracks with a strong tail wind which made the final section down to Sunderland enjoyable and quite quick. The ride along the River Wear brings you down past the marina and on to the coast to ride on to the beach to finish our ride in bright sunshine and an hour before our friends from Tansley.




Total mileage: 141 miles
Top speed: 48.4 mph (Bru)
Total riding time: approx 23 hours.
Money raised for charity: £750

Any questions e-mail martin.speed@speeds.co.uk