Whitehaven to Newcastle - 1st to 5th August 2004
31 members of the 5th Northfleet Scout Group, ages ranging from 4 to 65, began
the long and tiring trip to the North West. 21 members travelled by rail and
the rest by minibus (carrying the necessary camping kit) and a van (carrying
28 bikes). Our first campsite was at Ennerdale Bridge; about 15 miles form
the Whitehaven start point. The road party arrived early in the afternoon of
the 31st, whilst the rail party arrived a good while later having endured a
lengthy journey via Newcastle, and Carlisle, made necessary by ongoing engineering
works on the West Coast main line. A shuttle bus service was established between
the campsite and Whitehaven with all members eventually getting on site by
18.00, where they spent the next few hours waging a battle with hordes of midges
which were intent on eating them alive. It then became apparent that the Family
Railcards used by the group on the outward journey had been left on the train
at Whitehaven. Another small problem to resolve!
Sunday dawned bright and breakfast was on the go by 06.00. As if things are
not difficult enough completing the ride the Scouts also had to prepare and
cook their own meals on a daily basis and set up their own tents on three different
sites! After breakfast the minibus and van shuttled bikes and personnel to
Whitehaven ready for the ‘dipping the wheel’ ceremony. Some had a problem riding
up the slope away from the water and it was more by luck than judgement that
no one got a soaking before they had covered the first few yards.
By 09.30 they were ready to roll and a mass start saw the group heading
out through the nearly deserted streets of Whitehaven en route to
our next planned
stopping point at Keswick. The two support crews set off to cover their respective
duties, whilst the group made slow but steady progress out towards Cleator
Moor. At Cleator Moor the group split into two previously agreed parties, fast
and slow, with the older, fitter members setting a pretty fast pace whilst
the others covered the distance at a more leisurely speed. Both groups choose
to stop off at the Western end of Loweswater for lunch, the ‘Hares’ leaving
just as the Tortoises arrived.
The temperature had climbed steadily throughout the day and the water
reserve was running low so a hasty trip to a local farm was needed
to top up the containers.
Off road driving in a minibus isn’t the easiest thing to do! Mechanical failure,
on a nearly new bike, was already plaguing one member of the party and hasty
repairs were carried out. In the afternoon the group continued their progress
toward Keswick, but the emergency repair failed to hold up, so then there were
24!
Climbing the hill out of High Lorton and we have our first casualty
when a rider lost his grip in some loose material in the middle of
the road and ended
up scratched and bruised on the floor. First aid was applied and he was soon
back in the saddle, though many of the younger ones were choosing to walk this
hill. This was prove a hill too far for some and they opted for the easy ride
back to camp (at Braithwaite), whilst the remaining 18 struggled on to the
top of Whinlatter. At the visitor centre numbers reduced a little bit more
but by now the worst was over and it was down hill all the way through the
forest. One small group put in a few extra miles by turning left, instead of
right onto the A66 but by 17.00 we were all on site. All that is except one
who had crashed on the forest section approaching Whinlatter visitor centre
and had become detached from the group. He’d made his way out of the forest
and rode to a nearby hotel where the owner kindly looked after him and made
contact with the party leader, who in turn arranged for him to be collected.
Tents were soon erected and meals prepared followed by welcome showers and
an early night.
Another bright start and the prospect of an up and down ride to Langwathby.
That was the theory at least. Camp was cleared and from the Braithwaite site
it was a short ride back onto the route, and then on through Keswick and out
again. The party had now split into three groups, with the fittest and keenest
forming the ‘Super Hares’, this group also chose to make life more difficult
for themselves by taking the Castlerigg alternative, not by design but because
their map reading was naff. The middle group checked out the bike shops is
Keswick for spares, whilst the tortoises also made life difficult by not finding
the old railway and ending up in Applethwaite. All this caused a good deal
of confusion and consternation amongst various party leaders and support teams
who spent most of the morning rounding up lost sheep from various points of
the compass. It was Greystoke before everyone was again on the right road,
and lunch was taken on the green. By chance the group also met up with the
wife of one the ex-venture scouts as they live in the village.
Our Super Hares were soon on the road to Penrith where they were later spotted
with puzzled looks on their faces as our support vehicle went in the opposite
direction to the one they were taking. The climb out of Penrith proved to be
very testing and was not without incident, the main problem being chains that
kept coming off. Our day ended to the West of Langwathby as camp for the next
two days had been established at Lazonby, some choosing to ride to site, others
again taking the chance to rest tired legs by getting a lift.
Later that evening there was a chance to relax kicking a ball around
(the game ended when the ball was lost in the river) fly a kite
or treating the numerous
insect bites all members had received. Sleep that night was interrupted by
the most tremendous thunderstorm, with seemingly simultaneous lighting and
thunder. Torrential rain hammered down on the tents and the prospect of a ‘washout’ loomed.
Eventually the storm abated and we were lucky enough to have only suffered
one slightly wet sleeping bag.
The time to tackle Hartside and the hills beyond had arrived. People have read
about it and the Scouts have looked at the route profile and are also wondering
what they have to face, they know now! Slow and steady was the order of the
day with even the fittest finding it a tough grind. Everyone gathered at the
junction with the second off road section where a number decided they fancied
the walk and push to the top rather than the ride. Walking in the hills is
one thing, but doing it with a bike as an added encumbrance made for an interesting
morning. Still the view from 580m was pretty good, as was the tea and cakes.
The letters from local children urging motorcyclists to slow don on the descent
towards Alston also made for interesting reading. The long downhill run to
Leadgate was a joy after all the early climbs, though the road through to Garrigill
was deceptively up hill and many of the younger members again struggled to
reach Garrigill When they had they again decided that was enough for the day
and were taken back to the Lazonby camp site where they were actively engaged
in spud bashing for some time!
The climb out of Garrigill is a killer and we take our hats off to anyone who
can ride it all. Not only was it steep but it seemed to go on for ever and
to make matters worse the weather was closing in. Little did we know it but
things were about to get even more difficult.
The descent in Nenthead is a welcome relief, but it was to prove the end of
cycling activities for the rest of the week for one member who was involved
in a two-bike accident on the last, steep downhill into Nenthead. After 10
minutes of concern for his well being he was extricated from the tree against
which he had come to rest and was placed upon one of the escort vehicles. Luckily
no bones were broken, though his cycle helmet had been cracked with the force
of his head hitting the tree. This cast a bit of a shadow over the rest of
the day and the road to Allenheads seemed to be much longer than it really
was. At least they had the road to themselves apart that is from the sheep,
and it was quite late in the day when Allenheads was eventually reached.
If Tuesday ended badly, then Wednesday started worse and didn’t get that much
better. It was always going to be the case that using campsites a long way
from Allenheads would result in a long drive out the next day. Cutting back
to just two groups eased the problem slightly but it still took 3 hours to
get all those fit enough to cycle back on the road, and a further two hours
to collect up the camping kit for the move to Dilston Scout Campsite, near
Hexham. All went well with the first group of cyclists as they climbed out
of Allenheads, but one member of the second group fainted just after the escort
vehicle had departed and had to be taken off the road for the day.
The main problems of the day were occurring over at Alston where the trailer
transporting the kit had suffered a puncture, and the framework had succumbed
to a dose of metal fatigue. This was a bit beyond what the trusty Scout penknife
could repair, even in these days of Hi-Tech Swiss army knives. So tyre changed
the onward journey for the campsite crew was a slow one indeed, and finding
the campsite was only achieved with an escort from the local fire brigade.
Over on the trail the cyclists were making good time along the
road to Stanhope and were soon on the Waskerly way. If not speeding
they were certainly ahead
of time and were looking good for an early finish, there was even time to enjoy
the view from the Hownsgill Viaduct. However the route flattered to deceive
and things went a bit pear shaped around Consett. Indeed things went a bit
more than pear shaped as the riders became lost, the support van suffered a
failed alternator, and the minibus was some miles away on the A68. It was decided
that the best course of action was for the minibus to make its way to the end
of the section and to wait for the riders to come in to them. Later conversations
revealed that Consett was a nice enough place but visiting the same part on
two or three occasions at the end of the day’s ride really wasn’t needed. Added
to this a proliferation of punctures and it was quite late in the day when
all were eventually returned to camp.
Fish and Chips all round soon cheered people up, and the general
opinion was that things couldn’t get any worse (they didn’t) as they were nearly at the
end. 24 of the 25 who started managed to finish the day unscathed. A clear
night sky heralded the prospect of good weather for the final day on the C2C
and there was enough material in the day’s activities to compose a novel or
two.
The last day. All those who could ride did ride and were keen to get going.
No campsite to move just two groups to the start and spirits were high. Again
all went well along the Derwent Walk, but on crossing the river contact between
the support vehicles and the riders became increasingly difficult to maintain
so the minibus headed for the finish, whilst the van visited hospitals in Consett
and Durham with the rider who fell late on Tuesday. He checked out OK Problems
were encountered with following the route signs through Newcastle and the now
combined group of 24 riders took longer than expected to cover the 13 miles
to Tynemouth Priory.
Just two miles from the end the last incident of the trip happened when a rider
fell and suffered cuts and bruises as they negotiated their way between some
pillars and a wall. Not exactly a sprint finish to the end but suffice to say
24 out of 24 made it to the finish and wheeled their bikes into the North Sea
before collapsing onto the beach. Ice Creams all round were a good reviver,
and it was then suggested that they might like to make their way back to camp
along Hadrian's Way as the route passed quite close by. Strangely enough here
were no takers! Some went back on the train whilst others went back by road,
however getting through Newcastle in the rush hour with miles of road works
to negotiate was no fun.
A day of well earned rest with just a few going off to Hadrian’s Wall for some
sightseeing, the remainder staying on site to play in the river.
All returned home.
All in all a rewarding experience for all those who took part. Out of the 25
riders at least 18 completed every mile, whilst the remainder covered a good
majority of the route.
Our thanks to those who look after the route, but if something could be done
in the Consett area to improve things then there are 25 Scouts and Leaders
from Gravesend who would be extremely happy
Andy Treadwell
Group Scout Leader
5th Northfleet Scout Group
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