"No sleep till Nenthead"
A C2C trip Aug 1st -Aug 5th 2005 - by Steve & Christine Coyne

Whitehaven - Keswick
Arrived at Whitehaven via a pretty eventful train journey from our home town of Preston,there was approx 8 cyclists on the platform awaiting the train to Lancaster, 3 lads already refused entry on the 07:30 due to not booking the bikes in advance and were now sweating for the 08:30 when we pedalled up, thankfully I booked in person 3 weeks earlier so was assured of my place. These lads realising it's now or never took a chance and crammed in the bikes, the train arrives at Lancaster all off and the 3 lads back on again (they had tickets to Carlisle) WRONG Mr Jobsworth at Virgin,
"No reservation no bikes!"

He duly turfed them off, they saw us walking towards the Whitehaven train and followed hoping the guard on Northern Rail was more accommodating, thankfully he was, and let them travel I spoke to the lads on the train they were on the verge of sacking the ride and were already stressed out.

Lesson No 1 If your going to Whitehaven on the train book in advance and state your taking a bike (its free), book in person if possible. I spoke to another C2C'er who had all sorts of trouble on the net, he gave up and went to his local station and also booked in person.

Ok so we are now at Whitehaven, cycle down to the Harbour for dipping and foto and we are underway at 11:45. The path out to Lamplugh is excellent (didn't expect to go thru a council estate to get to it though! watch for pram wheels,dogs and broken glass). Arrived at Lamplugh caravan park for dinner, small shop here if needed, then onwards to Keswick taking it really easy and enjoying the ride, we then approach the notorious Whinlatter Pass, a bit of cycling a lot of pushing. Chris is now sweating like a racehorse and thinking she's bitten off more than she can chew, the enjoyment has now gone, she's ready for calling a taxi but slowly but surely kept going. One good thing about the pass is the cracking downhill into Braithwaite and then an easy pedal into Keswick. Into the B & B for 16:00.

Lesson no 2 Do plenty of hill work in your training

Fish and Chips for tea, a walk to Derwentwater, a few pints in various beer gardens and tucked up with a local rag for 22-00.

No rush today 22 miles in 8 hours is walking standard! On that note we had a stroll round Keswick in the morning sun and decided to cycle to the Castlerigg Stone Circle, that really got the heart rate going, a killer hill to get there. If your the type that gets off on stone circles fine have a look but in our opinion it wasn't worth it. The cycle out of Keswick is excellent, an old railway line to the A66, then off again onto virtually traffic free roads with superb scenery. Had a brew sat outside The Mill Inn in Murgisdale, then onwards to Penrith stopping for a bite on the "village green"at Greystoke.

Arrived at Penrith at 15:00 checked in and had a walk round the shops and the Castle ruins. For tea we went to the Dolce Vita Italian who do an early bird menu, we had 2 meals, Garlic Bread and a glass of wine each £16.00. Again a few pints round town then back to digs which had a D.V.D. player in the room and a choice of 50 films. Glass of Spar wine (glasses in room) dry roasted and a film, totally chilled out.

Penrith - Nenthead
Another killer hill out of Penrith, although nothing compared to the journey ahead - we were heading for the Hartside summit a full 1900ft to the Cafe. The majority of the ride again takes in stunning scenery and some cracking downhills reaching 33mph at one point, before all you straight-backers go :-" 33 ha" I was on a Mountain bike with panniers and back pack!

We wind our way to the bottom of Hartside (foto opportunity) pshyce ourselves up and go for it, all going well until the road splits it's now decision time, stick with road which snakes you up to the top or cut thru off road, we cut thru. This section starts off ok but not long after its virtually all pushing not all due to steepness, the terrain is uncycleable, rocks and boulders in abundance, no attempt was made to cycle. We finally reached the cafe after the long walk wishing we tried to cycle up, I suggested we go back and start again,Chris replied," I 'll not bother thanks" In her best Anglo Saxon!

Brew in the cafe with fellow C2C'ers, bikers and daytrippers. Our departure was delayed due to the blackest cloud ever in the distance and approaching fast, another brew until it passed. Now comes the mother of all downhills and all the uphills are forgotten. We jumped on the bikes on the cafe car park and didn't pedal again until Alston, it was fantastic. Thru the cobbles of Alston and into Nenthead digs. This was a bit of a culture shock as we been used to shops, people etc. Nenthead is literally a 1 horse town but can highly recommend the food and Boddingtons in the Miners Arms, we met up with 3 gents who were on the Whitehaven train and had a cracking night.


Nenthead - Consett
Awoke to the dreaded sound, rain on the window a glance out revealed low cloud. Our good weather luck had finally ran out. We waved goodbye to our hosts and off we cycled into the bleakness. We end up at Allenheads for a break and a foto in the stocks. From there another cracking downhill into Rookhope for a brew in the Rookhope Arms. Another decision here - our intention was to cycle into Stanhope and onto the Waskerley but a local suggested an off road cut thru purely to avoid the worlds steepest hill out of Stanhope," You'll be pushin for 3 miles, if ya gaan that way man".

So off road we went and it was an excellent off road route, which brought you out right on the C2C Cafe on the Waskerley Way. From this point on the ride to the finish is a very pleasant experience, smooth track, sculptures, no hills and courteous walkers. We stayed the night at Castleside just outside Consett in a very grand B & B, a private aromatherapy bath with the test match on the radio reading a paper, who said the C2C was tough!!!

At 4- 0 clock the front door bell went and lo and behold it's the 3 gents from the Miners in Nenthead. Up the road is the Smelters Arms - 2 meals for £8.50 also thurs nite is Quiz nite, a meal and back to the digs turned into an all nighter with the C2Cer's comming 5th, (Who did shoot J.R.?)

Consett - South Shields

Another glorious morning, we said our goodbyes to the hosts and last night's quiz team, handshakes all round - the last 2 nights have been top. Another killer hill to start with but we were soon back on the Waskerley and heading for the finish, not much you can write about a cyclepath from start to finish, had fotos with the C2C theodolite and old king cole and stopped for lunch at the Washington Arts Centre (literally 1 min from path) eventually getting to the official finish at Sunderland Marina.

A foto with the official board and pedalled down the coast to South Shields. A strong headwind severely slowing us down but around an hour later we dropped onto the beach promenade to be clapped in by family & friends, dipped our wheels in the North Sea and had a well deserved drink in the Sand Dancer. We stayed with family in Shields, had a proper night out, by that I mean not holding back so much on the beer and drove back with a bike rack to Preston the next morning.

We had a thoughly enjoyable time on the C2C, I would recommend it to anybody. Every B & B we stayed in was of the highest quality with excellent hosts and superb breakfasts, a "full monty" every morning is just the job.

The route is easy to follow, it's almost impossible to get lost as the signage is so good. We did it in 5 days which is an excellent way to enjoy it with no time pressure and the country pubs and cafe's etc can be enjoyed. We had excellent weather - 1 hours rain isn't too bad in 5 days. I took a tool kit and spare tubes and didn't need them once. We met some really nice people and meeting up with fellow C2C 'ers was great fun. It's a perfect holiday for winding down and chilling out, you get a great sense of achievement when you dip your wheel in the North Sea.