(Once upon a time there were two old men sitting in a pub drinking their beer
and talking. One was called Allan, he was 69 years old and the other was Ian,
he was 65 years old. It seemed a good idea at the time as they discussed it,
the two of them, Ian and Allan, would cycle the C2C in June 2005 and as they
both lived in Hawick in the Scottish Borders they would join the Reivers Route
10 at Newcastleton cycling down to Whitehaven then after we had cycled the
C2C to Tynemouth we would Cycle the Reivers route back to Newcastleton.)
Now although Ian is 65 and I am 69, and the route mileage was 350 we were not
deterred, who said that the older you get the wiser you get? So we made our
plans. We would start on Monday 13 June, take two days to get to Whitehaven,
Three days for the C2C the another two days on the Reivers route to get home.
Thing just happened after that and all too soon June was upon us. And as we
could not think of an excuse to cancel the trip off we jolly well went.
First day, Monday the 13 of June. Bewcastle to Hesket Newmarket
When our transport got us to the planned start at Newcastleton it was raining
so after a hasty conference and it was decided to take the transport to Bewcastle
and we would start the Reivers route from there. At Bewcastle it was raining
harder than ever, but we unloaded the bikes and got ready to start. By that
time the rain had turned to sleet. Soon we were soaked through to the padded
underwear and cold with it, we were not into the spot the ‘blue signs with
10 on them’ mode. They could be anywhere. On a sign post, a telephone post,
a house wall or even covered by weeds on the side of the road. Miss one and
you are in trouble which we did, frequently, on the first day. We had a break
for lunch at a pub on the way out of Carlisle just before Kirkandrews upon
Eden. A bowl of soup and a pint Lifted our spirit’s a bit before moving on
to Dalston. Dalston on a wet afternoon is not very inviting so we phoned the
guest house at Hesket Newmarket and booked our bed for the night. We arrived
at 5.30 at night and after a hot shower etc., we went next door to the Old
Crown Inn where they were having a ‘Grumpy Old Men’ night in aid of the Penrith
Mountain Rescue. They must have known we were coming.
Distance 56 miles.
Hesket Newmarket
to Whitehaven
After a good breakfast we picked up our dried clothes which the
guest house had dried for us and started before 10 o’clock on another
wet day. Soon we were as wet as we were the day before and the
roads were awash with water.
The off road options were out of the question even if we had been inclined
to try them. The Mountains of Lakeland were invisible due to low cloud around
Bassenthwaite When we reached Cockermouth it stopped raining but by the time
we got to Workington it was on again. On reaching Whitehaven we made for the
C2C start on the quayside, there we phoned Mrs Dixon who kindly took us in
and dried our cloths as well as supplying B/B for the night.
Distance 46 miles
Whitehaven
to Penrith
After another good breakfast (Full English, hold the Black Pudding) we made
our way to the start of the C2C, where after the photo session we were on our
way. The first ten miles were a joy. Windy but dry, narrow track but quiet,
and flat, no hills Then we got hills and rain and brake failure. After a horrendous
descent through the forest we reached Keswick where we bought two set of brake
blocks, two coffees and four sweet cakes, booked a bed ahead. Onward we cycled
in the rain but at Scales it stopped raining and the sun came out. It was the
first we had seen of the sun since we started. We stopped in a small quarry
and changed the brake blocks which lifted the spirits and, with the warm sun
on our backs, and a full set of brakes, we cycled on to Mungrisdale where as
we were feeling so good we took the long way to Greystoke, and breezed the
next few miles into Penrith where we had booked our B/B. The lady of the house
insisted on taking our cloths, that we had been wearing for three wet days
and giving them a wash, at no extra cost. On reflection, we could have been
smelling a bit.
Distance 54miles
Penrith to Rookhope
Full English breakfast again but we are both getting weary of the Cumberland
sausages so we walk up Fell Lane at the start of the day to let the sausage
settle. At the top of the hill we parked the bikes and was adjusting the
padded underwear when a heavily laden cyclist appeared coming up the lane
peddling furiously and in-between breaths, introduced himself. He was a 24
year old nurse who came from Spain and as he was cycling the C2C on his own
could he join us for a while. When he told us that he was a nurse in a cardiac
unit in British hospital, he was welcomed. When you are over 65 years you
take all the insurance you can get. At Renwick it started to rain again,
which kept us cool as we peddled up Hartside to the café where we
had a coffee and a sticky bun each as we watched all the other wet cyclist
coming into the café adjusting their padding and wringing out their
gloves. From Hartside summit it was down hill to the next hill up, then down
hill to the next hill up, then down again. So it went on until we came to
the Miners Arms where we went in for a couple of pints thinking that we had
climbed Black Hill, the highest point on the C2C. When the three of us came
out of the pub the good news was that it had stopped raining, the bad news
was that we were in Nenthead and still had to climb Black Hill. A few swear
words were used in English and Spanish. Nothing else for it but to get on
with it, so we did. The three of us had booked into Rookhope Inn for the
night and it was a good feeling when it came into sight, for although we
had only cycled 40 miles, it had been a hard 40 miles.
Distance 40 miles
They don't know it yet but Black Hill is yet to climb
Rookhope to Tynemouth
Cycling has become a way of life for us now as we climb out of Rookhope after
another good breakfast. (no Cumberland sausage this time) Down the hill to
Stanhope , then crawled up Crawley Bank to join the Waskerley Way. This was
the first day that we had no rain and after Crawley Bank it was down hill
all the way, our spirits were high as we stopped for a look over Hownsgill
Viaduct. Soon we were crossing the Tyne and passing under the Tyne Bridges
on our way to Tynemouth. A cup of coffee and a chocolate muffin enjoyed sitting
in the sunshine at a riverside café made a nice lunch break before
we cycled the remaining 11 miles to Tynemouth where the Sign post that marks
the end of the C2C was a welcome site.
Distance 43 miles
Allan and Ian make a baldy sandwich of Angle
Tynemouth to Bellingham
It was back to business for Ian and myself on the Saturday morning with two
changes.
1: Angel our young Spanish friend was not with us anymore.
2: We had got rid of our panniers, our wives had arrived on Friday night to
act as our back up transport for two night, so we felt free as birds.
Apart from getting lost in a housing estate in Wide Open it was a glorious
day with a well earned refreshment stop Stamfordham, before continuing onto
Bellingham and the more hilly land where we had another beer in the Cheviot
Hotel as we awaited our back up transport.
Distance 52 miles
Bellingham to Hawick
A lovely morning greeted us for our last morning, Wall to wall sunshine and
not a breath of wind. We were soon passing Falstone and following the forest
road up the north shore of Kielder water. We met our wives at Kielder Village
were we all had an ice cream before we broke of from the Reivers Route and
made our way back home, our wives by car and Ian and I by bike. Stopping
of at Bonchester Bridge for a refreshment at the Fox and Hounds.
Distance 54 miles
Total distance for the week was 345 miles
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