Walney to Whitby
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| The Irish Sea at Walney Island |
Again, we bought train tickets, this time to Barrow in Furness and back from Whitby in advance and split the journey to save ourselves quite a lot of money on rail fares. Being a bank holiday Saturday the trains were quite busy but we had no problems and the crowds dispersed the further from Manchester we got.
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| Near our hotel in Barrow-in-Furness |
We stayed at The Royal Hotel, Barrow-in-Furness, located in the industrial heartland slightly out of town. The hotel was friendly and comfortable and was pretty close to the start of the W2W route on Walney Island. We went to the official start of the route and I had a quick paddle in the surprisingly warm Irish Sea on a lovely, hot afternoon.
The Royal Hotel is undergoing refurbishment (at the time of writing) but it was clean and comfortable inside. Unfortunately no meals are served at the weekend but we got dinner from the chip shop opposite. The hotel is good value and the staff are really friendly. We had an early night in our comfortable room, preparing ourselves for the journey to come.
Day 1 Barrow to Kendal, 45 miles
The day was warm and sunny and as we had been to the coast the day before, we set off heading to Kendal. SUSTRANS route 700 was clearly signposted and we followed quiet lanes and a few tracks along the undulating south coast of Cumbria. Riding with panniers took a little while to get used to with the additional weight on the bike but it soon became clear that riding with panniers was much more favourable than carrying a rucksack, so much kinder on your bottom!
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| Climbing away from Morecombe Bay on the southern fringes of the Lake District National Park |
We zig-zagged our way along the minor lanes, occasionally glimpsing the peaks of the southern lake district and the large expanse of Morecambe Bay. We enjoyed the beautiful spring countryside with blossoming trees and chirping birds; along with the itching eyes and sneezes brought on by the abundance of pollen in the air. We passed cafes at inopportune moments, often too soon after breakfast or found ones too busy with people or those with seating right on the main road.
After winding our way passed Cartmel Races and through the village of Cartmel, we soon arrived in Grange-over-Sands where eventually we found a suitable cafe for lunch, albeit on the main road. We sat outside and began our break acting like one of those couples that we usually point out and gloat about; the couple that is tired and grumpy with one another, the type of couple that we never are (apart from today). After a rest and a bit of refuelling, grumps were gone and we followed the railway line out of Grange to cross the rivers Gilpin & Kent on our way to Kendal.
We stayed at Sundial Guesthouse, on the southern edges of Kendal, reaching the guesthouse in good time to enjoy the room and the lovely summer evening. We ate at a Wetherspoon's pub just down the road. Our accommodation on this trip was a little more luxurious that the last with plenty of B&Bs and hotels due to a lack of hostels en-route. This did have the added advantage of a full English breakfast every morning, fuelling us for the cycling ahead. Unfortunately (?) it also meant eating out nearly every night.
Day 2 Kendal to Tan Hill Inn, 46 miles
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| Enjoying Sunny Kendal |
We left Kendal appreciating what a nice town it is, having never really visited it, and started climbing towards our goal at the end of the day, the Tan Hill Inn. This is the highest pub in Britain at 528 metres above sea level, (just slightly higher than our house).
We reminisced as we followed route 68 for a while and then route 70. As usual, the routes were all well marked and easy to follow. The route had its ups and downs right from the start and continued with this theme across the M6, skirting the Howgill Fells, back across the M6 up towards Orton, up and over the fells before a gloriously long descent into Kirkby Stephen. Once again we were near Appleby around the time of the horse fair and saw many traditional gypsy caravans and their horses in camps on village greens in the surrounding villages.
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| Quiet lanes near the M6 |
We cycled all the way; at this moment thanking the easterly breeze for keeping us cool. We just managed to generate enough heat to remain in only our shorts and t-shirts as we clicked down into the lowest gear and kept on climbing. The environment became ever more remote; farms and buildings staying low in the valleys. The wildlife became more and more prolific; lots of curlews panicking as we came close to their ground nests and young chicks carefully, but not fully camouflaged in the moorland. Lapwings continued with their displays as we cycled past. Rabbits looked on curiously before darting off into their burrows and sheep hurried suicidedly across the lane in front of us. Eventually the pub came into site and we pulled up, quickly put jumpers and jackets on before checking into the surprisingly crowded pub.
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| Traditional gypsy caravans at villages near Appleby at the time of the horse fair |
We had beds in a basic (scruffy) bunk room and shared a bathroom with all of the other bunk room guests, (thankfully just a couple of other, non-snoring cyclists tonight). The beds were comfortable and the non-draining shower was hot. We had a lovely meal and a good night's sleep, despite the ghosts that supposedly haunt this 17th century inn, that was once used to store the bodies of dead miners in years gone by.
It is a definitely an experience that should be sought out if you are a walker or cyclist and one to tick off our list. We got chatting to a couple of Australian gents undertaking part of the Pennine Way, making their way up to the boarder from the pub. Thankfully they had easy to understand accents and were a pleasure to talk to. Hopefully they will read this and let us know their names; we never asked! We swapped stories of different adventures that we had all undertaken; we hoped they would find inspiration in our travels to find a place to explore in the north-west of Scotland. They suggested Tasmania was the place to go, if we ever get that far south.
Day 3 Tan Hill Inn to Leeming Bar, 37 miles
We bid farewell to the Aussies as they set off early on their 17 mile day. We started our journey of just over twice this distance, in jumpers and jackets and set off into the head wind, beginning with an 11 mile descent into Reeth. So glad we did the route this way around, for the downhills, even if we were going to have an unusual northeasterly wind for the whole trip. We kept right, following the road, now on route 71, whilst route 70 went left on a traffic-free track.
In Reeth we shared our tourists' money about in the various corner shops buying snacks for lunch. After Reeth we continued with the downhill theme, following the river through Swaledale before skirting around the military town of Leyburn and stopping in a picturesque hamlet for lunch. The route continued generally downhill towards Newton-le-Willows where we finally found a lovely teashop, at the right time, in the right place - High Parks Tearoom just half a mile off our route.
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| Starting the descent from Tan Hill Inn |
After a warming drink and cake we continued along Wensleydale and shot straight through the bustling town of Bedale before finding our way across the A1 and half a mile off our route into Leeming Bar.
Luckily a 'Lochs and Glens' coach party was delayed at our accommodation, so we could check-in early and enjoy the comfort of our room at The Corner House Hotel a lovely little hotel with luxurious rooms. We ate here and enjoyed fantastic service and superb food; I am just disappointed that I didn't have enough room for a dessert. They looked delicious.
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| Still heading down... |
Day 4 Leeming Bar to Osmotherly, 32 miles
We had a lie in, enjoying our room as we had a short day ahead of us. Unfortunately we set off in to the wind and drizzle with full waterproofs on and rain covers over our panniers. We crossed the river Swale at Great Langton and passed through a number of small, picturesque hamlets, all with well kept village greens. Soon we arrived in Northallerton where we bought lunch and dinner.
We left route 71 behind, and indeed the SUSTRANS routes entirely as we headed to Osmotherly. Again we cycled along undulating country lanes; the head winds getting stronger and the drizzle getting heavier. Thankfully the route was fairly flat and straightforward. We sheltered behind a wall for lunch at Cowesby where a friendly gent offered us his garage for shelter. We declined knowing that if we got warm and dry we wouldn't want to get going again.
After lunch we didn't have far to go to our accommodation for the night at Cote Ghyll Mill in Osmotherly but we did have the first real off-roading of the trip, up a steep and muddy forestry track. I quickly dropped down the gears, settling in the lowest gear and kept a slow pace all the way to the top of the hill. From here it was a careful descent into the murk and rain, towards the reservoir and the mill.
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| Climbing up, off-road towards the hostel at Osmotherly |
Arriving at the caravan site to check in we joyfully announced greetings for the first day of summer as we dripped all over the shop floor, desperate to get warm and dry. We bought some essentials, (mainly fizzy drinks, chocolate bars and hot chocolate), to go with our ready meal; hired some towels and set off to find our apartment within the hostel.
We had the apartment area to ourselves - large kitchen and lounge, bathroom, toilet and bedroom for 6. Luxury. And we could hang our kit out to dry. It was the perfect day to stay at a hostel rather than a hotel or B&B. We had hoped to make it into the village of Osmotherly, to a cafe, but we were extremely reluctant to go back out into the rain and so stayed put. Our rendezvous with cafes on our cycle trips are notoriously poor.
Day 5, Osmotherly to Whitby 45 miles
We set off in the dry but cool and windy conditions. We would head north to Hutton Rudby, picking up route 65 before turning east at Seamer, haeading towards Great Ayton (now on route 165) the childhood home of James Cook. Here we would start to follow the Eskdale railway and enter the North York Moors National Park.
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| Heading towards route 65 from Osmotherly |
As we entered the Cleveland Hills and the North York Moors we were pleased to be cycling across moorland again and get away from the largely rural but residential countryside that we had been travelling through for the last 2 days.
With the national park came big hills once again, both ups and downs. The mist had lifted and we had reasonable views of the surrounding countryside. We criss-crossed the river and the railway line numerous times and continued our theme of finding cafes shut on the days that we would pass them. A little early, we decided not to pass by the opportunity of a shelter out of the wind for lunch at Kildale. From Kildale we followed the undulating route to Danby to a perfectly placed, open, cafe. We stopped for refreshments before continuing along Eskdale but climbing gradually away from the river, allowing great views once again.
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| Above Eskdale |
At Aislaby we followed a rough and steep bridleway all the way down to Sleights on the outskirts of Whitby. With not far to go we wound our way up and down, eventually finding the Cinder Track over the viaduct into Whitby itself. We went all the way to the breakwater at the mouth of the River Esk, careful not to get washed into the rough North Sea as it crashed against the defences. We hurriedly cycled uphill, battling into the wind, to find our accommodation at Raithwaite Estate, a couple of miles out of town. A luxurious treat on the completion of our anniversary cycle trip. We checked in and headed straight down to the sauna and jacuzzi to give our tired legs a treat.
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| Soon time to drop down towards Whitby |
We also enjoyed the room in the morning before heading yet again to Whitby to catch the first of 3 trains to get us back home.
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| The North Sea. We've arrived! |
206 miles of fairly easy cycling along well signed routes with little traffic. 45 miles a day was just right. It allowed time to explore, to stop for a drink and slice of cake, (if we could find an open cafe at the right time) and didn't tire us out too much. We were also able to make the most of our accommodation each night, arriving in good time to do so. We didn't really get saddle sore and we felt fit and ready to go each morning.
It was a shame that we had to cycle into headwinds every day but on days such as the climb up to Tan Hill it was certainly welcome. Another good route from Sustrans; we shall be searching for the next one and will try to find a route that finishes at home again.
Gentle Rides in the Peak District - Book
If you enjoy non-technical, off-road rides, like to avoid the mud, don't mind joining the off-road bits with quiet country lanes and are thinking of cycling in the Peak District, you might enjoy the rides in my book.
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