A delightful, 25 mile ride from Alston on the Cumbria / Northumberland border, skirting Flinty Fell and taking in Black and White Hills.
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| Starting the long descent from Black Hill Summit |
The ride feels mostly downhill with nearly 7 miles of magnificent free-wheeling from the high point of the ride; the top of Black Hill on the border (609 metres). The ride also ends on a downhill with roughly 4 miles of almost continuous descent. About 25% of the ride is off-road with only a couple of short, steep sections that may cause you to get off and push.
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| Another long descent on Isaac's Tea Trail |
The route takes in 3 rivers; the South Tyne, Nent and Allen. The views are superb and the riding is on quiet, rural lanes or off-road with very little traffic. For average mountain bikers like us, there was very little walking; the downhills were long and sweeping and the uphills short and sweet. The landscape is gently rolling with far-reaching views. The ride feels remote in many places but there are plenty of individual farms dotted around the moors in this part of the world, so you're never too far from a habitation.
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| Heading up to the watershed, passing a remote farm at the end of the tarmac |
The ride starts and ends in the friendly town of Alston. Plenty of parking is available in car parks and roadside bays. There are bars, cafes and restaurants, along with a YHA hostel and hotels.
The route starts off gently following both SUSTRANS routes 68 and 7 south along a quiet lane. The SUSTRANS little markers make the route easy to follow. Keep left, along the valley when route 68 heads uphill to Hartside (save that for another day). The lane gently undulates and soon reaches the quaint village of Garrigill with its village green, Post Office and public toilets in the village hall. Keep right here to follow the off-road variant of Route 7. It is not long before the route turns left to cross the river and then climbs the first steep, off-road section. Soon the tarmac returns but the incline continues. (You can follow the on-road route but this climbs straight up and then falls straight down Flinty Fell and by-passes the lead mines completely).
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| Undulating roads and far-reaching views |
If you did have to push, it is not long before the route traverses around Flinty Fell and you can easily ride again. Follow the Route 7 signs at a left turn and gently climb the tarmac. The climb continues but the tarmac runs out just beyond Priorsdale. The riding continues to be easy and you seen reach the watershed and the start of a lovely descent towards Nenthead and its ancient lead mines. It is worth finding a way through the mines, passing a small reservoir to join the A689 a little higher up than continuing into Nenthead itself. Unless you want to take a break. From here the road route is straightforward and rideable, up to the high point of the ride. If you prefer more of a challenge, drop into Nenthead and head north to pick up the by-way that goes straight up the side of Black Hill.
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| Finding our way through the lead mines |
If it is a cool day it is worth wrapping up for the nearly 7 mile descent to the River West Allen. Part way down Route 7 leaves to the right and later the route forks left, continuing downhill and towards the river. You might notice some buddhists wandering form their monastery as you enjoy the ride, almost down to the river. Bear left to cross the river, then keep right to head straight up White Hill. There is another remote YHA hostel here which would be a great place to stay, finishing this ride after the huge downhill.
The second section of off-road appears straight ahead. You'll do better than us if you can stay on your bike up here, however, we did manage to ride the majority of it. Thankfully the top of the track soon appears with no false tops and the gentle descent, skirting the flanks of the hill begins. There are signs to watch out for young birds in this SSSI in the summer.
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| Time to get off and push |
The descent is a delight; never too steep or rocky. This part of the ride is following Isaac's Tea Trail and continues to do so as it crosses the A686 and carries on off-road. There is a sharp fight-hand bend and then the biggest rock steps of the ride, all easily rideable. At the bottom of the steps turn left, soon onto tarmac again, carrying straight on to cross the A686 once more. The descent continues and the gradient increases dramatically as you take a right turn down Coatlith Hill back into Alston. All too soon the ride is over and you're free to take in the delights that Alston has to offer.
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| On the final descent |
If you've not followed SUSTRANS routes before, this gives you a good introduction. Route 68 is a beautiful ride from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Derby and Route 7 is a coast-to-coast route. The signs are usually really easy to find and follow, negating the need for frequent map checking. There are sometimes on and off-road variations and the routes all try to stick to traffic-free or quiet roads. The one downside that we have sometimes experienced is that sometimes avoiding the main roads means going up and downhills rather than around them!
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| At the lead mines |
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