The 151 mile cycle route links Walney Island, just outside Barrow-in- Furnace with the mouth of the River Wear in Sunderland. Between these points, the route traverses the Lake District, the Orton Fells, the Eden Valley and the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the Land of the Prince Bishops. By the time we accounted for cycling to the start and diversions to our accommodation we cycled over 160 miles during the weekend.
Thursday 13th April
Russell kindly transported
12 of the cyclists together with their bikes to Barrow-in-Furness for
our overnight stay.
Myra and Roy were waiting for us having arrived by train. After booking
in to the B&B, The Infield Hotel, we had dinner at The Brown Cow,
where Enid took the Alzheimer's collection box round.
Day 1 - Friday 14th April-Walney Island
to Kendal-46 miles
14 cyclists aged between 41 and 81 set off at 9.00am with over 160 miles of gruelling cycling to look forward to. Unfortunately we had to cycle an extra 3 miles from our B&B to the start of the W2W at Walney Island meaning we would be cycling 46 miles on our first day.
The route begins along main roads before transferring to country lanes. Soon after leaving the town and after a fast descent we rounded a bend to see the stunning red-sandstone ruin of Furness Abbey.
Steve cycled back and forth, shepherding,
making sure everyone was OK. At 11.00 am we reached Ulverston for a
coffee break at the quaint 'Sticky Fingers' tea-room, arriving just
as the local brass band was packing up after playing for Good Friday.
We set off again at 12.00 noon for a climb out of Ulverston for the
next stage to Grange-over-Sands. Ray fell off bike due to an inconsiderate
sports car driver not slowing down when driving up a narrow lane -
Ray was relieved to find his Rohan jacket was OK, he was less bothered
about the nasty graze on his arm!
Stan climbing out of Barrow-in-Furnace
Day 2 - Saturday 15th April - Kendal to Kirkby Stephen - 31 Miles
After a coffee stop at Becks Foot, a delightful spot, Ray had another puncture
while climbing out of the valley. The weather was extremely warm by now.
We rode along the country lanes with occasional glimpses of M6, before
joining a lane for the long ascent towards Orton. A 'helpful' farmer suggested
the lane was unsuitable for cyclists and he suggested another road lower
down - I think he meant the M6!
Lunch in the pub at Orton before the final section of the ride to Kirkby Stephen where the Youth Hostel was a lovely old Methodist church with rooms appropriately named, Pulpit, Aisle, Lectern etc. The evening meal was in the Pennine Hotel with karaoke at 8 pm where Ray gave his rendition of 'Dancing Queen'.
Abba may not have been impressed but the cheers he got raised the roof and he received many generous contributions to the Alzheimer's fund (perhaps payments to prevent a repeat performance?).
Steve has a rest on the Orton Fells before
dropping down to Kirby Stephen
Day 3 - Sunday 16th April - Kirkby Stephen
to Ramshaw - 44 miles
The start of today was cold and wet and the high ground towards Tan Hill did not look inviting. We prepared with some trepidation for the 11 mile ascent to the Tan Hill Inn - Britain 's highest pub at 1762 feet above sea level. The rain stopped but there was a strong cold wind which fortunately was mainly behind us and assisted with the ascent. At Tan Hill we were joined by Graham and Kath, Graham accompanying us on our journey to Ramshaw.
We had a pleasant lunch stop
at Tan Hill where Myra cuddled the pub's pet baby lamb, Tan, which
had been curled up with the pub's pet dog at the fireside. On setting
off again we followed the rough track across Sleightholme Moor where
there was a bitterly cold wind blowing. It was Bernard's turn for
a puncture. Some of us stopped at Barnard Castle
for coffees, where Ray managed to have another puncture. We all met
up at the Bridge Inn at Whorlton where the generous locals contributed
to the cause before we set off on the final leg of the journey towards
Ramshaw. Time was getting on and we were all getting tired, only Enid,
Pat and Margaret took up Kath and Graham's generous offer of tea and
fruit cake at their cottage near Evenwood.
We arrived at the Bridge Hotel at Ramshaw for our overnight stop where we were joined for our evening meal by Kath and Graham. Portions were enormous and the meals were excellent - beef and chicken sizzlers were popular although Myra had Tan - sorry, I mean lamb! How could she?
Day 4 - Monday 17th April - Ramshaw
to Sunderland - 42 miles
The breakfast was mind boggling, 2 rashers
of bacon, 2 sausages, tomato, beans, mushrooms, black pudding, hash-browns
and fried bread topped with 2 fried eggs. Even big Stevie Payne was
unable to clear the lot and Ray even refused a sausage!
Graham kindly collected most of our luggage to save us carrying it on the final leg! We decided to join the northern loop. The route took us to Witton Castle where some mischievous persons had turned the signs round and we spent around 30 minutes trying to work out the direction. It was suggested that the culprits were Ken and Sue, who had gone on ahead, but this was later hotly denied!
Eventually we were on our way again to Willington, where we stopped for refreshments mid-morning at the 'New Inn' before carrying on to Durham. The off road track was mostly very good apart from a very steep descent on a loose ash surface to a stream and bridge followed by a sudden very steep ascent - the only climb even Stan, Myra, Steve and Ray didn't manage. Worries about negotiating the Durham City were unfounded as the route was well signposted and eventually followed the river for a while before ascending to Belmont.
We stopped for lunch at 'The Cross Keys', Sherburn. The pub didn't have food but sandwiches were available at the nearby Co-op. Sue took the collection box around and found people to be willing contributors. Everyone seems to know of someone who suffers from this dreadful disease.
For the final stretch we diverted from
route 20 to follow route 14 and 1 through Haswell and down to Ryhope.
The journey through Sunderland was extremely difficult due to a head
wind and the traffic being heavy as the football derby match between
Newcastle and Sunderland had just finished.
Crossing the Wearmouth Bridge
was a nightmare as we walked our bikes across against the flow of
masses of chanting Sunderland fans who were being escorted across
by police dressed in riot gear. Eventually we got through and arrived
at the Marina to complete our journey.
After dipping the cycle wheels in the North Sea and a final photograph we had a celebration drink in the Roker Hotel.
Myra produced a box of Celebration chocolates which were readily consumed by everyone, before final farewells and everyone dispersed to wearily cycle off to their homes. A brilliant weekend with great weather, company and cycling.
