Walney to Wear Cycle Route

Four Days In June

Walney to Wear (W2W) is a 151-mile 'Challenge' cycle route that links Walney Island just off Barrow-in-Furness to Sunderland. Between these end points, the route traverses the Lake District Peninsulas, South Cumbria's Low Fells, and the Lune Gorge, the Orton Fells, the Eden Valley and the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, mainly on country lanes and quiet roads with a few sections of traffic-free cycle path. (England's 'highest inn', the Tan Hill Inn, at 1732ft is also on the route.)

Background
I suppose the seed was set when my long suffering wife Maureen persuaded me to try a handcycle one day a couple of years or so ago when we dropped in on Pete and Sheila Caruthers at Bromakin in Loughborough.

Inevitably this led to the purchase of a Varna II handcycle, a simple tough little bike ideally suited to the tracks immediately accessible from my home on the Cumbrian coast.

However, the limitations of these were soon explored and, as my fitness improved, I longed for a purpose, other than simply a bit of exercise and some fresh air, for getting out on the bike.

This presented itself in 2004 when fellow paraplegic, and all round good egg, Alan Grace organised a handcycle entry in the Keswick to Barrow (K2B) a 40 mile event held annually in May, closely followed by completing the Furness 50 in September the same year.

Knowing that I could comfortably complete a journey of 40 to 50 miles a day, and inspired by Paul Robinsons account in Chain Drives of his ‘ 02 Odyssey the classic Coast to Coast cycle ride from Whitehaven to Tynemouth, the C2C seed began to germinate and I vowed to undertake a similar journey in 2005.

Unfortunately, plans of mice and men and all that, picking up a pressure sore put paid to much of the ’05 season and a C2C was put on the back burner until 2006. But it’s an ill wind as they say, and the deferral coincided with the formal opening of an alternative C2C route – the Walney to Wear (W2W). Now this really appealed, Barrow –in- Furness not only being on my doorstep but also my birth town, which, combined with reaching the grand old age of fifty and the possibility of being the first hand cyclist to give an account of the new route, proved irresistible.

The idea also appealed to lifelong, able bodied, friend Alan Wilkinson who fancied completing the route on his ICE recumbent trike for much the same reasons and June ‘06 was set in diaries as an optimum time in terms of the period required to train for the event, available daylight hours and the potential for some good weather. At the planning stage we determined that we would complete the route from East to West i.e. Wear to Walney this having some logistical benefit and the profile of the land lending itself more to the handcycle. A cause, other than a satisfying a male menopausal urge, was required. We settled on Whizz Kidz. This also being the team name for the handcycle entry in the Keswick to Barrow. Roy Chisem, another mate, offered to cycle with us but just for the weekend stages due to his tutoring commitments at Barrow College.

Accordingly, the fortieth anniversary of the Keswick to Barrow (K2B40) on May 6th of this year proved a valuable datum point in terms of the level of fitness achieved and determine how many would be required to complete the W2W. The event being undertaken in an elapsed time of seven hours including all stops for refreshments etc.

We therefore reckoned on the W2W taking three days, based on 50 miles a day with two overnight stops one at Barnard Castle and one at Kendal, with an easy day on home ground to the finish at Walney Island. How wrong we were!

Day 1. Saturday 24th

According to the AA Routefinder a journey from Millom in Cumbria to Sunderland should take a little under three hours. An 07:00 hours start to the day ought to have had the Team, Al, Roy and I, accompanied by girlfriend Hilary and respective wives Jacqueline and Maureen, coaxed and cajoled into providing practical and moral support, us on the car park at Wearmouth Marina at 10:00. This being sufficient time to have the bikes assembled and underway by 11:00 and therefore able to reach the first overnight stop, the Ancient Unicorn at Bowes Village, with enough time to shower before enjoying a couple of pints and an evening meal.

In the event a couple of missed turns and the consequent late arrival delayed the start until 12:40. (Incidentally, the trick is to follow the signs for the Stadium of Light and then the National Glass Centre and when you get close to the National Glass Centre pick up the signs for the Marina.)

The route away from the Marina is well signposted and you quickly cross the Wear and enter Sunderland. Here there is an immediate contrast between the regenerated Marina area and the urban sprawl, the track thereafter, once off the main streets, being covered with broken glass and the occasional discarded needle. I had taken the precaution of fitting Kevlar reinforced tyres and, for good measure, slime inner tubes filled with a puncture sealant for additional protection. Alan’s recumbent and Roy’s mountain bikes were less well protected and it was miraculous that they escaped without sustaining a puncture. That said, the abiding memory for all three of was the incredible quantity of foul smelling dog shit! At times the stench was almost unbearable. A popular theory being that canine members of local families were being fed on left over vindaloo.

You also need to be quite keen sighted to navigate this area, the signage was not quite as good as we’d expected. All three of us missed the split at the Dry Ski Slope between our route (20) and route 1, which resulted in us making excellent progress for along a disused railway line to Ryhope a little further down the east coast. Once we’d recognised the mistake, and established where we were, it made sense to keep on Route 1 until Seaton and then cut across the B1404 to re join the W2W. This was exacerbated further by the fact that some signs had either been removed or turned by helpful locals to direct us up cul – de sacs or other dead ends. The inevitable detours adding not only adding more distance but also, more importantly, time that we could now ill afford. A Sustrans volunteer warden that we later encountered confided he had replaced missing signs only to walk back along a track an hour or two later to find them removed again!

All in all we were glad to have Sunderland behind us, and that’s a pity because most of the people we came across seemed quite friendly. Quick progress was then made to the Hetton Lyons Country Park and Hetton le Hole where some helpful local lads directed us to the eight mile track that would take us to Durham, where we had arranged to meet up with the girls, rest a bit and refuel. The drop into Durham gave us magnificent views of the City’s cathedral and the ride into town along the riverside provided an opportunity to shout encouragement to participants in the boat races being held as part of a regatta. In turn, they shouted encouragement back. At least I think that’s what they were doing.

In Durham a team meeting confirmed that we would be hard pressed to make Barnard Castle that day but we agreed that the girls would check into the accommodation and check out the evening menu while we pressed on as much as we were able to. The climb out of Durham was extremely steep and saw Roy’s chain, which had been creaking for a while, fail under the strain of the ascent. The remainder of the evening was spent on miles of some pleasant wooded track between Durham and Willington, where it became apparent that we would not make Barnard Castle the right side of midnight. We called International Rescue (the girls) and abandoned the route for the day at 8:30 pm at New Hunwick having cycled forty miles in all but only 28 miles of the actual route. The Staff at the Ancient Unicorn were very accommodating keeping our meals back to 09:30 pm but the late start; the detour, the sign shifters and mechanical problems had cost us dear.

Day 2 Sunday 25th

If we could make seventy miles today we would be back on schedule. This would require an early start.

It didn’t happen. A wet morning, an 08:30 breakfast and the need to ferry the bikes back to rejoin the route where we left off conspired for another late start. At New Hunwick there is a choice of a picturesque but tough northern braid though Hamsterley Forest or an easier, gentler southern braid between the market towns of Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle. Although we had really fancied the northern braid the rain and the mist pretty well ruined any chances of taking in some nice views. We accepted that the day would simply be spent cranking away in the rain and elected to take the southern route and, with some luck, make up some of the ground that we lost the previous day. The cycle paths linking New Hunwick, Bishop Auckland and Hilton Moor provided pleasant and sheltered riding, if a bit slow. Rain had given the surfaces the consistency of porridge and I was beginning to question my choice of semi slick tyres, which was fine for the rear wheels but the front wheel struggled to gain traction along these sections. Once on a metalled surface though we made good progress along quiet leafy back roads to Barnard Castle. The eleven miles of the route between Barnard Castle and Bowes is largely up hill, not overly steep, just an awful lot off it, with a sharp and rapid descent into Bowes before wending our weary way to the other sided of the valley and up Sleightholme Moor to reach the Tan Hill Inn, which, at 1,732 feet above sea level is the highest point on the W2W. Tired, wet and hungry, but in good spirit at being atop the roof of England we retired for a pint and a meal, the antics of the bar staff keeping us amused. Probably something to do with the altitude! Here we also had to part company with Roy who had to be back at work the following day. The bikes were then shipped to the Station Inn, Oxenholme, to honour the booking that I’d made.

Day 3 Monday 26th

Following a truly excellent breakfast at the Station Inn and re-starting on a dry and overcast day at Tan Hill, we enjoyed a fast, furious and somewhat dangerous descent to Kirby Stephen with both sets of brakes on the Varna, calliper and drum, fading quite badly. The Varna’s drum brake pouring out smoke at times.

In Kirby Stephen we enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a slice of home made cake at the Tearoom with the girls before tackling the ten miles of ascent to Orton. None of this is particularly steep, it’s just a slow, steady climb that seems a bit endless at times but the roads are quiet and the countryside is pleasant.

From the map, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is a downhill run from Orton to Tebay at Junction 38 on the M6 and onwards to Kendal and largely it is but the folds of the land hide away some tough steep little climbs here and there. Stunning views to be had along the Lune Valley though. A final, exhilarating downhill sprint and we arrived at the Station Inn in the nick of time for an evening meal and a second night accommodation at the excellent hostelry.

Day 4. Tuesday 27th

With 41 miles to go on our home ground, we awoke to a bright and sunny day, and following another superb breakfast, a relatively early start for once. With our spirits soaring the 14 miles between Oxenholme and Grange Over Sands was dispatched in good time to purchase a couple of Cornish Pasties from Higginsons, voted Britain’s Best Butchers, and enjoy them for lunch whilst overlooking the vast expanse of Morecambe Bay.

With the chorus “who ate all the pies” we then embarked on the first hard climb of the day, over Cartmel Fell. The map advises of an “alternative route avoiding steep hill” but we were confident by now that this section could not throw anything at us that we could not cope with after the ardours of the previous three days. It didn’t, although we both looked like a character from “The Perishers” as we were surrounded a swarm of flies that streamed out of the woods on either side of the road and pestered us all the way on the uphill sections.

A steep descent to Haverthwaite saw us rendezvous with the girls again, topping up empty water bottles with much needed isotonic fluid before the level stretch to Greenodd and the busy A590 Trunk road. The map advises that special care is need at this point, and it is, as it is a fast stretch of dual carriageway, which has been an accident black spot for a number of years. Let’s just say that the traffic isn’t necessarily adhering closely to national speed limits, or looking out for cyclists, and you’ll get the picture. A frantic sprint from a standing start saw us safely across probably the most dangerous part of the route and on to a section of the Furness Fells and another steep climb but not too prolonged before a pleasant descent to Ulverston, historic market town and birthplace of Stan Laurel of Laurel & Hardy fame.

Roy managed to re-join us after work at Lindale in Furness and, with just ten miles to go, the feeling was one of being at the end of a tightly stretched piece of elastic, which, once released would catapult us with inexorably increasing propulsion to the finish. And it did, or so it seemed, as we fairly flew along the gentler terrain of the Furness peninsula.

Entering Barrow via Furness Abbey we were now minutes away and a last turn of speed along Abbey Road (no not that one!) across Walney Bridge and a final sprint to Sandy Gap, and we were there, journeys end. , the sun, beginning it’s descent to the Irish Sea, casting a pink hued tinge to a herring boned sky, an elated 08:30 pm finish and, covertly organised by the girls, a commemorative medal each and an ice cold glass of champagne.

Perfect!

Summary

The W2W is manageable on a handbike, although a reasonable level of fitness is required; after all it is intended to be a challenge route for those using much bigger muscle groups. It is essential though to have an able bodied companion to help with the odd prohibitive barrier, closed gate and occasional place where any amount of brute strength and ignorance can’t compensate for lack of traction on the front wheel!

That said, these are few, and do not detract from the experience, particularly if they are anticipated, and should not put off an intrepid handcyclist from undertaking the trip. The scenery is superb, and judging by the number of cyclists we met going from West to East is due to become a classic in it’s own right, and deservedly so.

Has the event satisfied my wanderlust? Well now, Whitehaven to Whitby, a route connecting one historic port on the west coast with another one on the east, now that’s got to be worth doing! Are you listening Sustrans?



	Four Days In June Walney to Wear (W2W) is a 151-mile 'Challenge' cycle route that links Walney Island just off Barrow-in-Furness to Sunderland. Between these end points, the route traverses the Lake District Peninsulas, South Cumbria's Low Fells, and the Lune Gorge, the Orton Fells, the Eden Valley and the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, mainly on country lanes and quiet roads with a few sections of traffic-free cycle path. (England's 'highest inn', the Tan Hill Inn, at 1732ft is also on the route.) Background I suppose the seed was set when my long suffering wife Maureen persuaded me to try a handcycle one day a couple of years or so ago when we dropped in on Pete and Sheila Caruthers at Bromakin in Loughborough. Inevitably this led to the purchase of a Varna II handcycle, a simple tough little bike ideally suited to the tracks immediately accessible from my home on the Cumbrian coast. However, the limitations of these were soon explored and, as my fitness improved, I longed for a purpose, other than simply a bit of exercise and some fresh air, for getting out on the bike. This presented itself in 2004 when fellow paraplegic, and all round good egg, Alan Grace organised a handcycle entry in the Keswick to Barrow (K2B) a 40 mile event held annually in May, closely followed by completing the Furness 50 in September the same year. Knowing that I could comfortably complete a journey of 40 to 50 miles a day, and inspired by Paul Robinsons account in Chain Drives of his ‘ 02 Odyssey the classic Coast to Coast cycle ride from Whitehaven to Tynemouth, the C2C seed began to germinate and I vowed to undertake a similar journey in 2005. Unfortunately, plans of mice and men and all that, picking up a pressure sore put paid to much of the ’05 season and a C2C was put on the back burner until 2006. But it’s an ill wind as they say, and the deferral coincided with the formal opening of an alternative C2C route – the Walney to Wear (W2W). Now this really appealed, Barrow –in- Furness not only being on my doorstep but also my birth town, which, combined with reaching the grand old age of fifty and the possibility of being the first hand cyclist to give an account of the new route, proved irresistible. The idea also appealed to lifelong, able bodied, friend Alan Wilkinson who fancied completing the route on his ICE recumbent trike for much the same reasons and June ‘06 was set in diaries as an optimum time in terms of the period required to train for the event, available daylight hours and the potential for some good weather. At the planning stage we determined that we would complete the route from East to West i.e. Wear to Walney this having some logistical benefit and the profile of the land lending itself more to the handcycle. A cause, other than a satisfying a male menopausal urge, was required. We settled on Whizz Kidz. This also being the team name for the handcycle entry in the Keswick to Barrow. Roy Chisem, another mate, offered to cycle with us but just for the weekend stages due to his tutoring commitments at Barrow College. Accordingly, the fortieth anniversary of the Keswick to Barrow (K2B40) on May 6th of this year proved a valuable datum point in terms of the level of fitness achieved and determine how many would be required to complete the W2W. The event being undertaken in an elapsed time of seven hours including all stops for refreshments etc. We therefore reckoned on the W2W taking three days, based on 50 miles a day with two overnight stops one at Barnard Castle and one at Kendal, with an easy day on home ground to the finish at Walney Island. How wrong we were! Day 1. Saturday 24th According to the AA Routefinder a journey from Millom in Cumbria to Sunderland should take a little under three hours. An 07:00 hours start to the day ought to have had the Team, Al, Roy and I, accompanied by girlfriend Hilary and respective wives Jacqueline and Maureen, coaxed and cajoled into providing practical and moral support, us on the car park at Wearmouth Marina at 10:00. This being sufficient time to have the bikes assembled and underway by 11:00 and therefore able to reach the first overnight stop, the Ancient Unicorn at Bowes Village, with enough time to shower before enjoying a couple of pints and an evening meal. In the event a couple of missed turns and the consequent late arrival delayed the start until 12:40. (Incidentally, the trick is to follow the signs for the Stadium of Light and then the National Glass Centre and when you get close to the National Glass Centre pick up the signs for the Marina.) The route away from the Marina is well signposted and you quickly cross the Wear and enter Sunderland. Here there is an immediate contrast between the regenerated Marina area and the urban sprawl, the track thereafter, once off the main streets, being covered with broken glass and the occasional discarded needle. I had taken the precaution of fitting Kevlar reinforced tyres and, for good measure, slime inner tubes filled with a puncture sealant for additional protection. Alan’s recumbent and Roy’s mountain bikes were less well protected and it was miraculous that they escaped without sustaining a puncture. That said, the abiding memory for all three of was the incredible quantity of foul smelling dog shit! At times the stench was almost unbearable. A popular theory being that canine members of local families were being fed on left over vindaloo. You also need to be quite keen sighted to navigate this area, the signage was not quite as good as we’d expected. All three of us missed the split at the Dry Ski Slope between our route (20) and route 1, which resulted in us making excellent progress for along a disused railway line to Ryhope a little further down the east coast. Once we’d recognised the mistake, and established where we were, it made sense to keep on Route 1 until Seaton and then cut across the B1404 to re join the W2W. This was exacerbated further by the fact that some signs had either been removed or turned by helpful locals to direct us up cul – de sacs or other dead ends. The inevitable detours adding not only adding more distance but also, more importantly, time that we could now ill afford. A Sustrans volunteer warden that we later encountered confided he had replaced missing signs only to walk back along a track an hour or two later to find them removed again! All in all we were glad to have Sunderland behind us, and that’s a pity because most of the people we came across seemed quite friendly. Quick progress was then made to the Hetton Lyons Country Park and Hetton le Hole where some helpful local lads directed us to the eight mile track that would take us to Durham, where we had arranged to meet up with the girls, rest a bit and refuel. The drop into Durham gave us magnificent views of the City’s cathedral and the ride into town along the riverside provided an opportunity to shout encouragement to participants in the boat races being held as part of a regatta. In turn, they shouted encouragement back. At least I think that’s what they were doing. In Durham a team meeting confirmed that we would be hard pressed to make Barnard Castle that day but we agreed that the girls would check into the accommodation and check out the evening menu while we pressed on as much as we were able to. The climb out of Durham was extremely steep and saw Roy’s chain, which had been creaking for a while, fail under the strain of the ascent. The remainder of the evening was spent on miles of some pleasant wooded track between Durham and Willington, where it became apparent that we would not make Barnard Castle the right side of midnight. We called International Rescue (the girls) and abandoned the route for the day at 8:30 pm at New Hunwick having cycled forty miles in all but only 28 miles of the actual route. The Staff at the Ancient Unicorn were very accommodating keeping our meals back to 09:30 pm but the late start; the detour, the sign shifters and mechanical problems had cost us dear. Day 2 Sunday 25th If we could make seventy miles today we would be back on schedule. This would require an early start. It didn’t happen. A wet morning, an 08:30 breakfast and the need to ferry the bikes back to rejoin the route where we left off conspired for another late start. At New Hunwick there is a choice of a picturesque but tough northern braid though Hamsterley Forest or an easier, gentler southern braid between the market towns of Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle. Although we had really fancied the northern braid the rain and the mist pretty well ruined any chances of taking in some nice views. We accepted that the day would simply be spent cranking away in the rain and elected to take the southern route and, with some luck, make up some of the ground that we lost the previous day. The cycle paths linking New Hunwick, Bishop Auckland and Hilton Moor provided pleasant and sheltered riding, if a bit slow. Rain had given the surfaces the consistency of porridge and I was beginning to question my choice of semi slick tyres, which was fine for the rear wheels but the front wheel struggled to gain traction along these sections. Once on a metalled surface though we made good progress along quiet leafy back roads to Barnard Castle. The eleven miles of the route between Barnard Castle and Bowes is largely up hill, not overly steep, just an awful lot off it, with a sharp and rapid descent into Bowes before wending our weary way to the other sided of the valley and up Sleightholme Moor to reach the Tan Hill Inn, which, at 1,732 feet above sea level is the highest point on the W2W. Tired, wet and hungry, but in good spirit at being atop the roof of England we retired for a pint and a meal, the antics of the bar staff keeping us amused. Probably something to do with the altitude! Here we also had to part company with Roy who had to be back at work the following day. The bikes were then shipped to the Station Inn, Oxenholme, to honour the booking that I’d made. Day 3 Monday 26th Following a truly excellent breakfast at the Station Inn and re-starting on a dry and overcast day at Tan Hill, we enjoyed a fast, furious and somewhat dangerous descent to Kirby Stephen with both sets of brakes on the Varna, calliper and drum, fading quite badly. The Varna’s drum brake pouring out smoke at times. In Kirby Stephen we enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a slice of home made cake at the Tearoom with the girls before tackling the ten miles of ascent to Orton. None of this is particularly steep, it’s just a slow, steady climb that seems a bit endless at times but the roads are quiet and the countryside is pleasant. From the map, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is a downhill run from Orton to Tebay at Junction 38 on the M6 and onwards to Kendal and largely it is but the folds of the land hide away some tough steep little climbs here and there. Stunning views to be had along the Lune Valley though. A final, exhilarating downhill sprint and we arrived at the Station Inn in the nick of time for an evening meal and a second night accommodation at the excellent hostelry. Day 4. Tuesday 27th With 41 miles to go on our home ground, we awoke to a bright and sunny day, and following another superb breakfast, a relatively early start for once. With our spirits soaring the 14 miles between Oxenholme and Grange Over Sands was dispatched in good time to purchase a couple of Cornish Pasties from Higginsons, voted Britain’s Best Butchers, and enjoy them for lunch whilst overlooking the vast expanse of Morecambe Bay. With the chorus “who ate all the pies” we then embarked on the first hard climb of the day, over Cartmel Fell. The map advises of an “alternative route avoiding steep hill” but we were confident by now that this section could not throw anything at us that we could not cope with after the ardours of the previous three days. It didn’t, although we both looked like a character from “The Perishers” as we were surrounded a swarm of flies that streamed out of the woods on either side of the road and pestered us all the way on the uphill sections. A steep descent to Haverthwaite saw us rendezvous with the girls again, topping up empty water bottles with much needed isotonic fluid before the level stretch to Greenodd and the busy A590 Trunk road. The map advises that special care is need at this point, and it is, as it is a fast stretch of dual carriageway, which has been an accident black spot for a number of years. Let’s just say that the traffic isn’t necessarily adhering closely to national speed limits, or looking out for cyclists, and you’ll get the picture. A frantic sprint from a standing start saw us safely across probably the most dangerous part of the route and on to a section of the Furness Fells and another steep climb but not too prolonged before a pleasant descent to Ulverston, historic market town and birthplace of Stan Laurel of Laurel & Hardy fame. Roy managed to re-join us after work at Lindale in Furness and, with just ten miles to go, the feeling was one of being at the end of a tightly stretched piece of elastic, which, once released would catapult us with inexorably increasing propulsion to the finish. And it did, or so it seemed, as we fairly flew along the gentler terrain of the Furness peninsula. Entering Barrow via Furness Abbey we were now minutes away and a last turn of speed along Abbey Road (no not that one!) across Walney Bridge and a final sprint to Sandy Gap, and we were there, journeys end. , the sun, beginning it’s descent to the Irish Sea, casting a pink hued tinge to a herring boned sky, an elated 08:30 pm finish and, covertly organised by the girls, a commemorative medal each and an ice cold glass of champagne. Perfect! Summary The W2W is manageable on a handbike, although a reasonable level of fitness is required; after all it is intended to be a challenge route for those using much bigger muscle groups. It is essential though to have an able bodied companion to help with the odd prohibitive barrier, closed gate and occasional place where any amount of brute strength and ignorance can’t compensate for lack of traction on the front wheel! That said, these are few, and do not detract from the experience, particularly if they are anticipated, and should not put off an intrepid handcyclist from undertaking the trip. The scenery is superb, and judging by the number of cyclists we met going from West to East is due to become a classic in it’s own right, and deservedly so. Has the event satisfied my wanderlust? Well now, Whitehaven to Whitby, a route connecting one historic port on the west coast with another one on the east, now that’s got to be worth doing! Are you listening Sustrans?