Whitby option
The opening of Regional Route 52 between Barnard
Castle and Whitby means you’ve now the choice of cycling
from Walney to Whitby as well as Walney to Wear. The Walney
to Whitby route is 172 miles long, about an extra 20 miles
compared to the route to the mouth of the River Wear in Sunderland.
The 42 miles from Barnard Castle to Great Ayton is through
very pleasant, gently undulating countryside,
whilst
the remaining 27.5 miles across the spectacular North York
Moors National Park is a return to the challenging ‘up
hill - down dale’ cycling that characterises much of
the W2W route.
You’ll be cycling mainly on country lanes,
but there’s a good off-road track between Commondale
and Castleton, a short section of rough track out of Aislaby,
and
then the railway path into Whitby over the Larpool Viaduct.
There’s access to the beach in Whitby for North Sea wheel dipping and photos down the ramp by the start of the main pier.
Trip accounts
Work colleagues from BAM Nuttall and the Environment Agency rode the route in May 2009
Scott Billett and daughter Charlotte have sent us their account of a Walney - Whitby ride, as have father and son team, Lindsay and Sam Oakes, who set the record for doing it on a mountain bike tandem.
Simon Thompson rode the Walney to Whitby route in August 2008 and has a few recommendations to offer.
George Ashton and his wife rode from Preston to Preston taking in a large section of the Walney to Whitby route.
Map
The
Whitby option route is mapped in the new Discover series Yorkshire
Moors & Coast Cycle Routes Map published by Sustrans. It’s
the same style and scale as the Challenge series Walney to
Wear Cycle Route map (£4.95). At £6.99 it is more
expensive, but covers a large area and shows plenty of other
routes: for example National Route 1 south from Whitby to Scarborough
along the coast - hugging former railway line – very
handy if you decide to cycle the extra 20 miles to catch a
direct TransPennine Express train to York or further west as
far as Manchester and Liverpool.
Buy the Yorkshire Moors & Coast Map or the Walney to Whitby pack which includes both maps for £10, from the Sustrans Shop. Maps may also be available in information centres on the route.
Route
profile - click
here to view the route's profile
