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 171 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 28 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.
Route
profile - click
here to view the route's profile
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 both maps from Sustrans
(mail order and on-line shop) and information centres on the
route.
Signs
Interim signing of the route has now been completed by Sustrans
Volunteer Rangers using blue 52 number patches and direction
arrows. Darlington Borough Council have signed their bit of
the route between Hurworth Place and Low Dinsdale, both River
Tees crossing points. Between Great Ayton and Whitby, 52 patches
have been added to Moor to Sea Cycle Route signs.
If in doubt check the map, and do please contact us with details of locations where you think signing could be improved.
Luggage transfer
/ bike collection
See what the operators
who are advertising on this site can offer you.
Trains
Northern Rail runs trains between Whitby and Middlesbrough on
the Esk Valley Line. It’s two cycles per train strictly
speaking, but there’s often some flexibility. Cycles go
free and no reservations are required. Call 0845 700 0125 (telesales
& bookings) and 0845 600 8008 (cycle assistance).
The TransPennine
Express service from/to Scarborough is mentioned above.
