So, Ive decided to abandon the planned L’Etape this year and perhaps do the C2C here in the UK instead. I think I’d get more sense of achievement doing the C2C without having to traipse down to the alps with 12000 other people.

Ive found loads of info on the MTB version, but Im having problems finding a decent road route that can be done in one day. Seems to be a few organised versions but entries closed for this year so will do a planned DIY trip instead in June or July (weather permitting).

Anyone here done it and have a nice route?

Theres a few C2C routes , ive just done the 170 mile way of the roses coast to coast over 3 days carrying my gear,99/99% on-road so doable on a road bike,depending on fitness it could be done in a day but not by me !

where abouts?

You can use the ncn routes for wWhitehaven to Newcastle/Sunderland. But you’ll need to improvise a bit as they don’t always use normal roads and some of the tracks are gravel.

It is very easy to plan the route though.

Was hoping on finding a good route for the traditional Whitehaven to Sunderland, but dont really want gravel. Will have a look at NCN routes but thinking they may slow me down. Wouldnt a mix of B roads with the odd short bit of A roads be better?

OP

There are lots of road ones that can be done in a day,it just depends what your fitness can cope with,and what you want out of it.

My son decided he wanted to do it in a day last year. We followed the normal C2C to Hartside then continued down the Alston road to Hexham (cos we live there) then down the Tyne valley on the Hadrian Cycleway to Tynemouth. Great day out and once you’re over Hartside relatively easy.

Strava trace here

The normal route can quite easily be done on a road bike (just stay clear of the alternative ‘off-road’ sections). There used to be some pretty hard going stretches of gravel, but they’ve nearly all been resurfaced into something at least a bit more road bike friendly. There are of course some good alternative stretches of road, but good luck with putting them all together.

An alternative I did, as an organised event, a couple of years ago was Seascale to Whitby. 150 miles, great route including hardknott and wrynose passes and a ferry across windermere(!)’ hard but very rewarding, 12 hours riding for me, but supported with great feed stations which mak life easier. Google open cycling coast to coast in a day for the route.

Ardnamuchan lighthouse to Peterhead.
My mate did it nearly 2 years ago. ~375km’s in 15 hours. Maybe at the more extreme end of the spectrum and definitely a mid summer’s job. I think only the Fort William to Spean Bridge stretch would be sketchy traffic wise but not too bad or too long (I’ve done it). Most of it will be sublime road riding.

Thanks Everyone so far….food for thought 🙂

I did whitehaven sunderland (with work colleagues over 2 days, I reckon you could do it in one if you start at sunrise and don’t fart about) and there is a section around stanhope or rookhope that I think has to be avoided but the Waskerly way is fine, it’s cindertrack but it’s smooth and my 23mm tyres were fine on it

I really enjoyed it

What paul4stones said. Just head north out Alston towards Hexham then along the Tyne Valley to Tynemouth.

Quite an enjoyable ride. I’m doing it again this year, probably June (if my knees ever recover).

You can save about 30 min by exiting Whitehaven directly rather than following the stupid cycle route… (did it once on a commute)
Should be fine on a weekend, in commuting traffic some sections are a bit grim from the coast out. Used to be my ride home when I took the bike in

Why not make life easier and start in Grange over sands and finish at Saltburn by the sea? ‘Only’ 102 miles of the yorkshire dales to deal with.

thanks everyone. Also found the hadrians cycle route which looks interesting. So looks like I have plenty of options 🙂

Mix and match is definitely the way forward.

I found this website very helpful for planning stuff. It lets you look at satellite, OSM cycle, OS, google etc. side by side so you can see if the official route is on a quite lane or gravel track and make up your own mind/diversions. FWIW there aren’t that many ways across after the lakes and I’d recommend the Hartside/Allendale options as above. My biggest recommendation would be how you get through the lakes. The way i came through was the official route and it seemed to bypass most of the more impressive scenery in favour of a flatter route.

http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm

bikehike for plotting a gps.

Contact Sustrans and they will tell you or send you a leaflet about the (seven?) different routes that are possible. Then you can buy their rather excellent linear map for the route you choose. These maps show the on-road alternatives clearly.

I’ve done the Reivers C2C route – we started in Tynemouth and went via Keswick to the other side – it’s more roads than the proper C2C, a touch longer but I don’t remeber as many nasty climbs as the pukka version – might be worth checking.