Just spotted this route on the Pedalnorth site (can't post link for some reason). Ravenglass to Ravenscar so similar to the the Woodcock offroad c2c but misses the gnarly bits and adds more road.
Thinking of trying over 3-4 days at the start of March. Always wanted to do the offroad route but figured its probably better to wait for longer days and better weather later in the year. Looking at the gpx there seems to be a few incomplete sections but willing to improvise! Any local knowledge appreciated.
I've done the pedal North ravenscar to Ravenglass and then to Robin hood bay a couple of times. Without a link not sure if it's the same route or a more specific gravel route that misses the fun sections?
The route I did:
The first 50 miles are great through the lakes and I'm always surprised/disappointed they don't last longer. Dales are always good but don't push up the bridleway by dent go up the road and track back. Bit in the middle was ok/boring, lots of wet, muddy, grassy bridleways just for the sake of it. I would just ride the back roads. Then from Osmotherley it was good right to the end, except the boggy mess behind the RAF base.
I guess you could do it on a gravel bike with at least 40mm tyres. Bits that I did that would be hard on a gravel bike are coming down into Coniston and the Staverly boulder section descent. (can't remember the exact name) great fun on a mtb, a gravel bike I'd probably carry it down.
Its well worth riding. Food was easy to come by except the last day through North Yorkshire moors. We planned to eat at Levisham train station but it only serves food at the weekend. I had to cycle a long way on an emergency snickers bar. #goodtimes
Yeah, I've done a version of it. I know the Lakes and Dales pretty well so tweaked it quite a bit. You could describe it as a 'gravel' c2c but the Lakes 'day' is not entirely gravel-friendly! IIRC it does Walna Scar and Garburn passes, plus some other stuff which would be interesting on a gravel bike.
Gravel bike is definitely an advantage from the Dales onwards, there's not much in the way of tech.
Bit in the middle was ok/boring, lots of wet, muddy, grassy bridleways just for the sake of it. I would just ride the back roads.
I would second this, it's possible to trace a nice quiet route from Richmond to Osmotherley which avoids the A roads almost entirely. I also detoured north instead of heading into Kendal, there's a shortish section on the A6 but then you can drop down the 'other' Borrowdale offroad and then take a back road to Sedbergh.
Thanks both, hopefully this is the link to the route working now. Need to check the map in detail but seems to miss Garburn but still includes Walna Scar. Looks like more road in the middle section compared to the MTB C2C so hopefully miss the worst of the mud/boggy bits.
Gravel Bike Coast to Coast Route – pedalnorth
Looks like a decent route overall except...
Not sure why anyone would be sending people on loaded gravel bikes directly over to Ribblehead from Dentdale. Long, sapping push followed by long draggy climb up to Cam Fell. As suggested above, the Coal Road up to Dent Station is steep to start but then eases, then you can pick up a really nice contouring track to the head of Arten Gill, and then on to cross the road at Newby Head. At that point you will see how much height you'd have lost going all the way down to Ribblehead.
Normally, I'd expect them to try to minimise the amount of road between the Dales and the NYM - after all, the national parks are the good bits, the Vale of York is dull. This seems to spend a lot more time crossing it than you'd normally want. The MTB version has a horrible draggy climb out of Castle Bolton, but my suggestion is to follow it up through Askrigg, along to meet a shooting track heading north out of Carperby (not ROW but fine), and to follow that network of tracks all the way over to meet the Apedale Road and down to Reeth, then carry on to Richmond and across from there.
The Lakes section goes fairly easy on you after Windermere, which is OK, but I'd still probably want to go up to Kentmere Hall, across into Longsleddale, down that, then north from Garnett Bridge. It does put you on a short section of the A6, but it's wide at this point and pretty quiet because it runs parallel to the M6. Keeps you in the hills for a bit longer.
Here's a brief trip report I did for a slightly covid-shortened version of the route in 2020.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/coast-to-coast-trip-report-foxfield-to-whitby/
Thanks Martin, really useful and I enjoyed reading your report. I'm reasonably familiar with the lakes but not the Yorkshire sections. Will be editing the route to include your suggestions. May well end up on hardtails to make the most out of the offroad parts.