The C2C is a 140 mile cycle route from coast to coast in northern England, starting at Whitehaven or Workington and ending on the east coast at Sunderland or Tynemouth. The 187 mile Reivers Cycle Route, named after the lawless border families of the 15th and 16th centuries, takes a more northerly course between Tynemouth and Whitehaven incorporating a brief foray into Scotland.

We took the train to Carlisle before cycling west along the Reivers to Whitehaven. Then we rode the C2C to Tynemouth before returning along the remainder of the Reivers to Carlisle. It was a challenging, enjoyable and eventful holiday which I'd recommend to anyone. We encountered 21st century robbers and man-eating midges, arrived in Tynemouth at 22:00 with no accommodation booked and lost our son in a remote area - we later found each other.

Select Day 1 to continue - you can access the next day from the link at the bottom of each page or directly from the index below. Comments to Alan Crawshaw.

Day 1 - Reivers: Train to Carlisle, ride to Caldbeck (29 miles cycling)
Day 2 - Reivers/C2C: Caldbeck to Lamplugh (35 miles Reivers plus 13 miles C2C)
Day 3 - C2C: Lamplugh to Keswick (19 miles)
Day 4 - C2C: Keswick to Alston (43 miles)
Day 5 - C2C: Alston to Tynemouth (64 miles)
Day 6 - Reivers: Tynemouth to Bellingham (50 miles)
Day 7 - Reivers: Bellingham to Kielder (17 miles)
Day 8 - Reivers: Kielder to Kirklinton(43 miles)
Day 9 - Reivers: Kirklinton to Carlisle(14 miles) then train home

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