It's been a few
weeks since I've cycled across the frontier cycling route known as
Hadrian's Cycleway. It's a coast to coast route stretching from the
Irish Sea in the west to the North Sea in the east with a distance
between 150 and 170 miles depending on where you start. It has a
number of start points including Ravenglass and Whitehaven, while the
walking route also has a different beginning point at
Bowness-on-Solway. The start points on the east coast stretch
southwards giving you opportunities to visit Roman ruins on your way
up the Solway Coast.
I started in
Whitehaven, a busy seaside town, and also a starting point for the
ultra popular C2C and Reiver's cycling routes, so a town used to
seeing groups of cyclists. Unfortunately I was doing this alone, Kay
and the wee one were resting up in Glossop. I had been looking
forward to doing this tour for a few reasons, one of them being its
historical context. Kay and I had spent the previous five years
living in Seville, the birthplace of Hadrian – him of the wall.
Hadrian was actually born a few miles outside the city in a place
called Italica, which house very impressive Roman ruins, and which we
have visited, ran past and cycled past on countless times over the
five years we spent in Seville. For those visiting Seville, it is
definitely a place I'd recommend visiting. It has an amazing
amphitheatre where you can walk around and actually visit underneath
and see where the gladiators were kept prior to fighting and where
also there is a reproduction of the gladiators prayer written in
Latin and Spanish. There are also numerous ruins of houses and an
interactive museum, it is serviced by a local bus and entry is free
to EU citizens. Seville has streets and hotels named after Hadrian
(Adriano) so connecting Adriano and Hadrian was something I was
looking forward to, that and three days on the bike, Cumbria, Solway
Firth, Carlisle, Pennines, the River Tyne, Northumberland, Newcastle
and Tynemouth. Overall it is not supposed to be as challenging as the
Way of the Roses or the C2C, it's mostly flat on either side with a
big bump in the middle going over the Pennines.
I arrived in
Whitehaven on the train from Carlisle, it's a very scenic journey and
the line hugs the coastline as it makes it way closer to Whitehaven,
sometimes slowing to a crawl as the cliffs the train travels over are
being reinforced as they attempt to slow down the forces of erosion
moving the cliffs backwards. So not exactly a white knuckle ride but
interesting nonetheless and you can spot the cyclepath from your
window on occasions. After arriving in Whitehaven I realised the both
of my memory cards for Virb and my camera were back in Glossop.
Luckily there's an Argos in Whitehaven so after making a couple of
purchases, off I head following my map and Sustrans well placed
signposts numbered NCN 72 with a Roman helmet icon on it.
The route takes you
back past the train station and also hugs the coast for a bit before
heading inland and back to the coast to Workington. The weather which
had started out a bit dull has started to brighten up and the views
across the Solway Firth to Galloway in Scotland are getting better
and clearer. Through Workington and over the River Derwent the cycle
paths diverge where Hadrian's cycleway continues north along the
coast and the C2C heads eastwards inland towards Keswick and the Lake
District. So after shedding my jacket and sweater I head north
enjoying the cyclepath that will take me all the way to the sleepy
seaside town of Allonby, a nice place for an ice-cream as you take in
the views across the bay, it's also a place to go for a pee with
clean public toilets in the centre of town.
Before Allonby you
come to Maryport, a town built around a large marina on the southern
tip of the Solway Firth. It also has an aquarium which houses the
tourist information centre, and a Roman museum housed in a 19th
century naval building and is home to the oldest collection of Roman
Artefacts (or so it says) in Britain, and sits next to an old Roman
fort from where the artefacts came.
On the way up the
coast you start noticing slightly Latin sounding names such as Moota,
Aspatria and Cockermouth!, well some sound Latin while others just
sound very strange. After Allonby you follow a local road which
eventually leads to Silloth, a relatively new town with a slightly
American feel about it as it is a planned town based around a grid
system. A queue outside a fish and chip shop gives it away as being
English as does the cobbled streets rattling the bike as I trudge
along the main street. After Silloth the road leads inland for a few
miles before again turning north and meeting the Solway coast by the
River Wampool near the village of Angerton. From here you follow the
head around, past a strange electrical structure on your right and
beautiful coast and marshland on your left. Bowness-on-Solway is the
next village the road leads you to, the start of the Hadrian's Wall
Walk, and it looks directly across the firth at villages in Scotland.
From Bowness the road undulates at first before becoming long,
straight and flat. This is the end of the road today for me as I
stayed in a lovely farm b&b in Boustead Hill, with fabulous views
of the Solway Firth after completing around 60 miles today. Hillside
Farm B&B is a working farm that has both full bed and breakfast
rooms and also a hostel style shared romm that they call camping
barns, used mainly by people walking and cycling through the area, it
also has a fully equipped kitchen and the people in the dorm rooms
can order a cooked breakfast for a small fee. As for dinner, I went
off with two lads who were also staying at the B&B. They guys
were from Sheffield and worked on old, disused bridges by keeping the
vegetation in check and they were also enthusiastic rock climbers. So
a curry and a couple of pints later we returned full to the B&B
and I returned a little more enlightened about old disused bridges,
rock climbing and Sheffield, a very nice night indeed.
The next morning I'm
up early and the sun is out making it a beautiful morning to begin
cycling into the Pennines. After a big breakfast I head off down the
marshes towards Carlisle. A bit of a longer day today and a bit
hillier with a plan to cycle across the Pennines to Ovingham to pitch
a tent in the High Hermitage campsite. The first stop is Burgh by
Sands, the town where Edward the First died and where a statue of him
was placed facing across the firth to Scotland, Edward the First was
nicknamed the Hammer of the Scots so make of that what you will. The
statue itself is off the official HCW route on a small road that
leads towards the firth and marshes. Afterwards the road loops back
to connect with the main HCW again and leads us into Carlisle. There
is one strange part where you are shown into a little wooded area in
which you must push your bike down a series of steps to go under a
bridge (there is a groove where you can push your bike, but make sure
you keep hold of it as it's steep!) The road will then take you
through an industrial estate and into Carlisle proper. It eventually
brings you to the castle and here the road intersects with another
C2C route called Reivers. The HCW will take you around the back of
the castle into Bitts Park where the sign posts will lead you away
from the castle as you come back towards it. Make sure you park up
the bike or push it around to the front of the castle to take a look
at it even if you decide not to go inside. It's an impressive red
fortress that has dominated the city skyline for 900 years, and given
its proximity to the border has seen its fair share of battles over
the years. It also has a Roman connection as it was built on the site
of an older Roman fort. From here the bike path leads you into the
foothills of the Pennines, no tough climbing yet, just gently rolling
hills and passing through small bucolic villages. The road does start
getting a bit bumpier and the first biggish town you get to is
Brompton. It's a town with a nice centre and a well informed Tourist
Information Centre, and a nice place to stop for some lunch which I
did – sandwiches and pork pies, the lunch of champions but as there
were no champions about it was left to me to eat them.
The man working in
the TIC told me that me that the road starts more of an upward
trajectory but still had its descents, and that Lanercost Priory was
just a few miles down the road with a long stretch of Hadrian's Wall,
the first we come across, a little further on. I really enjoyed the
priory, it costs £4.10 to enter but is free to English Heritage
members. There are quite a few heritage sites across the route each
with it's own cost and each needing more than an hour to see it
properly, so therefore before deciding which ones to visit you will
have to budget your time as well as your money. The church itself was
enough for me. The church and the history of the Priory are
fascinating and the interior of the church on a sunny day is
spectacular, especially when the priory ruins outside are lit up
through the stained glass windows. There's also a tea shop (there
always is in these types of places) to sit and have a wonder.
After Lanercost the
road climbs to Birdsowald – a Roman fort where just before we find
the ruins of the wall. It's a great feeling to actually see and you
can see why they built it where they did – the views are great
north and south, and we all know how the Romans loved a good view.
The wall itself was small and not so much a wall to stop people
getting in but as a warning that here begins the Roman empire, as in
what the Great Wall of China was used for, in my absolutely non
expert view (so not what George R Martin was thinking of when he
wrote the Game of Thrones). Along the wall there are square ruins of
lookout posts and dwelling areas with lots of info for what they were
used for.
Birdsowald is the
first in a number of Roman interest heritage sites that can be
visited between here and Tynemouth including the Roman Army Museum a
few miles down the road, Vindolanda - a newish excavated site
sitting near to the highest point of the tour, Housesteads Roman fort
a little further on, and there are two more forts just outside
Newcastle; Segedunum and Arbeia.
Cracking on but
stopping to take pictures every too often I make it to Gisland on the
border between Cumbria and Northumberland where I stopped for a snack
and a breather on the bridge between both counties and wondered where
I was? From Gisland the road took me to Haltwhistle a town which
advertises itself as the centre of Britain, and which also has a lot
of its own history. With its proximity to the border it had to endure
raids by reiver parties, as many towns on both sides of the border
did, for centuries. There are many tales and legends of the border
reivers and reiving famalies, and some of the old houses in the town
were built with reiving money. Haltwhistle was also great for another
pitstop/second lunch which I had outside the public park in the
centre of town in the company of some locals out enjoying the
sunshine.
After leaving
Haltwhistle I followed the train line for a bit before climbing again
to Once Brewed, with it's iconic sycamore gap (you'll probably have
seen it many pictures) waiting to be photograped, after which I
turned back towards Vindolanda (they're very close together –
instead of turning off for Vindolanda you keep going for half a mile)
and its Roman ruins. Leaving Vindolanda the road drops quickly before
rising again just as fast. As you rise if you turn around you get
great views of the excavation site below you. A little further on
you reach a sign saying it's all downhill from here (it doesn't
actually say that, it's what a lady in Vindolanda told me and I
laugh/don't like/hate it when people say this to me because it's
never true and there is usually a few steep hills that people forget
about because they drive the route. But in fairness she was right, it
was all downhill, almost! The sign says you are now at the highest
point of the tour.) and the road gently falls for a while before
picking up speed and eventually slowing down as you reach the River
Tyne, my guide for the next day or so.
The bike path brings
you into Hexham, which when looking around somehow reminded me of
cycling in Canada. A big river flowing through it, timber industry
and the smell that comes with it, the surrounding forest and possibly
the good weather; I'd also just cycled fully loaded over the Pennines
and I was a bit tired so it could have also been that. From Hexham I
was now starting to zone in mentally and physically on my quarry,
Ovingham and dinner. You first pass through Corbridge, a beautifully
picturesque town which needed more time than I had to explore but my
goal was calling me, but is definitely on the list for the future.
From Corbridge the road leads away from the Tyne before again
rejoining it near enough to Ovingham. This area was hit badly by the
recent floods which meant our road was closed to all traffic except
pedestrians and cyclists, great for me this time. However, it is in
flux and the situation might change again where the whole road is
closed (they need to fix it) and you may be diverted.
Not long after, I
arrive in Ovingham and it's only another mile down the road to the
High Hermitage Campsite. Tent goes up, quick shower and I'm ready for
some grub. Now comes the big question: Walk or cycle?! I'm too hungry
to think which is the best option, so grab the lock, lights and bike
and cycle. The white Swan is welcome sight, I order beer, food and I
call Kay. Oh the joy of eating after a long day on the bike, it's
hard for anything to compare to it and it's a pure high produced by
your body burning and storing fuel, and a pint or two is just the
icing on the cake (actual icing on an actual cake could also produce
the same function!)
There's a pub quiz
starting so I go to leave before I embarrass myself. But before I get
to the door, they ask the first question: “Who is the boss of
Ryanair?” The couple that are sat at my table couldn't remember his
name, so I gave them a little help and then made my exit. It was most
likely the only question I would have known, but I left with a 100%
record, and that's all you can hope for! So with Richard Branson
after getting strangers a point, I set off for my night curled up in
a tent.
Third and final day
of Hadrian's Cycleway and it was a gorgeous one, albeit a slightly
chilly one to start with. So off I head on the road to Wylam to jump
of the trail again. Today is basically an easy and flat ride, which
follows the River Tyne to Tynemouth and the North Sea. However, first
you have to cycle through Newcastle. The trail to Newcastle alongside
the river is very pleasant, lots of parks and greenery along with the
River Tyne being glorious in the spring sunshine. Just outside Wylam
on the trail, you come across the museum of George Stephenson's
birthplace, the railway pioneer. The trail continues through the
parks banking the river Tyne which look great for a run, walk or
cycle, until you come to the edge of the city. The trail now follows
cyclepaths/footpaths to Newcastle quayside crossing some bigger roads
but all with traffic lights to allow you to cross safely. Newcastle
was probably the most surprising part of the tour, riding through the
quayside with all those beautiful bridges and buildings, I thought it
looked absolutely spectacular in the morning sun. The quayside was
littered with cafés frequented by people enjoying their morning
coffee at the tables outside; it looked like a chic European city.
Later when I returned to get the train back, I got to discover a bit
more of the city centre to walk around, and a place I plan to return
to again.
From here, the trail
joins the 'Coast and Castles' trail, one which lead from Newcastle to
Tynemouth up the coast across the border to Scotland before heading
inland to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.
The trail is very
well sign-posted and it flows through the different towns surrounding
Newcastle, including Wallsend, which, as its name suggests, is the
end of Hadrian's Wall. There was an original section of the wall
there and museum/fort called Segedunum. From Wallsend I reached North
Shields where I passed through a park to come into the town. Now,
Hadrian's Cycleway actually has two endings: South Shields and
Tynemouth. It used to be that you could reach South Shields by the
tunnel connecting it to North Shields, but at this time the tunnel
was under reconstruction so the only way to get there was by
pedestrian ferry which left every 30 minutes and takes seven minutes
to cross. South Shields also has the Arbeia Roman Fort.
I was heading
towards Tynemouth rather than South Shields, so I cycled on through
North Shields and onto the coastal path which followed the coast
around before climbing up and around toward my destination… and oh,
what a sight it was! A picturesque town centre facing the beautiful
Tynemouth Castle and all surrounding by majestic cliffs jutting out
from the golden sands and the North Sea.
So it was here that
Hadrian's cycleway tour finished for me and it was time for a bit of
lunch. Dotted around the square were benches with people eating fish
'n' chips. Now, I'm not normally a fan, but the smell got the better
of me so I followed my nose to find a local 'chippy'. On the door it
stated that Jimmy Hendrix once ordered takeaway from here, and ate it
overlooking the coast and castle. If it's good enough for Jimmy, that
will do me. So after a fish and chips that smelled better than it
tasted, surrounded by lovely views, thinking back on the previous 2 ½
days, I headed back to Newcastle train station to catch the 3 o'clock
back to Manchester.
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