|
||||||||
|
|
11 January
1998 Saddle
Up Since
it opened, 30,000 cyclists have ridden the C2C route across northern England.
Now there is a return leg. SIMON WILLIS tries out the Reivers Cycle Ride. It started
with the Romans. Once Hadrian built his wall from the Solway to the Tyne, the
first Coast to Coast route was up and running. A Centurian would probably
slip away early on a Friday, pack a spare toga into his chariot, and spend a
long weekend with his mates riding from one sea to the other. Not until the
arrival, centuries later, of the chunky tyred mountain bike and an
enthusiastic campaign group have so many people been inspired to pack their
panniers and get pedalling. Since the
Whitehaven to Wearside cycle route opened in July 1994, more than thirty
thousand people have ridden its 140 miles, crossing the North on a mixture of
minor roads, forest tracks, moorland paths and old railways lines. They're
not all leathery bottomed bikers; all sorts of folk from all over the world
have dusted down a two wheeler, squirted on some oil, and taken the train to
the West Coast. Then, between two and five days later, they've pedalled into
either Tynemouth or Wearmouth with huge grins on their faces. And the
remarkable thing was, they all wanted more! Now
they've got it. The Reivers Cycle Ride is the return coast to coast route
from Tynemouth to the Solway and then onwards to the start of the original
C2C. It takes it's name from the marauding Border Reiver families who
attacked both sides of the Scottish border stealing sheep and cattle. The
pele towers and fortified bastle farm houses were built as defences against
the Reivers, and many of their ruins line this route. The
original C2C was the invention of the cycling organisation Sustrans, their
name being short for sustainable transport. In 1996 it won the British
Airways International Award for Sustainable Tourism, since when Sustrans has
been given £ m of lottery money to criss cross the country with a network of
similar cycle routes. It didn't
take long for businesses to appreciate the economics of a route like this.
Cyclists need food, places to stay, and lots to drink. A Sustrans survey
found the average cyclist spent £120 along the way, all of which is excellent
news for struggling pubs and guest houses which happen to lie on the route.
Local enterprise agencies were puzzling over how to spread the wealth around
when Sustrans came up with the idea of a second coast to coast ride, one
which swings much further North than their original C2C, and everyone leapt
at the idea. So what's it like? The taste
of the sea was in the air and on our lips as we rode away from Tynemouth,
following the river back through the busy North Shields fish quay and
skirting the notorious Meadowell estate, the scene of riots in 1991. The
whole area has been spruced up since then, even the cranes of the old Swan
Hunter ship yard move with new purpose now they have new owners. From the old
industries, we pedalled towards the new, the Siemens microchip plant, and
then quite remarkably, out into glorious countryside which came as something
of a shock. Open fields? Quiet lanes? I thought I knew the area well, but I'd
never dreamed there were such a green and leafy corners of North Tyneside and
Newcastle. Whoever devised this route has done a good job, and over lunch I
told him. Ted Liddle
used to run skiing holidays. Now he works as a consultant for Sustrans, and
is proud that very few people know more about the old tracks and byways of the
North. According to Ted, many of the so-called "definitive" maps
held by Councils, which are supposed to show all legal rights of way, are not
definitive at all. "Many were altered during the 1960's, sometimes with
a nod and a wink from a land owner to a council clerk. So when I'm planning a
route, working out where we can and can't direct people to ride, I have to go
back past the definitive maps to really old historic documents." As if to
prove his point, we turned down what looked like a private farm drive. It
wasn't marked as a footpath or bridleway on my map, but according to Ted, it
was a right of way, which quickly took us onto a long green lane that cut
across a beautiful, but otherwise hidden part of Northumberland. Most people
will take three or four days to ride the 125 miles across to the Solway, but
we aimed to take just two. So it was with tired legs that our group pedalled
up the hill to Ridge End Farm near Kielder Water where I'd booked bed and
breakfast for eight. Anticipating our aches, the Hodgsons had lit the fires,
turned down the beds, and were very keen to hear all about the new Reiver's
Cycle Route, knowing full well the difference the original C2C has made to
similar remote communities in the North Pennines. As we left, Mr Hodgson told
us he'd decided to turn his old cow byre into a bike store. Sadly, the local
publican was far less enthusiastic. Even though we spent £150 on food and ale
in his establishment, he greeted us as if we carried the plague. If you're
visiting the area I'd recommend trying the other pub, the Black Cock Inn. Kielder
Water is Northern Europe's largest man made reservoir, and as such, simply
demanded to be incorporated into this route. From Spring, the Kielder ferry
will be converted to carry more bikes and will bring cyclists across the
lake, dropping them on the Southern shore and cutting out a long tedious road
ride where there's always a head wind. Make the most of the voyage, because
the next few hours test bike and rider to the limit. It's with good reason
that the car drivers in the RAC rally call this "Killer Kielder",
it has a habit of rattling machines apart. A climb on rough, forest roads
leads to tough, slippery single track and a long sweeping descent beside a river.
At this point, Ted explained, we were actually riding in Scotland but, within
a couple of hundred yards, we were back into Northumberland, and then into
Cumbria. Minor roads, very hilly at first, then gradually flattening out, led
all the way to the West coast at the small town of Rockcliffe, not far from
Carlisle. As we
looked out over the Solway Firth, Ted insisted that his route didn't actually
end here. Personally, he'd prefer cyclists to continue riding all the way
down to the start of the original C2C in Workington or Whitehaven, but I'm
not so sure that they will. If they tackle the Reiver's Cycle Ride first,
then they might keep going and ride the original C2C as the second half of
their journey, completing one big loop around the North. However, I suspect
many cyclists will stop here, just as the Romans did, with their chariot
wheels in the Irish Sea, having enjoyed a long weekend riding the new Coast
to Coast. Travel
Brief Maps Available
from Sustrans in May 1997: 01207 281259 Accommodation
In time a book may be published. Accommodation
sheets for Kielder area from Kielder Tourism Partnership 01434 220643. Transport
Main railway stations at Newcastle and Carlisle.
Tyneside Metro system does not allow bikes on the train Stanley Taxis have a
minibus and trailer which carries 12 bikes and riders: 01207 237424 Depending
upon popularity of route, it's likely companies will quickly start offering
to carry cyclists' luggage between overnight stops. Details from Sustrans. When To Go May -
November. We rode in October and had wonderful weather. Midges can be a
problem in the Kielder Forest area during the main summer months. |
|||||||