W 2 W
Route
Like other National Cycle Network (NCN) routes, the W2W route is easy to follow because its well signed in either direction, its number 20 patches are blue rather than red because of its Regional Route status.
It’s a linear route, but in County Durham the route braids and you’ve a decision to make. Following the hillier northern braid between Barnard Castle and Bishop Auckland through Hamsterley Forest gives you the total mapped distance of 153 miles (246km). Following the southern braid saves you a couple of miles and is easier on the legs.
Being a ‘coast to coast’ route across the more northerly part of England, it’s ‘up hill and down dale’ for much of the way, so if you’re not reasonably fit and used to cycling a decent distant on consecutive days, then some training is probably in order. We think going by the northern braid is comparable overall to cycling the popular C2C route. The aptly named Bigland Hill (just 20 miles into the route from Walney Island) and the lengthy climb up Tan Hill, the highest point on the route at 1,732 feet above sea level, are two particular treats that lay in store – and where you’ll rapidly come to appreciate that it pays to travel as light as possible, and with your tyres pumped up.
The majority of the route is on quiet roads (much of the time) and country lanes, linked together with sections of cycle path, forest road and roughish track. The route through Barrow on Abbey Road can be a tad busy, but cycle lanes do appear, so stick with it and you’ll soon be cruising down the tree-line approach to the impressive remains of Furness Abbey.via Oxenholme (as opposed to going in and out of Kendal), it will open in a new window in PDF format. The total climbing for this route is approximately 1380 metres. Sections on unsealed roads or paths and track account for approximately 14% of the route.
W2W in Cycling Plus
In May 07 the Walney to Wear route was featured in Cycling Plus magazine as a Classic Ride
Route in more detail
The route breaks down into some distinct landscape character areas and we aim to add more details soon. Suffice to say, and as the accounts and photos from early W2W cyclist show, the scenery is superb, with plenty of fascinating heritage woven in with abbeys, castles, museums and market towns:
Barrow and Lake District Peninsulas
South Cumbria’s Low Fells and the Lune Gorge
Eden Valley and North Pennines
Land of the Prince Bishops
Sunderland and Wearmouth
Bike choice
A strong and reliable touring bike set up (road, hybrid or MTB) is going to be the best choice in most cases. A laden road touring bike with thicker tyres (probably not less than 28mm) should cope well enough with most of the off-road sections, although some of the rough moorland track between the Tan Hill road and Sleightholme Farm near Bowes (about 2.4 miles overall) might prompt some to get off and push for a bit, while those on mountain bikes will come into their own.