Hadrian's Cycleway

Ravenglass to Allonby
The ride starts in the small port of Ravenglass, home of the Glannavanta Roman Bath House. It then follows the coastline through the old industrial coastal towns of Whitehaven, Workington and Maryport whilst admiring the views of the Lake District fells to the north.

Allonby to Carlisle
Here the route meets the Solway Coast, an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it then takes you through some fantastic coastal scenery to Bowness-on-Solway, at the mouth of the Solway Firth estuary. You then head inland towards the historic city of Carlisle with its castle and cathedral.

Carlisle to Hexham
From Carlisle you cycle alongside rivers and quiet country lanes, through woodland and past places of interest such as Lanercost Priory, Birdoswald Roman Fort, Walltown Crags and Roman Army Museum, before descending into Haltwhistle.

Just after leaving Haltwhistle you will cycle past Twice Brewed where nearby is Vindolanda, an excavated Roman fort and museum, which is definitely worth a visit. Much of the old wall exists between Haltwhistle and Corbridge and it is certainly worth taking your time to look along some of the most spectacular sections of the wall.

Hexham to Tynemouth
The route then continues pleasantly through the picturesque and wild countryside of the Northumberland National Park which offers views of the North Pennines area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You then follow the river Tyne onto Tynemouth and the end of this ride.

Easy to Moderate

Roads: The roads are generally good, suitable for touring or road bikes. Most of the route is on quiet roads.

How much up & down: A flat start along the coastal section and into Carlisle. After Carlisle the route starts to undulate with quite a few short steep climbs in the central part of the route. After Corbridge it flattens out all the way into Newcastle.

Signposting: The route is signposted.

Weather: You may be lucky enough to encounter warm, dry weather over the whole route and enjoy dry roads and tremendous views, but you must be prepared because the weather can change quickly. Good clothing and waterproofs are essential.

Good accommodation and friendly hosts are an essential part of any holiday. We understand this and go out of our way to find the best. We put a great deal of effort into hand picking our accommodation and matching it to individual customer requirements. As well as visiting the accommodation ourselves, we ask all our customers to complete a short evaluation on each night’s accommodation, which then gives us an insight into the day-to-day operation and lets us spot any potential issues before they become a problem.

We use a variety of accommodation. Over the course of your trip you might stay in a village inn, a bed and breakfast in a converted barn, a Victorian guest house, or on a working farm. In selecting the accommodation we look for helpful, friendly hosts with good quality, characterful accommodation close to the trail. Occasionally we may use a chain hotel.

We always try to arrange en suite accommodation, i.e. rooms with their own bathrooms for each night of your stay. However, in some of the more remote locations accommodation is limited and occasionally we may have to book rooms with shared bathrooms for one or two nights of your holiday, (especially if the booking is made at short notice), but we will always let you know if this is likely to be the case.

We are happy to book single rooms on our holidays but cannot normally book more than two for any one group. Single room bookings include a supplement.

General travel information for Hadrian’s Cycleway will be in your holiday pack including train and bus timetables where available.

Detailed instructions on getting to your first night’s accommodation from the nearest train or bus station, will also be included in the holiday pack on individual accommodation maps.

To view train times please visit trainline where you can also purchase tickets in advance. For information on bus timetables please visit traveline

If you require secure car parking whilst walking this route, please contact us for detailed information.

Getting There:
By Air: Your nearest international airports are Manchester (MAN) and Newcastle (NCL) you can then take a train to Ravenglass.
By Public Transport: There is a train station in Ravenglass (RAV). Most train journeys will pass through Carlisle (CAR) where you will need to change for Ravenglass.
By Road: Ravenglass is on the Cumbrian coast approximately an hour and a quarter drive from junction 40 on the M6. From the M6 you follow the A66 then the A595.

Returning from Tynemouth
Take the Metro from Tynemouth to Newcastle Central Station (you will need some change for the ticket machine). Newcastle is on the East Coast Mainline and has a Metro link to Newcastle Airport (NCL).

Carlisle

Carlisle is an historic border city, complete with castle and cathedral. Tullie House Museum has a lot of Roman artefacts and is worth a visit. The cathedral was founded in 1122 and is open every day. The castle has dominated the city for 9 centuries, and also houses a military museum – there are guided tours daily. There are plenty of shops and lots of places to eat or have coffee.