Sea to Sea

St Bees / Whitehaven to Keswick

Following the Cumbria/Hadrian cycle route from St Bees to Whitehaven for the first 4 miles you will then pick up the Sea to Sea cycle route from Whitehaven, a pleasant sea port with an attractive town. For the next 10 miles the route follows the Whitehaven to Ennerdale Railway Path, a well surfaced traffic-free trail. The route then climbs fell sides, follows lake shores and goes through Winlatter Forest Park onto Keswick, passing through some of Britain’s most beautiful scenery.

Keswick to Langwathby

On leaving Keswick we ride along the delightful Keswick to Threlkeld rail trail, deep in the gorge of the river Greta. From Threlkeld the route skirts the slopes of Blencathra, one of Cumbria’s most distinctive mountains, en route for the hamlet of Mungrisdale. Then your journey continues through the fringes of the Lake District to the market town of Penrith and the village of Langwathby in the Eden Valley for your overnight stay.

Langwathby to Alston

Starting with a long, steep climb up Hartside Pass into the north Pennines, England’s last wilderness and riding over Black Hill, at 609 meters, you will then arrive at Alston which is today’s destination.

Alston to Castleside

You have now completed the mountainous part of the route and can now look forward to some downhill pedalling! The route travels on the Waskerley Way which is a level and largely well-surfaced dedicated cycle trail that brings you to Castleside just outside Consett, which is today’s destination.

Castleside to Tynemouth

From Castleside to Newcastle the route travels mainly on cycle paths alongside the river Tyne into Newcastle upon Tyne and onto your final destination, north pier at Tynemouth, where this ride finishes.

Moderate

Roads: The roads are generally good, suitable for touring or road bikes. Most of the route is on quiet roads with about a third of the route on traffic free paths.

How Much Up & Down: A flat start, then a 200 meter climb up Whinlatter pass. The route then undulates until the sustained climb up Hartside, topping out at 756 meters high. You stay high with a few more climbs before descending down to the Newcastle area.

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 the Sea to Sea Cycle route 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 St Bees.
By Public Transport: There is a train station in St Bees Village (SBS). Most train journeys will pass through Carlisle (CAR) where you will need to change for St Bees.
By Road: St Bees is on the Cumbrian coast approximately an hour’s 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).

Keswick

Keswick is a bustling market town centred around the historic Moot Hall, with a vast array of outdoor shops – if you need any outdoor gear, you will get it here! There is a wide choice of places to eat or have a coffee, and a range of galleries to visit. Enjoy one of the easy, short walks down to the lakeshore from where there is a regular launch service around Derwentwater. Or pop into our offices to say hello or book your next holiday!