Hadrian's Cycleway

Coast-to-coast cycling from Ravenglass to South Shields

By Rachel Crolla, Carl McKeating

ISBN

9781786310422

Availability

Published

12 Aug 2020

Reprinted

14 Mar 2022

Edition

First

Pages

136

Size

17.20 x 11.60 x .90cm

Weight

150g

Delivery & Returns

Free 1st Class postage on UK orders. European postage is £3 per item. Worldwide postage is £5 per item. If you're not happy with your purchase for any reason, we'll give you a full refund.
More information...

Guidebook to Hadrian's Cycleway, a 174 mile coast-to-coast route across northern England, following the corridor of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site. From Ravenglass in Cumbria through Northumberland to South Shields, with an alternative Tynemouth finish, on cycle paths and quiet country roads suitable for cyclists of all abilities.

Seasons

Hadrian's Cycleway can be cycled all year round, but preferably April-October.

Centres

Ravenglass, Whitehaven, Maryport, Silloth, Bowness-on-Solway, Carlisle, Brampton, Haltwhistle, Once and Twice Brewed, Hexham, Corbridge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, South Shields

Difficulty

This 174 mile ride is within the reach of cyclists of all abilities, via varying itineraries. The guide describes a suggested three-day of 50-60 miles per day and outlines shorter and longer options to suit all abilities. For enjoyment it is worth being saddle fit and completed some training.

Must See

Hadrian's Wall; milecastles; Sycamore Gap; Cumbrian west coast; Solway Coast and AONB; Sellafield nuclear facility; Maryport's octagonal lighthouse; Holmcultram Abbey; Burgh Marsh; Cawfield Quarry; Roman forts of Birdoswald, Vindolanda, Housesteads, Chesters, Glannaventa, Segedunum and Arbeia; Lanercost Priory; Carlisle Castle; Edward I memorial; Steel Rigg; Corbridge; Roman Army Museum; Tyne Bridge; Conversation Piece installation at South Shields

ISBN

9781786310422

Availability

Published

12 Aug 2020

Reprinted

14 Mar 2022

Edition

First

Pages

136

Size

17.20 x 11.60 x .90cm

Weight

150g

Overview

Hadrian's Cycleway is a 174 mile route from Ravenglass in Cumbria to South Shields. Also known as Route 72, this coast-to-coast route heads north up the Cumbrian coast to reach the Solway AONB before crossing northern England along Hadrian's Wall and into Northumberland. Suitable for cyclists of all abilities, the ride is usually completed over three days from west to east.

The route allows cyclists to explore Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site, visiting Roman forts including Vindolanda and Housesteads as well as milecastles, abbeys and historic towns. Other highlights include the Cumbrian coast, Tyne Valley and the famous Sycamore Gap.

While the main route is described from west to east over three days, the guide provides plenty of information about other options. Advice is given at the end of each stage about how to complete the route from east to west, as the route can be used in connection with other coast to coast routes to create week-long round trips. Other itineraries include a two-day Wall Only ride from Bowness-on-Solway to South Shields, and a 'More Wall Alternative' to Day 2. The guide also features extensive listings of accommodation, bike shops and other cyclist-friendly facilities.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Map key

Overview map and profile

Route summary tables

Introduction

Why choose Hadrian’s Cycleway?

How tough is it?

How many days?

West to east or east to west?

Getting there and back

Where to stay

What kind of bicycle?

Equipment

Carrying your gear

What to wear

Maps and apps

Signage

Hadrian’s Wall

Who was Hadrian?

Seeing more of the Wall

Alternative endings: running late and Tynemouth

Using this guide

Hadrian’s Cycleway

The three-day ride

Day 1 Ravenglass to Silloth

Day 2 Silloth to Haltwhistle

Day 2A More Wall Alternative

Day 3 Haltwhistle to South Shields

Other itineraries

The Wall Only – a shortened two-day version

Appendix A Accommodation

Appendix B Bike shops and other useful contacts

Appendix C Further reading

Maps

Maps and apps

The maps in this book, along with the detailed route descriptions, should provide everything you need to do HCW. A Sustrans map of the route is available at the same scale as the maps in this book. For those who wish to have more detailed mapping, the route is covered at 1:25,000 scale by the following OS sheets: 0L6; 303; OL4; 314; 315; OL43 AND 316. The Ordnance Survey now offers access to all its British maps on computers and mobile devices for a small fee. Other apps such as Viewranger allow users to access parts of OS mapping for a small fee and use Opencyclemap to provide larger scale free maps.

Apps such as Strava and those on Garmin and Apple devices have become increasingly popular for logging rides and comparing times. They can be very useful for working out expected average speed and timings. One word of caution: beware of assuming that the distances and particularly cumulative height gains shown on GPS-based maps are exact. We have found on this route and other cycle tours that the route may be the same, but the total ascent data in particular varies wildly.

Updates

June 2022

Date error

On p27 the text should read: 'The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar began the gradual process of conquering Britain in 55 BC. However, the true conquest began in earnest under Emperor Claudius in 43 AD.'

December 2021

2022 reprint route updates

1042 Reprint 2022 (3.838 MB)

September 2021

Recommended route through Carlisle

Unfortunately, the first section of the authors' recommended route through Carlisle beside the river, which was formerly the official primary route of HCW before the 2015 flooding, is not presently passible. This is due to a landowner now blocking access, rather than being a result of flood damage.

The authors have liaised with Sustrans regarding the present route line of the HCW. The situation looks unlikely to change in the short to medium term. Therefore, from summer 2021 onwards, it will be necessary to use the on-road route via Newton Road, passing the McVities Factory to reach Carlisle Castle, where a left down Mayor's Drive towards Sheepmount Athletics Stadium allows access to the second half of the pleasant river route through Bitts Park and Rickerby Park.

We will update here if there are any changes to the access situation.

Reviews

"The guide was well put together and presented in a clear, concise and easy to follow way"

A small group of us all in our 60’s did the Hadrian’s Cycleway in September of this year which was absolutely brilliant. We actually each purchased a copy of the guide before setting out and all agreed it was well worth it. The guide was well put together and presented in a clear, concise and easy to follow way. Having listened to the podcast on the book I have to agree with Rachel one of the best bits of advice is to not overstep yourselves in terms of rushing the trip, we took 6 days to do the route, but every bit of it was really memorable. Thanks again for a great book.
- David, reviewer

Downloads

Hadrian's Cycleway - GPX File

Rachel Crolla

Rachel Crolla is an outdoors all-rounder who loves hiking, biking, scrambling and climbing. Rachel is an outdoors writer and photographer who is also trained as a journalist and teacher. She has hiked and climbed across the UK, Europe and the USA. In 2007 Rachel became the first woman to reach the summit of every country in Europe, and co-wrote the Cicerone guide book Europe’s High Points soon afterwards. She is passionate about enthusing the next generation of hikers and cyclists with a love of the outdoors.

View author profile

Carl McKeating

Carl McKeating is from Yorkshire. He is the co-author with Rachel Crolla of the books, Europe’s High Points and Walking in the Auvergne published by Cicerone. A rock climbing and mountaineering enthusiast, in addition to ascending all of Europe’s national high points, in 2010 he completed a long-standing ambition to climb all the routes in Ken Wilson’s Classic Rock which he followed with a three-month climbing and mountaineering tour of America. A qualified English teacher, in 2014 Carl started work on a doctorate about Mont Blanc in British Culture.

View author profile