Our trip across England C2C

WIP....

In 2008 we decided our family holiday should be a little more adventurous than normal. We did the Sea to Sea (C2C) cycle ride across the North of England. What follows is a short description of our experience.

Why?

One day I found myself browsing the book section at FW Evans. As most cyclist will tell you, the book section at any bike shop is usually the most sorry/feeble place in the whole store (if not the planet). I must have been bored, as I found myself picking up a dog-eared copy of the 2000 edition of the C2C Guide. For some reason I couldn't put it down. That type of book usually sends me to sleep, but it was different this time. Unusually for me, I bought the book and took it home. As was usual for me, I put it on the shelf, and forgot about it. A few months later I was looking for the NCN handbook, when I stumbled upon the c2c book again. I picked it up and started to thumb through. It dawned on me. Wouldn't it be a good idea to make it part of our family holiday? I have two kids, both under the age of three. I looked around our house, at the sheer carnage. I thought again, two kids, both under the age of three...I put the book down, and forgot about it.

A few months later we were invited to a wedding in Northumberland. I didn't connect the two at first. But eventually it clicked, perhaps we could combine the two, cycling holiday and somebody else's wedding? I mentioned it to my wife Janet, and she seemed up for it. After all, we had done some smaller bike rides with the kids: Brighton, Windsor, New Forest (camping!)...so none of this cycling lark was a complete mystery to us or the kids - what could possibly go wrong?

So in Oct 2008 we set off on our adventure with 4 paniers, 1 chariot, 2 kids, 2 adults, 2 bikes. This is how it unfolded.

The plan

Get a train to Whitehaven, from Beckenham.

Cycle Whitehaven to Kewick.

Cycle Keswick to Penrith

Cycle Penrith to Nenthead

Cycle Nenthead to ...

Cycle ... to Tynemouth for the completion of the C2C.

Cycle Tynemouth to Corbridge

Cycle to Matfen Hall for the Wedding.

The gear

4 ortlieb rear panniers (todo photo), chariot for the kids (todo photo), two entry-level Specialized Sirrus bicycles (todo photos). We had everything except the chariot. Luckily we had some friends who could help us out. Thanks go to Sam, Lyndon, Oliver and Toby for lending us their's (I hope they didn't miss it too much).

For navigation we used a combination of GPS, paper maps, and the C2C Guide.

Day 1

Beckenham

Reivers

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