Coast and Castles by Roadbike

[essex tourer]

We would like to ride this route from Newcastle to Edinburgh on road bikes. I believe some stretches of the official route are a bit rough for a road bike, but we are unsure if there is a good alternative that does not feature busy roads. Any information about alternative stretches gratefully received.

[Kernowboy]

The route between Lindisfarne and Berwick on Tweed follows the coast path for a lot of the way, depends what size tyres you have. My wife has 32c and that was ok but i would not want to go below 28. I would imagine the alternative road would be the A1 which I would not be a option for me. There are two routes to Edinburgh from Berwick, the coast route would most probable be ruled out on a road bike, not sure about the inland route but it looks more favourable

[geocycle]

We would like to ride this route from Newcastle to Edinburgh on road bikes. I believe some stretches of the official route are a bit rough for a road bike, but we are unsure if there is a good alternative that does not feature busy roads. Any information about alternative stretches gratefully received.

I suggest cycle.travel route planner which shows both off and on road routes. It is easy to add points to avoid off-road sections. The sustrans maps often also give alternatives although I haven’t checked coasts and castles recently.

[Cunobelin]

I did this on my Street Machine, which was fun.

It was about 15 years ago though....

The only bit that stick in my mind were a stretch of poor track beside the railway at Beal where it followed the Coast path as far as Berwick where it changes between road and track


The first time I did this was before it became the Coast and Castles and was the "New riders of the Open Road" route This was route from Spurn Head to Berwick, via the old railway tracks. From Bamburgh this route went inland to Lowick before crossing the A1 at West Mains to LIndisfarne

There are some quiet roads to the west of theA1 going into Berwick, but it is a fair detour, and it may be quicker to walk the short poor session near Beal


One thing I would say is that if you can plan it, (you need to coordinate with the tides) then Lindisfarne is a good overnight stop.

Once the coaches and Tourists have left it transforms into a tranquil and peaceful place that is worth experiencing. I spent hours on a bank beside the ruins watching seabirds skimming and the sun going down

[JamesE]

I did this route a couple of years ago on a road bike with 28mm tyres. It's mostly fine - either on-road or tarmac paths - but I went off the Sustrans route in a few places:

There's a stretch north of Druridge which is marked on the Sustrans map as "Rough track sometimes gated for livestock grazing", which I didn't even bother trying to ride but instead went inland through Widdrington, Broomhill, Radcliffe and then through High Hauxley to pick up the official route on the coast road.

Between Lindisfarne and Berwick-upon-Tweed the official route uses a "shared-use track" and later a "narrow rough track" which both looked iffy, so I went inland on the minor roads west of the A1, which was hillier but a lot more pleasant.

Between Thorntonlock and Broxburn the official map says "Expect variable surface" so I went off on the back roads south of the A1 through Innerwick and Spott - but this did add a biggish hill.

[3mn]

Just to add to the above, I find the bit around Druridge Bay fine on 28mm tyres, but the bit between Bamburgh and Berwick is trickier. Last time I was there at one point I was riding on a field with only the faintest of tracks, at another a very rough track with huge potholes. The pot holes were passable, but only at a much reduced speed, the field resulted in mud (and worse, there were a lot of sheep grazing when I went through!) jamming my mudguards.

David

[Cunobelin]

Just to add to the above, I find the bit around Druridge Bay fine on 28mm tyres, but the bit between Bamburgh and Berwick is trickier. Last time I was there at one point I was riding on a field with only the faintest of tracks, at another a very rough track with huge potholes. The pot holes were passable, but only at a much reduced speed, the field resulted in mud (and worse, there were a lot of sheep grazing when I went through!) jamming my mudguards.

David

You got a sheep jammed in your mudguard!!!!!!!

[PH]

If you're not in a hurry and wearing shoes you can walk in, then it's probably doable on any bike if you're prepared to get off and push the occasional short stretch.
I did it a few years ago and enjoyed it, as well as the visit to Holy Island a couple of the highlights for me were fish & chips in Seahouses and a diversion to St Abbs Head
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see- ... ve-p251921