Winter touring in North East - with children!

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Tangled Metal
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Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tangled Metal »

We had a possibly daft idea of a post Xmas family cycle tour. We did a few tours before the pandemic in Europe fully loaded but we're considering a lightweight tour staying at accommodation. Child is 9 but has been cycling 40 miles a day, even more on some days on past summer tours.

Anyone got ideas for northeast England? What's the accommodation situation like? We've never done anything like this and with covid things would be different anyway. Places busy over post Xmas period, weather, short days, pandemic stay cations, etc.

Coast and castles, Roses way, something around kielder area? Section of a longer route? Make our own route up? Day trips from a base? Suggestions much appreciated.

PS not an expedition for most but for a 9 year old it is.
Campag
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Campag »

There are good youth hostels at Wooler and at Berwick. Good variety of cycling routes from both. Berwick has the advantage of being on the East Coast train line, however if you're travelling by car Wooler is a lovely base and cycle friendly hosts.

If you'd like some examples of possible routes you are welcome to message me for more info.
gbnz
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by gbnz »

Though I've never toured mid winter, have to admit day trips from a base could be the better option.

I'd choose Alnwick. Superb cycling country, ranging from demanding heather clad, fell sandstone moorlands, to coastal plains & estuary, with access to the nearest castle being 0.25 miles, the next 3-4 miles, the next 7 miles. 3.5-4.0 miles from a East Coast mainline station, immediate access to the A1, an incredibly compact and historic town, with more than sufficient shopping/eating facilities for food. A Youth Hostel opened just a few years back in a historic, centre of town location and plenty of smaller B & B's / Hotels.

Plenty of opportunity for bad day walks, easy enough to jump on a direct (Hourly) bus and head to Berwick (1 Hr) or Newcastle )1.5Hr's) for a break, or various indirect routes from 06.00-23.00. And depending on the winter, it could be cold both on the coastal plains and moorland stretches.
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Paulatic
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Paulatic »

What about using the latter end of C2C ? From Consett to Tynemouth i would think of as child cycle friendly. Crawleyside isn’t friendly to anyone but from Park head it’s downhill all the way on lots of old railways and cycle paths.
Should be something of interest in Newcastle too.
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TrevA
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by TrevA »

We stayed at Old Hartley Caravan park near Whitley Bay, which gave ready access to the cycle path network. We did a couple of rides, through Whitley Bay to Tynemouth, where there is a castle to visit, you can follow the cycle route along the Tyne towards the centre of Newcastle. We also caught the ferry across to South Shields and followed the paths south - there is Souter Lighthouse to visit (we had lunch at the cafe). You could even follow the paths further south towards Sunderland. There are also routes going north along the coast towards Blyth.

We cycle with our dog in a trailer, so we like to stick to traffic free routes where possible. Towing the trailer also limits the speed and distance we can cover.
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freeflow
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by freeflow »

If you plan on staying in or near Alnwick, then you'll need deep,deep pockets. Cheap it isn't, but a visit to Barters Books is well recommended.
Tiggertoo
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tiggertoo »

Nice place to visit, but this: "Alnwick Castle is now closed for winter - reopening Spring 2022"
Tangled Metal
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tangled Metal »

freeflow wrote: 15 Nov 2021, 2:42pm If you plan on staying in or near Alnwick, then you'll need deep,deep pockets. Cheap it isn't, but a visit to Barters Books is well recommended.
I was not impressed by that bookshop. Any large secondhand bookstore worth their floorspace must have at least a few classics. By classics I mean ancient Greek and Latin classics. Either original text, original text with translation to English or plain translation to English. Loeb classics for example. Got me through my ancient Greek and Greek civilisations gcse that publisher did.

I asked one guy, not a young, know nothing newbie but someone who looked like he had experience, he sent me to the section with thackeray, conrad, stoker in. Then to the bit with books on Egyptian mythology, superstition, mysticism and druidism.

I asked another worker there, a 30 something female, and she gave me the mythology section again, then English classics section then completely the opposite end of he store, out of her area I guess so not her problem I think.

Mind you the much, much smaller carnforth bookstore still has some of those classics, not as big an area as 10 years back but still a few good books to be bought.

Seriously, it has a lot but tbh I prefer a library. That bookstore is full of books that are only a few years old possibly bought en masse from charity stores then sold for twice what charity stores sell them for. Imho a good secondhand bookstore is about the interesting gems you can find not about competing with charity shops.

We visited it on a few days we got just north of Alnwick this summer. Not sure I would want to cycle the coastal roads in summer. They were busy with idiots in cars, vans, motor homes and cars towing caravans.
freeflow
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by freeflow »

I didn't say it was recommended for books, just recommended.
mattheus
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by mattheus »

freeflow wrote: 15 Nov 2021, 5:52pm I didn't say it was recommended for books, just recommended.
... and I hope you've learned your lesson!
Jon Lucas
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Jon Lucas »

Of the three hostels mentioned, Alnwick appears to be generally available, Berwick just open at weekends and Wooler not available at all. I've stayed at both Alnwick and Berwick in the winter and enjoyed both hostels and both towns (inc Barters Books) and found the areas around them lovely for winter cycling. But beware of the main road that leads from Alnmouth station to Alnwick - narrow and full of vehicles driving too fast when I went along it.
keyboardmonkey
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by keyboardmonkey »

Tangled Metal wrote: 14 Nov 2021, 6:55pm We had a possibly daft idea of a post Xmas family cycle tour...

Anyone got ideas for northeast England? ... Roses way... Make our own route up? Day trips from a base? Suggestions much appreciated...
How many days? Specifically, how many day trips would you want from a fixed base?

"northeast England? ... Roses way..."

I would class the Way of the Roses as being in the north, rather than northeast England, but if you are considering that far south, here is some copying and pasting from posts I've previously written.
keyboardmonkey wrote: 30 Oct 2021, 2:10pm
I am a bit biased, but for anyone looking for a base from which to do day rides I think the Yorkshire Wolds is ideal. There are rail links to the area, the so-called 'heritage coast' to explore and, of course, the best bridge in the world to cycle over :D

Here's a cyclist-friendly place - Field House Campsite, Tibthorpe in East Yorkshire. It opened as a pop-up site - and to be honest I don't know for certain that it will open again next spring - but I would say it's worth checking out nearer the date. It cost £15 a night per pitch this year. We stayed there as a - non-cycling - family with another couple and their kids. I'd go back...

https://www.yorkshirewoldscycleroute.co ... -tibthorpe

Several route options are listed, although there isn't anything out to the coast (or the Humber Bridge!). However, you could just follow the signs for the Way of the Roses route as it passes by the camp's gates. (There was another site I saw on pitchup - even nearer to the pub in Huggate - but it doesn't seem to be listed at the moment.)

Re hills, the area is not 'hugely' hilly, but three climbs from Simon Warren's 'Cycling Climbs of Yorkshire: A Road Cyclist's Guide' - Thrussendale Road (Acklam north), Hanging Grimston and Painsthorpe Lane - are included in just one of the rides. Worth a look...?
Now, this campsite will not be open immediately after Christmas, but by clicking on the link above you will get an idea of the range of route options you have in the area. The campsite is very near to Huggate, which in my opinion is one of the best places for a cyclist to be based in the Yorkshire Wolds.
keyboardmonkey wrote: 10 Jun 2021, 5:11pm
... I'd be going for somewhere in these places...

Huggate*
Goodmanham*
West Lutton
Sledmere*
Helperthorpe
Pocklington*
South Dalton...
[I'd add Millington* and Tibthorpe* to the list]
*Accommodation is fairly easy to come by in these places, depending on what you want, and are included in some of the loops listed above.

"Why cycle the Wolds?" >>> https://www.yorkshirewoldscycleroute.co ... hire-wolds

Get back to me if you are interested or need any more information.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tangled Metal »

freeflow wrote: 15 Nov 2021, 5:52pm I didn't say it was recommended for books, just recommended.
Sorry but aren't books why you go to a bookstore? Why recommend if not for the books? You really think it's worth queueing at busy times round the building without a good book stock?
Tangled Metal
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tangled Metal »

Won't be for too many days. Got work to get back to early January of course but probably a 3 or 4 day trip might be the sort of time away.

Way of the roses was more for perhaps doing part of the Eastern end. Iirc there's a split in the route with a North and south route to the east. I was thinking of the northern ending if its possible to do by public transport to the start and from the finish.

Sorry, just looked and it's the Walney to Wear or W2W route I was thinking of. A bit north of the roses route.
Lookrider
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Lookrider »

There's a fair bit of decent historic interests up north east depending on what you like
The train stops at Haltwhistle or brampton so you can ride along hadrians wall and forts with campsites along the way...you can veer off into the wilds of kielder and stay a night in an abandoned shepherds hut ...I'm sure a 9yr old will love that ..this area pitch black at night fir star gazing there's wreckage if a downed dakota plane which is now a war grave
Towards wooler area there many pre historic hill forts to be found and its also the capital of the ancient Kings of Northumberland...in the pennines around wooler there's 9 ( I think ) plane wreckage from the war with some wreckage still around ..all interesting and moving thoughts ...St cuthberts cave were monks hid his body whilst hiding from the vikings in pursuit from holy island
Northumberland is a great place for bikes as there's many rail track forest tracks and very quiet rds with some very smart villages in between
Theres seahouses and a trip to the farnes uslands on boat ..Bamburgh castle scene of many films including new indiana jones film ...castles galore all over
Most start places are accessible via local northern rail trains from Sunderland or Newcastle
Hats off to your boy doing 40 miles a day as well..I'm a little out of touch with youngsters interests but there's plenty to do up here
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