Winter touring in North East - with children!

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

Post by Jdsk »

Lookrider wrote: 16 Nov 2021, 9:30am... there's wreckage if a downed dakota plane which is now a war grave
Where's that, please?

Thanks

Jonathan
Lookrider
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Lookrider »

My mistake
It's a Halifax

It hit GLENDHU HILL which is west of kielder reservoir and to the east of cycle route 10 border reivers territory
Jdsk
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Jdsk »

Thanks

Jonathan
borisface
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by borisface »

I'm sure with the appropriate counselling your children might have recovered from the experience by the time they reach their mid-30s. :D

If the weather's Ok it could be great but otherwise.... pack sensible warm and dry clothing, don't push them too hard. Sweets will help.
hamster
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by hamster »

Plenty of old railway lines - for example the route from Durham up to Consett and beyond, and parts of the C2C routes.
Kielder Forest is great for a base with tens of miles of bash roads on an MTB / Roughstuff tourer. Also the Hawick / Newcastleton borders area.

Usual health warnings about high elevations and weather apply.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tangled Metal »

borisface wrote: 16 Nov 2021, 11:59am I'm sure with the appropriate counselling your children might have recovered from the experience by the time they reach their mid-30s. :D

If the weather's Ok it could be great but otherwise.... pack sensible warm and dry clothing, don't push them too hard. Sweets will help.
I don't worry about him. It's a battle to get long trousers and a coat on him to play in the snow! When 3 we had a two weeks holiday cycling in Scottish Highlands and Islands during which it rained pretty much the whole trip. He found it fun drinking from the sky! Was on the back of my partner's bike and saw fun in torrential rain on the back of the back. Even feel asleep with rain going right down his neck.

He's been camping from 3 months old when we woke up to inch of snow that had fallen then turned to hard, frozen snow/ice in one night.

Now is harder as we need to keep his Nintendo switch and tablet charged and able to m connect to the Internet. Weather, terrain, 40 miles a day and camping are not the issue. Mind you we're looking for luxury this trip. B&B, hotel or possibly bunkhouse/ hostel. Cheaper than the alternative, a ski trip to Norway or Sweden.

Thanks for your replies everyone, good ideas so far.
lescargo
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by lescargo »

Whatever you finally decide on if you are near Wooler or Kirk Yetholm do consider visit to College Valley , site of beautiful memorial to planes lost on Cheviot in WW2.
Can't recall American plane, survivors so impressed with shepherd dogs which found them they had pup flown out to states in with transports of pilots for ferrying new planes back to uk.
And one airman finally had his ashes scattered on Cheviot.

Accommodation bargain--sunday nights at Wetherspoons hotels are ,typically, £39 for twin or double room; if over the border, recommend Cross Keys at Peebles.
Lookrider
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Lookrider »

I previously mentioned about the qiet rds in Northumberland
The college valley does not allow any vehicles in other than the few farmers and odd house owners there...how qiet can you get for bikes
The north's answer to zeermat in Switzerland.

.there's an independent bunkhouse at the end called mounthooly...just at the base of the pennine and the impresive hen hole waterfalls for a free cold shower
st599_uk
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by st599_uk »

From Wooler, you can sort of follow St Cuthbert's way and end up at Holy Island (check tides for causeway clearance). Or if you get the train to Alnmouth or Berwick, ride the coasts and castles route down to Tynemouth (NB, the official route just south of Berwick is a dangerous joke, a slippery muddy clifftop "path", but buy the Northumberland county council cycling map and it has a sane alternative)

Coasts and Castles has plenty of fantastic scenery and lots of accommodation options.
A novice learning...
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
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Sweep
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Sweep »

Lookrider wrote: 17 Nov 2021, 3:55pm I previously mentioned about the qiet rds in Northumberland
The college valley does not allow any vehicles in other than the few farmers and odd house owners there...how qiet can you get for bikes
The north's answer to zeermat in Switzerland.

.there's an independent bunkhouse at the end called mounthooly...just at the base of the pennine and the impresive hen hole waterfalls for a free cold shower
looks really nice - any chance of any furtive freecamping (leave no trace I stress) in that valley?
I love Northumberland but was last there in a car - the bike is calling me there.
Sweep
Lookrider
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Lookrider »

College valley have thete own informative website
Details about walks the war memorial the planes crash sites hillfort etc
I'm not aware of the camping questions you ask....but if there's issues the border is nearby and there's no law of trespass on the other side of fence ( littery as the border is a wire fence in many places around there )
Your vehicle can only go as far as the national trust car park at hethpool
As mentioned wooler is a good base
And stay a night in mounthooly bunkhouse
Tberes also the wild cattle at Chillingham Castle to see...I think the called oryx and now so rare that even vets are restricted and vetted from treating them incase any germs are passed onto them
Jdsk
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Jdsk »

Lookrider wrote: 21 Nov 2021, 12:03pmTberes also the wild cattle at Chillingham Castle to see...I think the called oryx and now so rare that even vets are restricted and vetted from treating them incase any germs are passed onto them
Oryx are extant antelopes, aurochs are extinct ancient cattle.

The story of the Chillingham cattle:
https://breedingback.blogspot.com/2013/ ... there.html

(There have been several modern breeding attempts to produce something similar to an aurochs.)

Jonathan
iandusud
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by iandusud »

My wife and I had a week's cycling based in a B&B (https://www.theoldmillwooler.co.uk/) in Wooler last year. Very good B&B with garage for bikes. As already stated well situated for the coast and the borders. The previous summer we rented a cottage in Barrasford for a week's cycling in a part of Northumberland that was new to us, around River North Tyne. Very nice.
st599_uk
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by st599_uk »

Sweep wrote:
Lookrider wrote: 17 Nov 2021, 3:55pm I previously mentioned about the qiet rds in Northumberland
The college valley does not allow any vehicles in other than the few farmers and odd house owners there...how qiet can you get for bikes
The north's answer to zeermat in Switzerland.

.there's an independent bunkhouse at the end called mounthooly...just at the base of the pennine and the impresive hen hole waterfalls for a free cold shower
looks really nice - any chance of any furtive freecamping (leave no trace I stress) in that valley?
I love Northumberland but was last there in a car - the bike is calling me there.
If you watch this week's Top Gear, you'll see the sort of terrain around the Cheviots and College Valley. Not normally a problem if you're careful.
A novice learning...
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
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Sweep
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Sweep »

st599_uk wrote: 21 Nov 2021, 8:52pm
Sweep wrote:
Lookrider wrote: 17 Nov 2021, 3:55pm I previously mentioned about the qiet rds in Northumberland
The college valley does not allow any vehicles in other than the few farmers and odd house owners there...how qiet can you get for bikes
The north's answer to zeermat in Switzerland.

.there's an independent bunkhouse at the end called mounthooly...just at the base of the pennine and the impresive hen hole waterfalls for a free cold shower
looks really nice - any chance of any furtive freecamping (leave no trace I stress) in that valley?
I love Northumberland but was last there in a car - the bike is calling me there.
If you watch this week's Top Gear, you'll see the sort of terrain around the Cheviots and College Valley. Not normally a problem if you're careful.
thanks st - will have to steel myself to watch "top gear"
Sweep
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