About the C2C

This 225km (140-mile) route was the first of Britain’s now famous coast-to-coast rides. It runs from the scenic coast of northwest England through the Northern Lakes and over the Pennines before reaching its conclusion on the shores of the North Sea: Tyneside or Roker Marina in Sunderland, take your pick. 

You also have a choice of three start points, all fairly close together: Whitehaven is the most popular, going from the old port, over Cleator Moor and into the Lake district, west of Keswick. St Bees is a more scenic option, starting on the golden sands of the bay, where you will encounter walkers also embarking on the famous Wainwright Coast-to-Coast walk. This route links up with the Whitehaven start on Cleator Moor.

And finally Workington, which winds its way to Bassenthwaite Lake before rejoining the route. All three starts have their merits and the last one avoids the first big climb, over Whinlatter.

The ride takes you through Keswick, Penrith and Alston before climbing onto the moorland of the North Pennines, known as the Roof of England, and thence gently down to the coast.

The C2C is designed to be cycled from west coast to east coast. This is because of prevailing winds and gradients: do it this way and, god-willing, the wind will be behind you and most of the climbs will be short and sharp, rather than long and grinding. East to west is for those who like unrelentingly hostile gradients with the wind in their face. If you want to cycle east to west, a more user-friendly route is the Reivers or Hadrian’s Cycleway.