FNRttC syndication

[theclaud]

There's also a really lovely art deco hotel with fantastic views, but I suspect their restaurant/cafe is a bit too sophisticated for yellow/brown beer and breakfasts

Eggs Benedict? Omelette Arnold Bennett? Kedgeree? With Brown Beer, natch...

 

[Ajay]

Morecambe also has the statue of Eric down at the beach which is not to be missed.
There's also a really lovely art deco hotel with fantastic views, but I suspect their restaurant/cafe is a bit too sophisticated for yellow/brown beer and breakfasts

Overall though it beats Blackpool hands down
[/quote
The Midland Hotel - http://englishlakes....hotels/midland/
I'd be happy to offer local knowledge if needed...

 

[Andrij]

I'll have a look at Morecambe tomorrow, as well as the route between there and Lancaster. Sadly won't have too much time to sample brown and/or yellow recover drinks.

 

[Tim Hall]

For best effect, pronounce it like a South American river: Morri-camby.

 

[Andrew Br]

Since I may have had some influence in Morecambe being considered, I'll obviously vote for it.
I'm sure it's worth talking to the Midland about breakfast; their lustre seems to have worn a little so they may be glad of an extra business boost.
Let me know if you want me to do any investigation before you haul yourself up here.

The view towards the Lake District fells remains untarnished. Weather permitting.
Standing by.

 

[User10119]

ahhh....... morecambe. i can very clearly remember freezing my tits off, waiting for the free bus back to campus after student night at 'the empire', a club so classy it even had fibre optic palm trees in the foyer. this was back when about a third of lancaster students lived in morecambe - apparently they all moved out about 10 years ago when it got too rough.

personally i mostly avoided the place, and lived in scorton instead but i used to share a house with a chap who worked at the needle exchange in morecambe.

so it's a place where even i can get cold.

and it's apparently a bit rough.

and it is alarmingly close to my ex mother in common law.

i'm in if you head there tho, so long as no pavements jump up to hit me beforehand.

 

[the_mikey]

[QUOTE 1550050"]
Birmingham
[/quote]

To Severn Beach?

*hides*

 

[Andrew Br]

[QUOTE 1550202"]
so long as no pavements jump up to hit me beforehand.
[/quote]

By the time you've dodged all of the pot-holes en route, the pavement will be the last of your worries

 

[frank9755]

Going over the top from Carlisle to Newcastle has 'possibilities' for 2013.

Just thought I'd bump this one up as I think it would be a great ride.

It has the cachet of being almost a coast-to-coast (Carlisle is a little bit inland) and has main line train connections at each end.

The market square in Carlisle would make an excellent starting point. Main roads to Brampton then some dark, empty lanes to Gilsland then, the best bit, up onto the Military Road. Running alongside the Roman Wall, this has to be one of the most exposed roads in England, with few trees or even corners to shelter from the wind - but it's normally from the west so should be a tailwind. Aside from the wind, its got some lovely sharp dips and some decent climbs, then a long descent back down to the Tyne. It's also got a bit of history to it too, built to defend England against Scottish invasion by enabling the army to get across to Carlisle and make the cover tackle if Bonnie Prince Charlie were to come again.

I don't know the Newcastle end so well, but I expect there will be a suitable cafe in Whitley Bay or somewhere, and there will certainly be Brown Ale - in blue star form.

 

[thom]

Just thought I'd bump this one up as I think it would be a great ride.

It has the cachet of being almost a coast-to-coast (Carlisle is a little bit inland) and has main line train connections at each end.

The market square in Carlisle would make an excellent starting point. Main roads to Brampton then some dark, empty lanes to Gilsland then, the best bit, up onto the Military Road. Running alongside the Roman Wall, this has to be one of the most exposed roads in England, with few trees or even corners to shelter from the wind - but it's normally from the west so should be a tailwind. Aside from the wind, its got some lovely sharp dips and some decent climbs, then a long descent back down to the Tyne. It's also got a bit of history to it too, built to defend England against Scottish invasion by enabling the army to get across to Carlisle and make the cover tackle if Bonnie Prince Charlie were to come again.

I don't know the Newcastle end so well, but I expect there will be a suitable cafe in Whitley Bay or somewhere, and there will certainly be Brown Ale - in blue star form.

If anyone wanted to Go Large on that route, you could prepend a route through the Lake District:
Start out on the west coast mainline at Oxenholme and head to the lakeside at Bowness on Windermere.
Pass up the west side of Windermere to Ambleside, past Rydal Water, Grasmere and up the pass to Dunmail Rise. Descend past the west side of Thirlmere before stopping in Keswick beside Derwent Water for refreshments.
Afterwards, take a route under Skiddaw on the East side of Bassenthwaite Lake (the only lake in the Lake District) before wending one's way north on flatter lands to Port of Carlisle on the Solway Firth. Here, the cycle friendly Hope and Anchor Inn is a typical starting point for Hadrian's Wall and is about 10 miles only from Carlisle itself.

Just a thought like ;-)

 

[User482]

For best effect, pronounce it like a South American river: Morri-camby.

An American in my halls at Lancaster actually pronounced morecambe this way.

 

[Tompy]

Just thought I'd bump this one up as I think it would be a great ride.

It has the cachet of being almost a coast-to-coast (Carlisle is a little bit inland) and has main line train connections at each end.

The market square in Carlisle would make an excellent starting point. Main roads to Brampton then some dark, empty lanes to Gilsland then, the best bit, up onto the Military Road. Running alongside the Roman Wall, this has to be one of the most exposed roads in England, with few trees or even corners to shelter from the wind - but it's normally from the west so should be a tailwind. Aside from the wind, its got some lovely sharp dips and some decent climbs, then a long descent back down to the Tyne. It's also got a bit of history to it too, built to defend England against Scottish invasion by enabling the army to get across to Carlisle and make the cover tackle if Bonnie Prince Charlie were to come again.

I don't know the Newcastle end so well, but I expect there will be a suitable cafe in Whitley Bay or somewhere, and there will certainly be Brown Ale - in blue star form.

That get's my vote. Although not the coast, the Quayside at Newcastle would be a spectacular place to finish and brekkie. Despite being an ex-native of Whitley Bay, I'd say Tynemouth would be a nicer place to finish. It's such a shame they don't allow bikes on the Metro though, that would make it dead easy to get back to Newcastle for the train.

Oh and proper Geordies don't drink Brown Ale, they drink Best Scotch.

 

[dellzeqq]

Carlisle to Newcastle would be a good route.........but I'm not going to be able to set it up for next year.

There is, by the way, only one halfway point that is halfway (if you see what I mean) unless you dip down to the A69 and go in to Corbridge - not, itself a bad thing, because the town is really pretty

 

[StuAff]

Will do, too. My other half is off to Pompey this weekend, at least she can check out the quality of the catering and if it's changed that much from the last time I went 6 months ago.

Any joy? Positive response from my preferred option, there's a decent looking plan B not too far away (haven't asked them yet, early days)...and there's always the audaxers' favourite on the hill, Mick's Burger Van

 

[ColinJ]

An American in my halls at Lancaster actually pronounced morecambe this way.

I know someone in the Midlands who was asked by a bunch of Aussies if he could tell them the way to Loo-bo-Roo (Loughborough)!