Railway trails

[EasyPeez]

Anyone with the opportunity to cycle in County Durham may be interested in the Lanchester Valley circuit route mentioned earlier.

It's a cracking day ride, probably my favourite on this patch.

Not that I can take any credit for the route, it was created by the leader of my cycling group.

QA Hownsgill Lanchester Valley QA.gpx

Thanks for that, Rob.

Am I right in thinking that route would follow NCN routes 14 and 70 along the southern section, with much of that being traffic free? Is the northern section then following NCN 7 on a mix of paths and back roads? I'm using http://www.maplorer.com/ to view the file and it doesn't seem to follow any roads but maybe it's not tyhe best viewer or maybe I'm not very good at using it!

Also, heading along the Waskerley Way it looks like you can do a loop around Townfield/Stanhope on the NCN 7 before heading back East - is this worth doing? I'm keen to build the Waskerley Way in if we do head to the NE as I've read that it's "one of the most exhilarating traffic-free rides in the country"! Cheers

 

[EasyPeez]

EasyPeez

There is a series of 3 maps covering the trails in County Durham. They are slightly old but the information hasn't changed much. If you want a copy, PM me your mail address and I'll post you a set as I have a box full in my office at Durham. There are also maps available for each LA area in Tyne & Wear (Newcastle, SE Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyne, and Sunderland. Each LA will happily post you a copy if you email them (I only have S Tyne available)

There is lots of good mostly joined up cycling. There's also a route from Consett that goes down to the Tyne, and then along to the coast to join up with the C2C at Sunderland. That's a good 50 mile circuit. I know those paths fairly well (even commute on parts of the C2C). There's more on the North side of the Tyne as well.

You could also drop down to Bishop Auckland from Durham off road. there are some road sections to make it a circular

Gary

Brilliant, thanks for that, Gary. PM sent now.

It never occurred to me to contact LAs but I guess many around the country will produce cycling guides/route maps of one sort or another - a good tip, and once we settle on a destination I'll certainly drop the relevant one(s) a line to see what they can provide.

Even if we don't head to the NE in the Spring, I've seen and read enough in this thread and on the linked websites to know that it's definately somewhere I'll want to cycle in the future, so I'll be very grateful to your for sending on those maps.

Cheers,
Andy

 

[Pale Rider]

Thanks for that, Rob.

Am I right in thinking that route would follow NCN routes 14 and 70 along the southern section, with much of that being traffic free? Is the northern section then following NCN 7 on a mix of paths and back roads? I'm using http://www.maplorer.com/ to view the file and it doesn't seem to follow any roads but maybe it's not tyhe best viewer or maybe I'm not very good at using it!

Also, heading along the Waskerley Way it looks like you can do a loop around Townfield/Stanhope on the NCN 7 before heading back East - is this worth doing? I'm keen to build the Waskerley Way in if we do head to the NE as I've read that it's "one of the most exhilarating traffic-free rides in the country"! Cheers

Thanks for that, Rob.

Am I right in thinking that route would follow NCN routes 14 and 70 along the southern section, with much of that being traffic free? Is the northern section then following NCN 7 on a mix of paths and back roads? I'm using http://www.maplorer.com/ to view the file and it doesn't seem to follow any roads but maybe it's not tyhe best viewer or maybe I'm not very good at using it!

Also, heading along the Waskerley Way it looks like you can do a loop around Townfield/Stanhope on the NCN 7 before heading back East - is this worth doing? I'm keen to build the Waskerley Way in if we do head to the NE as I've read that it's "one of the most exhilarating traffic-free rides in the country"! Cheers

I've sent you an email with more stuff about the Lanchester Valley circuit.

The southern section from Durham to Sunderland is mostly off-road, but not quite as fully off road as the first two legs from Sunderland to Consett and then down to Durham.

As regards the Waskerly, you could do as you suggest and drop down into Stanhope, but the path is ropy in parts so would need a CX bike at the minimum.

Equally, the path part of the return you suggest is also quite rough, last person I spoke to who had done said he was pushing for a short stretch and that was on a mountain bike.

Returning to Parkhead via the most direct B road is probably your best option.

That would also give you the chance to do Crawleyside Bank, which is one of the well-known roadie climbs in this area.

Steep and twisty for the first bit, then straighter and less steep for a longer drag up to Parkhead,

 

[gazza_d]

Here's another cracking route, which uses NCN14 and NCN7. https://www.strava.com/routes/6259799

It's a Northern option to the route Pale Rider posted. Pretty much all traffic free as well, and the ride up the Derwent valley from the Tyne to Consett is wonderful although a 12 mile steady climb. That route as posted is about 54 miles. I last rode it back september on a 5 speed Moulton so pretty much anything other than a carbon fibre race bike can do it. The link from the NCN7 to South Shields is traffic free all the way past Nissan.

You can shortcut from Rowlands Gill to NCN7 via Burnopfield and Tanfield on quiet roads, which drops about 10-12 mile off the total

If you want to do the Waskerley way (and who doesn;t), then two other return options are the roads either to Castleside or via Edmundbyers & Carterway heads. Both largely spectacular moorland roads especially on a sunny day and quiet. The Parkhead cafe is worth a stop for tea, as is Hownsgill farm at the junction of the NCN7 & Lanchester valley paths

As I've said previously, it's possible to link the NCN7 and the Lanchester Valley path via the A167 which has a shared path alongside.

If you follow NCN7, I would recommend that you follow Pattinson way in Washington rather than the actual route. It's obvious on a map. Pattinson Way is 3m shared tarmac now, whereas the NCN7 is rough, muddy & twisty along that stretch

 

[EasyPeez]

For anyone else interested in finding new traffic-free routes I can highly recommend this -

https://shop.sustrans.org.uk/sustrans-traffic-free-cycle-rides

It's got just about every trail mentioned in this thread in there I believe, with the exception of the Sandringham and Lakenham routes mooted by @mjr and you can buy the chapters in pdf format if you are just interested in certain areas of the country.

Having earlier ruled out Wales due to distance I must say that the Taff trail and Monmouthshire canal routes highlighted in the book sound incredible, and it seems that with a bit of planning they can be linked to other routes around Cardiff and Brecon to give over 120 miles of off-road trails. If anyone has experience of cycling the Taff trail, Brecon & Monmouthshire Canal routes and the 3 parks trail I'd be really glad of more info on how suitable they are for road bikes. The book mentions 'stony paths' and refers to certain parts being 'rugged' so I guess we'd need to work out tarmac-based diversions around certain sections?

Cheers.

 

[tallliman]

@EasyPeez, if you work that out as a route, I'd be interested in seeing it. Am hoping to get a cx bike so the non-tarmac bits shouldn't be an issue (unless really abysmal)