Sustrans Route 1

[windrift]

Does anyone have any recent experience of Sustrans Route No1, I plan to cycle from Scarborough to Edinburgh in June.

 

[mjr]

Yes but it's not between Scarborough and Edinburgh so it's useless to you. Could you or @Moderators update the title to avoid wasting time of people south of Scarborough or north of Edinburgh, please?

 

[classic33]

Yes but it's not between Scarborough and Edinburgh so it's useless to you. Could you or @Moderators update the title to avoid wasting time of people south of Scarborough or north of Edinburgh, please?

Maybe Sustrans have it wrong then.
"A long distance cycle route connecting Dover and the Shetland Islands - via the east coast of England and Scotland - that also forms the majority of the British section of the North Sea Cycle Route.

5. Hull to Hunmanby - 42 miles
The section between Hull and Humanby is just over 45 miles and is mainly on quiet roads, passing through the East Riding area of Yorkshire. You’ll see some of the wonderful landscape that inspired David Hockney with a gently rolling route that travels past the towns of Beverley, Driffield and Bridlington and on to Hunmanby, south of Scarborough.

6.Hunmanby to Whitby - 32 miles
This mainly coastal route is currently open and signed between Hunmanby and Whitby via Scarborough. Scarborough to Whitby is also known as the Cinder Track."

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/route-1

 

[mjr]

I mean my experience of route 1 isn't between Scarborough and Edinburgh! (It's OK if indirect between Boston and Bintree, rubbish between Bintree and Costessey (dirt, deep sand, deep gravel), OK through Norwich, no info until the Suffolk/Essex border where it's OK,then no info until London where it's OK but old fashioned.)

 

[andym]

Click 'report' to draw it to the attention of the moderators.

 

[Pale Rider]

I'm familiar with the Whitby to Scarborough, and Stockton to Berwick.

As others have said in your other thread, parts of NCN 1 are all but impassable on a narrow tyred road bike.

A tourer or CX would be fine.

A lot of the path is cinder/gravel track, but some of it through County Durham is hard packed bigger stones which makes for a rough and very wearing few miles.

There is a road option through the former pit villages, but it's rather a shame not to do the full fat NCN 1 at least once.

From Sunderland northwards it's mostly asphalt until you get a few miles from Berwick where the 'path' is no more than a signpost across a few fields.

Ought to be OK in June when it's dry, but I wouldn't try it on any bicycle in wet conditions.

Not sure what happens north of Berwick.

 

[seraphina]

I did it a couple of years ago as part of the Coast and Castles run. I'd echo a pp's comment that there's ~10 miles south of Berwick where it's just fields with a signpost and kamikaze livestock. I was on a Dawes Horizon, no load, and got off to walk a few sections - it would have been a different story if I was heavily laden, or if it had been raining a lot lately.

 

[dr snuggles]

I've used it a few times north of Newcastle (been as far as Inverness). The bit before Berwick is a mess on a bad day and I've actually used the opposite side of the A1 the last couple of times (cross over at Belford but don't cross back over for Holy Island, unless you want to go there obviously) you do have to use the A1 for a short section to rejoin the route close to Berwick however. I would recommend getting the train up to Inverness and riding down to Edinburgh, much better imo. The bit between Belford and Cresswell is a pretty decent route on a nice day though.

 

[stelencro]

I am doing the coast and castles ride in 3 weeks on my own unsupported on a road bike. Staying in Craster,Coldstream & Innerleithen. 4 days of bliss I hope