When I first looked at the idea of doing the coast to coast I noticed there were quite a few routes from the West to the East coast of Northern England. the are routes from Whitehaven or Workington to Newcastle or Sunderland (Irish Sea off Cumbrian Coast to North Sea off Northumbrian Coast).
But I decided to do the St Bees (Cumbria) to Robin Hoods Bay (North Yorkshire) route, mainly because I love Robin Hoods bay and secondly I had always wanted to do this route which is usually done by walkers rather than Cyclists. The original route was devised by a famous fell walker called Alfred Wainwright who actually stated that there was no definite route but it was the chance to take in the beautiful landscapes of the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors. Usually the walking route was done over a period of days taking in the scenery over cross country.
Because of time constraints and the fact that I fancied cycling the route, me my friend Martin and my father started looking at a road route. This was by no means easy, as one part of the route we have chosen is the HardKnott Pass. It is described as one of the steepest roads in England with a 33% incline for approx 5 miles.
Altogether the route is 165 miles and we decided to try this in two days. The first day Monday 27th June we are attempting 90 miles from St Bees to Leyburn. Then on the second day, Tuesday 28th June 75 miles from Leyburn to Robin Hoods Bay.
Me and my father back in April went up to the route in his back up van and drove the route to check for any potential problems. Even the van had problems driving up the Hardknott pass which is a popular route for tourists an in turn created a problem because of on coming traffic on the single laned road up the hill!
