Walney to Wear and Whitby Cycle Route

The Walney to Wear and Whitby Cycle Route (or W2W) is the name of a cross-country cycle route in Northern England. It runs from Walney Island in Cumbria to Sunderland on the River Wear or Whitby.

History[]

The route was launched on 1 June 2005 to complement the popular Sea to Sea Cycle Route (C2C) that runs from Whitehaven to Sunderland. It is designed to be slightly harder and longer than this other route, totalling either 149 or 151 miles (240 or 243 km). When launched the route used sections of NCN Routes 72, 68 and 71 west of the Pennines. From Tan Hill to Sunderland a new Regional Route was created and given the number 20, with a blue background. In 2012, after improvements to meet National Cycle Network standards, it was upgrade to National Route 70. Route signs were changed to the number 70 with a red background.^[1] Around the same time the sections on the route that had previously been Route 71 and 72 were re-signed as Route 70. In 2007 a southern branch from Barnard Castle to Whitby was added.^[2] Originally classified as regional route 52, it was upgraded to National Cycle Route 165 in 2012. The Walney to Whitby route is 179 miles (288 km).^[3]

Route[]

W2W Route Map
Legend
Route 70 0 Walney Island 1 Route 700 leaves to E 2 Barrow in Furness 13 Ulverston 14 Route 700 joins from E 25 Cartmel 25 Route 700 leaves to E 27 Route 700 joins from E 27 Grange-over-Sands 36 Route 700 leaves to S 38 Route 6 joins from S 40 Route 6 leaves to N 43 Oxenholme 53 Route 68 joins from S 63 Orton 70 Routes 68 and 71 leave to N 76 Kirkby Stephen 82 87 Tan Hill Route 71 leaves to S 95 Bowes 103 Barnard Castle Route 165 Route 70 to N 106 117 Hamsterley Croft-on-Tees 123 121 Bishop Auckland 126 from S Appleton Wiske 134 133 Route 14 joins from N Route 65 joins from S 140 135 Durham Hutton Rudby 142 139 Route 14 leaves to S Route 65 Leaves to N 143 Great Ayton 150 149 Route 1 joins from S to N 157 Castleton 161 150 Sunderland Egton 171 151 Route 7 joins from W Whitby 179 152 Wearmouth Route 1 to S Route 1 to N

The W2W is a Y shaped route with one western leg from Walney to Barnard Castle, and two eastern legs Barnard Castle to Sunderland (northern) and Barnard Castle to Whitby (Southern).

Western Leg[]

103 miles (166 km) Walney to Barnard Castle

Near Tan Hill

• From Walney Island in the Irish Sea (54°06′09″N 3°15′46″W / 54.1026°N 3.2627°W / 54.1026; -3.2627 (W2W cycle route (western end))) it goes on to the industrial port of Barrow-in-Furness
• It then runs through the Furness peninsula, passing towns such as Ulverston and the picturesque Grange-Over-Sands where the route follows the Promenade.^[4]
• The route continues to skirt the Lake District national park towards the historical market town of Kendal
• After this, the path continues northwards, before moving in an easterly direction towards Kirkby Stephen and through the Pennines to Barnard Castle in County Durham

North Eastern Leg[]

49 miles (79 km) Barnard Castle to Sunderland

Near Brancepeth

• The northerly spur passes through Hamsterley, to reach the beautiful cathedral city of Durham. National Route 715 between Barnard Castle and Willington is an alternative W2W route. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) shorter and easier ride via Bishop Auckland.
• The final 18 miles (29 km) of the W2W follows the River Wear to the North Sea at Sunderland (54°55′13″N 1°21′50″W / 54.9203°N 1.3639°W / 54.9203; -1.3639 (W2W cycle route (eastern end))).

South Eastern Leg[]

76 miles (122 km) Barnard Castle to Whitby

• From Barnard Castle the route descends off the Durham Dales along the lower Tees Valley for 20 miles (32 km)to Croft-on-Tees near Darlington.
• Continuing on flat roads for 27 miles (43 km) until it reaches the North York Moors at Great Ayton.
• Following the Eskdale for the final 27 miles (43 km) the route cross the River Esk 5 times before reaching Whitby. This section includes several steep climbs and descents, some of them are on off road tracks.

Footnotes[]

External links[]

• The official website of the W2W
• Wearside Sustrans website with links to details on the route in Wearside

Coordinates: 54°27′59″N 2°06′05″W / 54.4663°N 2.1013°W / 54.4663; -2.1013 (W2W cycle route)