Make your own way to Whitehaven, an attractive quiet coastal town with a redeveloped harbour. This used to be a Roman port and became one of the busiest in England with trade links to America from the 1600s, coal and iron production, as well as dubious links with the slave trade. Whitehaven is also the only place in England to be invaded by the young USA in 1778, and parts of the town were set on fire. All this is explained in the modern quayside museum.You can have a relaxing stroll along the sea side from the museum to visit old mining sites with memorials to what was once a busy industrial area. Mining seams went long distances out into the Irish Sea. Accommodation: Glenfield Guesthouse is situated just a few minutes’ walk from Whitehaven town centre and the waterfront. This fine example of a late Victorian townhouse has been transformed into an elegant bed and breakfast offering all modern amenities whilst retaining its original features. Otherwise you will be staying in a centrally located small hotel.

Meals:  Nil

After breakfast, collect hire bikes and catch your prebooked taxi van to Ravenglass, which is to the south of Whitehaven. Ravensglass is an interesting little coastal village and you may wish to lock the bikes and allow approx 2 hours return, to take the heritage Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway for a steam excursion into the Lake District. Hadrian’s Cycleway begins at the Glannaventa Roman Bath House, about 500m from the village. The route passes Ravenglass station and crosses the estuary on the railway bridge. From here you will travel on mainly quiet roads and off-road paths through the villages of Holmrook, Drigg and Seascale, then past Sellafield Nuclear Plant before turning away from the coast towards the small town of Egremont. Further on you join the Sea to Sea (C2C) Route 71 which takes you into Whitehaven.

Meals:  B

Heading north passing through Workington, an ancient market town which in its post industrial and mining malaise, has become the main centre for shopping in West Cumbria. Now you are on to another old Roman town: Maryport which has an interesting aquarium and just to the north is the Senhouse Roman Museum dramatically sited on cliffs overlooking the Solway Firth, set next to a Roman fort. Climb the observation tower for a fabulous view of the site. Continue along to Silloth a classic, unpsoilt English seaside town on the Solway coast. It has an extensive town green in its centre, and its long promenade provides a lovely walk taking in the the majestic Solway Firth and views across the water to Scotland. Accommodation: A beautifully restored Victorian townhouse overlooking the idyllic Solway Coast.

Meals:  B

Rolling out from Silloth your attention turns to the East as you turn and head around the splendid Solway Firth, which is all that separates you from Scotland. On the Cumbrian side, much of the coastline is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; the muds and sands, make this a major coastal bird area. The minor roads head around the marshes before winding west then back east via the village of Bowness on Solway. This is at the western end of the Hadrian's Wall and is marked by a pavilion on the small coastal cliff. The Wall originally was made of mud in this area and not much survives however the village is situated on the site of the Roman fort called Maia, which was the second largest on Hadrian's Wall. You then cycle through Port Carlisle, which sounds big but is only a tiny place, built in 1819 to service a canal link to take goods to Carlisle Basin. The canal was closed in 1853 and Port Carlisle silted up. Then you briefly meet the River Eden before pedaling into Carlisle: A border city that has changed nationality a few times through its turbulent history. If you have time it is worth visiting the castle and museum, otherwise take a walk through the Cathedral. Accommodation: Abbey Court Guesthouse, it is centrally located and is a Victorian Town House.

Meals:  B

After Carlisle, ascend out of the Eden Valley and head into the Pennines, named by the Romans after the Apennines Hills in Italy. Mostly you will be riding gentle hills although there are a couple of steep ones. On the way you could have a break in Bampton, but after about 15 miles you can visit The Priory, church and café at Lanercost, a useful stop before the route climbs up for the first views of Hadrian’s Wall. You then cycle alongside the wall for the next three miles or so, with views over the Irthing Valley to the south. Cycling past Banks with various remains of wall turrets and signalling stations, you arrive at the large site of the Roman fort at Birdoswald with its tea shop. The route then descends to cross the River Irthing near Gilsand and on through Greenhead with the option to visit the ruins of Thirlwell Castle on the way. From here a new traffic-free path runs beside the railway line, after which comes the steepest hill on the whole route up to Greenhead Bank with its Roman Army Museum (you can buy a combined ticket here which also allows you entry into Vindolanda tomorrow). You then descend into bustling Haltwhistle, the town is claimed to be the most central to the British isles! Accommodation: An elegant Victorian vicarage with spacious guest rooms and high ceilings standing in 2 acres of award winning gardens on the southern edge of Haltwhistle.

Meals:  B

Today is a shorter ride, not only because it is hilly but so that you can take in the museum sites along the way. Seven miles after Haltwhistle, there is a steep ascent from Bardon Mill back towards Hadrian’s Wall and you will be able to take a short diversion to the pub and the Northumberland National Park visitor centre at Once/Twice Brewed. Otherwise it is onto the museum remains at Vindolanda the most impressive site along Hadrian’s Wall. This remote outpost of the Roman Empire has been extensively excavated and a large number of relics are housed in the newly renovated museum. The road is roughly surfaced past Vindolanda, and after 1/2 a mile of climbing, you reach the highest point of Hadrian’s Cycleway. Now you have 6 exhilarating miles of descending on a largely straight road taking you to the banks of the River Tyne. The route will now follow the river closely all the way to the North Sea, but first you arrive at the busy market town called Hexham. Probably the most picturesque town on the trip, it has abbey ruins with a Saxon crypt which dominate the town centre. Accommodation: An ideally situated B&B in a quiet residential area in the centre of Hexham, only 3 mins from the Abbey and market place in the historic town. It is elegantly decorated and furnished with antiques in keeping with its Victorian architecture.

Meals:  B

Leaving Hexham having crossed the River Tyne, it’s not far to Corbridge, a smaller, attractive town, uniform in its stone buildings and slate roofs. Continuing on, from Prudhoe to Tynemouth, the route is almost entirely traffic-free, following the north bank of the River Tyne. The cycle route glides serenely into town, sometimes green, sometimes built-up, but always interesting. First comes 7 miles of quiet lanes from Corbridge to Ovingham. Then the route briefly crosses the Tyne on a rickety road bridge, to join the Wylam Waggonway – a tramroad dating from the 1740s. The way gets busier with retail parks and industrial estates but you soon arrive at Newcastle’s riverside, with seven bridges in the space of a mile. The newest, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, is reserved for cyclists and walkers. Staying on the north bank you now climb above the river onto a railway path. There are dramatic views back down to the river and the site of the old Swan Hunter shipyard, and you ride around the rather built up riverside district passing the last Roman fort museum at Segendunm cross the river on the ferry and cycle the last mile to Arbeia South Shields Roman Fort, the offical end of the Hadrian's Cycleway. From here you retrace your cycle back to the ferry where upon crossing turn right and make your way into Tynemouth to drop off your bikes and check into your hotel. You can celebrate your achievement in local style with fish, chips and a pint! Accommodation: Tynemouth 61 Guesthouse is one of the attractive guesthouses that is used in the centre of Tynemouth.

Meals:  B

Depart from Tynemouth, convenient metro train to Newcastle Central Station to join national rail network.

Meals:  B