The C2C And Northern Cycle Routes Forum

Did the Coast & Castles route and on to Aberdeen in 7.5 days during the first week of June.
I'm over 65 and as I was carrying over 20 kilos of camping gear, food etc.,between front and rear panniers, I was a little worried at how my knees would cope, not having done any serious regular cycling for about 15 years. I needn't have worried. I started frm Sunderland, took the Tyne ferry and made my first camp at Embleton (about 67 miles) enjoying fairly level surfaces. I had two further camps (one wild), two nights at youth hostels (Melrose and Aberdeen) and three nights stay at relations in Edinburgh, Kinross and Portlethen.
I can heartily recommend using www.trainline.com for booking outward or return rail travel. I managed to get a single from Aberdeen to Newcastle for just £17 (usually £85) but it did mean catching the 07:52! It's VERY important that you book your bike at the same time as the guard checks your ticket for this and space is at a premium. There were five bikes on my train so hardly any extra room.
Most of the time I didn't need to refer to my (Sustrans) maps as signposting was quite good, but sometimes there was a complete lack of it at important areas or it was confusing/ambiguous - Dalkeith and Dunfermline were classic cases.
If you are camping or carrying a lot of weight (or like me not very strong!) you should consider some low gears as there are some stiff climbs. I was using a fairly heavy Saracen hybrid with 700 x 38 wheels (recommended), a 48/38/28 chainset and a 14-34 Shimano "superlow" cassette and on all but the very steepest of climbs I could stay in the saddle.
I would have liked to have take longer and explored more but as it was, I seemed to be cycling to a schedule of sorts due to arrangements to meet relatives and catch a train.
If anyone would like more detailed info about the route I'd be happy to assist.

well done and interestin read, good advice there. do you have any pics of your travels?

Thanks John. Only about 150 or so! I could probably upload some. Could I upload standard jpeg pics? Seems to be some confusion over what the Coast & Castles route is. The Sustrans guide certainly includes Aberdeen but they only have one map - Coast & Castles South - the other one only showing Edinburgh to Aberdeen.

yeah when you go to post just click add image , says jpeg and others.

There are two maps a new one (2008) for C&C south ( Newcastle to Edinburgh) and for C&C North -old style map for Edinburgh to Aberdeen.
Available as a pack from the Sustrans on line shop

see:-http://www.sustransshop.co.uk/products/5085-coast-and-castles-pack-newcastle-to-aberdeen

Doug

Both available on Ebay at £2 cheaper Doug.
Having a problem uploading pics of trip. Although individual photos are less than the 4mb file (.jpg) size limit, I keep getting "uploading error". Is this 4mb for individual pics or the total file size per post?

think its individual, do you have photobucket or same thig type of account?i registered on photobucket free then you just need to post link.

Thanks for your help John. Some photos taken en route can be seen at http://s835.photobucket.com/albums/zz271/Edvardus/
Some additional information which might be useful:
I decided to use my Saracen hybrid because of it's heavier build and 700 x 38 wheels/tyres but apart from the rough bit between Johnshaven and Gourdon, I could easily have done the route on my Dawes Super Galaxy (27 x 1.25 wheels with Continental Top Touring) and saved some weight.
Several campsites were conveniently right beside the route: Dunstan, Beachcomber nr Beal, Wairds Park at Johnshaven and all quiet locations. I also used the Woodlands camp site in Carnoustie (well signposted) and this was superb and very secure and one of the cheapest.
Some bits of the route - notably the detour off the A92 north of Montrose past Nether Warburton and the Nature Reserve - were not terribly good for cyclists. For starters, there are a lot of motorists using the route, especially at weekends, then the road out is so steep and narrow I had to walk, but such was the incline my shoes (with SPUD cleats) kept slipping. Also, the lane is so narrow that there is barely room for a car to pass you. The one redeeming factor is a good toilet!
I didn't realise how important it was to get a security pass to allow you to get thru Dundee docks. I came upon a sign telling me just that and of the necessity for a passport-type photo. A detour amongst heavy traffic ensued.
Approaching the Union Suspension Bridge between Berwick and Norham, you'll see signs warning the road ahead is closed. Cyclists and pedestrians were still able to get thru though and you can see the spectacular collapse of half the road width down the hill towards the river.
For camping I used my ancient (late 70's) Robert Saunders Backpacker 2 tent with an equally old Blacks Tromso sleeping bag. I alternated between an Exped 7.5cm (3") thick inflatable airmat - only 555gm and superb at £24 on the 'tinternet and a Karrimor Ultralight 3/4 self-inflating mat (2.5cm) - 450g and reduced to £19.99 at a city centre sports shop - both used with a length of closed cell foam. I discovered you need the foam insulation as well, as the air in the mats gets cold during the night! Any cooking was on a Trangia meths stove.
I swopped the usual hybrid straight bars for a "butterfly" or treking-type set but desite quite thick padding and using padded cycling mitts I still got soreness in the heel of my palms. I don't seem to get this as much with my Dawes drops. I made the mistake of swapping over my (usually) very comfortable B17 saddle from the Dawes before starting out but hadn't realised how much the different seating position would affect things. As a result I got some pretty painful saddle sores (my first ever!) after about three days.
I fell off my bike at Arbroath, trying to turn in the road and getting caught broadside by the wind. I landed on my back, whacking the back of my head on the tarmac. Luckily I was wearing my (Giro) helmet otherwise the blow could have knocked me out or given me concussion. Previously, I had removed the helmet on cyclepaths or tracks and sometimes on very quiet roads, but after that little episode it was welded on for the rest of the trip!
Rear panniers were Altura Arran models bought from Edinburgh Cycle Coop in Byker. They performed quite well but the tags on zips were prone to come off and one broke. The front panniers were advertised as such on Ebay but when I got them they were more akin to rears. They were Oxford make and performed well. Both sets had zip pockets containing waterproof covers which were a boon amid some heavy showers.
One last tip. Boots sell a range of small plastic bottles and tubes which are very useful for taking washing-up and clothes washing liquid, shampoo, liquid soap, aftersun etc..

boots bottles is a good tip, the pics are beltin,you had some wieght on bike, any idea how much it wieghed?

Hate to say it John but I reckon the all-up weight of bike and gear must have been around 35 kg! The slightest incline and it slowed down so you were always working hard to maintain a decent speed. Enjoyed it tremendously though. Glad you liked the pics.