Day One - Thursday 17th May - Newcastle to Twice Brewed

The time of the train out of Kings Cross was 06:15. Niki, Ray and Anthony joined me on this train. The ticket for this journey was booked almost 3 months ago on the internet and the price of the one way ticket was £10. The cycle reservation was made at Kings Cross a couple of days later and was free. GNER do offer a one stop ticket and cycle reservation on the internet and this involves them phoning you the day after you apply on the net. I used this service on for my return ticket from Darlington but it required me buying a slightly more expensive ticket than one I could find on the net. My return from Darlington was £17.80.

We rolled into Newcastle at 09:40. Teri was due to arrive at 10:00 so we waited at the station for her. Teri arrived on tome but Stephen was arriving at 12:00 so we decided to head off in the direction of Tynemouth to Wallsend and the Roman Fort museum of Segundum and another significant site in British history that has also had its day the Swan Hunter shipyard. The cranes you can see in the photos have been sold to Taiwan; that’s where they are making ships now.
It was good to see the cycle racks and lockers at the museum. It’s what you would expect on a National Cycle Route but you can’t take it for granted and these facilities were not available at Vindolanda a site we visited on Friday. We locked our bikes to the rack and got a key for the free cycle lockers to protect our luggage. The museum is well worth a visit with the observation tower, reconstructed bath house, interactive multi media presentations and knowledgeable, friendly staff.

Its worth noting that a mile further towards Tynemouth there is a pedestrian and cycle foot tunnel that links North Tyneside to South, at Jarrow.

Stephen phoned while we were having lunch in the café and we arranged to meet at the Gateshead Millennium footbridge back in Newcastle.

We finally headed out to the west of Newcastle at about 13:30. The ride west on NCN72 was quiet mainly traffic free and excellently signed. Staying close to the Tyne we went out through Newcastle’s urban sprawl and then though the towns of Wylam, Prudhoe, Ovingham and Corbridge before stopping in Hexam for a rest, food and a look around the abbey.

Leaving Hexam we criss-crossed the railway a couple of times, keep your wits about you here we nearly got run over by a train, and then crossed the Tyne again at Corbridge. From Corbridge we started the long gradual climb up to Twice Brewed, our YHA stop for the night, with Hadrian’s Wall on the horizon to our right. All the way up the climb we’d seen our dinner running around in the fields but when we went to the pub for our evening meal, it seemed hard to believe, but the Northumberland lamb had sold out.

55 miles including the visit to Segundum.
2091ft of climbing