Riding NCN6 London to the Lakes - Day 8 (Tour 3): Threlkeld, Dalston and Carlisle

Описание: This was the final day of my trip along route 6 -  the London to the Lakes National Cycle Route. I was afraid that it would be an anti-climax after the previous day's incredible ride through the center of the Lake District. I need not have worried: the scenery was absolutely gorgeous today as well, although the beauty was a little rougher and less curated than before.


The forecast was for sunshine so I was disappointed to find cloud scudding across the sky when I unzipped my tent door. I think that this was mostly due to the fresh northerly wind blowing across the summits of the large mountains (Skiddaw and Blencathra) to the North. As the day warmed up the cloud retreated and disappeared, and those same mountains shielded me from the worst of the morning's headwind.


The route I was following was from cycle.travel, my preferred routing program. The first detour from the route shown on the OS map (at St John's in the Vale) may not have been part of the official route 6 but in my view it was a much better and quieter route than the b-road. If I did this again I would probably turn that variation into a larger detour right in to Keswick in order to be able to follow the lovely Threlkeld path all the way out along the river valley.


I expected that I would meet other cyclists on the lane around the foot of Blencathra because it is part of the popular C2C route; I was not disappointed and I enjoyed hearing their stories as we enjoyed the lovely cycling together.


The published route for NCN6 follows the same course as the C2C for 15 miles  heading East towards Penrith before turning north again; it is a nice but not a spectacular route and I had done the C2C a few weeks before so it would have been a repeat of that, and the northwards section would have been a repeat of my LEJOG and another, earlier tour. Just after Blencathra the C2C makes a detour northwards to Mungrisdale and then returns to the line of the A66 about a mile further east after about 4 miles of very scenic riding beside the eastern edge of the fells. That official detour was so nice when I did the C2C that I decided to depart from Route 6 this time and explore a different route to Carlisle, essentially going North first beside the fells and then East, whereas the official route goes East first then North. My route included minor roads along the slopes of Carrock Fell and then part of Route 10 before rejoining Route 6 to Dalston and the run in to Carlisle. The part by the fells was dramatic and beautiful. The rest was rolling, lush and beautiful. It was 100% enjoyable (ok... there was about 200m of A road so in truth only 99% was pure pleasure)!


When I did my first long tour - the first since my teens anyway - I had bad time getting through Carlisle, wasting a lot of time getting lost on a dull day when I was already tired and incredibly hungry. Part of the cycleway out of Carlisle was closed and I just kept seeing cycle route signs and following them in a circle around the city (the signs didn't indicate North or South). Carlisle left bad memories but the cafe at Dalston welcomed me and patiently fed and watered me even though they were about to close when I arrived; their magic even made the sun come out as I set off again! I have good memories of Dalston so I was keen to return and check that they still served cake that tastes of cake, not plastic! They do!


I think that the rest of the video explains itself! It was a lovely ride and one where I felt extra satisfaction in having completed it in such an enjoyable way. With all the cities on the route I had mixed feelings when I set out, but I hope the video series shows what a lovely and varied route this is.  All the credit is due to SUSTRANS!


Thanks for watching! I do hope you have enjoyed the 8 videos of my Route 6 adventure.