Northumberland
| General info | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Climate - when to go | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| What to bring | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The weather can be very variable, so you need to come prepared for sun, wind and rain. The coast can also be cool in summer if a sea msit comes in, so you need something warmas well as waterproof! Nightlife is generally informal. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The Sustrans National Cycle Network maps cover the whole of the United Kingdom part of the North Sea Cycle Route. The Coast and Castle Cycle Route goes from Newcastle to Edinburgh and covers Northumberland. Go to the Sustrans online shop to order. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signposting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The route is signposted throughout with the standard National Cycle Network signs. In Northumberland we follow Route 1, nice and simple. Watch out for major realignments in the north of the county during 2006, so don't necessarily trust the printed maps. See here for more detail on route numbering. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accommodation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is a popular holiday area, though much of the accommodation is self catering concentrating on full week stays. However, there are many hotels and bed and breafasts that will take over-nighters in towns and villages including Amble, Warkworth, Alnmouth, Belford, Seahouses, Bamburgh, Holy Island and Berwick. There are no official youth hostels on the route, but there other cheap alternatives to hotels - see links below. C2C site Northumbria Tourist Board Youth Hostel Association (Northumberland) Annstead Bunk House Berwick Back Packers Hostel Café Solo - "best coffee in the North" on Holy Island | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cycle parking/repairs/rentals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
We are not aware of any secure cycle parking for vistors except within hotels, etc. There are plenty of bike shops on Tyneside and then they are a bit thin on the ground. There are shops in Amble, Alnwick (not far off the route) and at Berwick as far as we know. All these also do cycle hire - see the Councty Council website as below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Package tours | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
There are very limited organised cycle touring holidays along the route in Northumberland, but two companies do organise these: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transportation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Newcastle is the regional hub for road, rail, air and of course bike. Ferries from Amsterdam, Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand and Goteborg berth at North Shields near Newcastle. The East Coast Main Line railway goes north to south parallel to the route, but only a very limited number of trains stop at Alnmouth and other small stations between Newastle and Berwick. See transport links below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Useful links | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northumberland County Council - cycling page Tynebikes - lots of info and loads of links Tourism visitnorthumbria.com lindisfarne.org.uk seahouses.org beadnellvillage.co.uk Dunstanburgh Castle - National Trust Lindisfarne Castle - also National Trust Travel: UK National Rail Enquiries UK railway network maps GNER - Great North Eastern Railways How is my train running Cycles on trains Virgin Trains Municipalities Northumberland County Council Northumberland National Park - not on route Alnwick District Council Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council Blyth Valley District Council Castle Morpeth Borough Council Tynedale District Council - not on route, but worth a visit for ... Hadrians Wall Country Wansbeck District Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
