Hadrian's Cycleway (Route 72): Ravenglass - Workington (1/5)

Hadrian's Cycleway (Route 72) is a long distance route across the north of England from coast to coast through the Tyne Gap, north of the Pennines, loosely following Hadrian's Wall.

Despite its name, the route only runs alongside the wall a few times, but there are plenty of chances to explore the Roman heritage of the region with the numerous ruins of forts and settlements along the way.

For more info about this route, visit this webpage.

I cycled this route across 5 days during June with relatively good weather and temperatures, camping every night. A lot of guides suggest doing it from east to west, as it was the direction the wall was originally built, but I would recommend doing it from west to east instead, since the wind predominantly blows from the west and it will be more pleasant; check the weather forecast and decide by yourself.

The route regularly passes by towns and villages, making unnecessary to pack a lot of stuff with you. Although there're plenty of B&B's along the way, these tend to be booked well in advance during the summer months given the popularity of the route, so camping is your safest bet if, like myself, you plan it last minute.

When it comes to difficulty, the route is technically very easy, running mostly on quiet asphalt roads, and fairly flat, except for the middle part. There aren't any high climbs but it can be a bit of a rollercoaster.

Unless you live nearby, most of the first and the last day will be spent travelling to the initial and final locations, which can conveniently be done by train.

The route is relatively well signaled, yet I would advice using a GPS or, at the very least, a map, since not all turns are signalled or are easily visible.

Day 1: Ravenglass to Workington

The route starts at the ruins of the Ravenglass Roman Baths. If you do like me and get to Ravenglass by train, it's only a few minutes away and sets the theme.
From there, the route alternates bits alongside the coast with others a bit more inland, all fairly flat.
When I did it, the section between Seascale and Sellafield was suspended and had to improvise my way passing next to the golf club and the nuclear site. It's definitely more dull than the original route but it seems there are issues with erosion in that part and alternative paths are being evaluated.
After that, the route pasess through Whitehaven and arrives at Workington.

Check out the other legs of this trip:

• Day 2: Workington - Boustead Hill


• Day 3: Boustead Hill - Haltwhistle


• Day 4: Haltwhistle - Ovingham


• Day 5: Ovingham - South Shields