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Roman Holiday Anyone?
Hadrian’s Cycleway & Coast 2 Coast (C2C)
Roman Holiday
‘Ah! Gentle, fleeting, wav’ring sprite,
Friend and associate of this clay!’
– Hadrian
Trust me to want to cycle backwards. Especially as on my last two ‘big’ trips I’d managed to go with the wind. And of course if you read any UK cycling guidebooks or websites they will all tell you to go west to east or south to north. If you’re looking at Land’s End to John o’ Groats (LEJOG) cycle uphill (north) and if you’re going to do the Coast to Coast / Sea to Sea (C2C) route across northern England then go east young man! The hill gradients are easier and the prevailing winds ease your passage. Bugger.
It was my own fault of course. After the success of setting up the ‘Wales Trails’ route, where I’d designed the snazzy website – www.wales-trails.co.uk, enjoyed the very modest but pleasing book sales, raised over £500 for Prostate Cancer Wales and hopefully put the land of my father on the world cycling map I had the bug again. The cycling bug I mean, not my old friend double pneumonia, which was never far away either.
I’d always wanted to ride across the north of England, especially the scenic Lake District, Celtic Cumbria and perhaps do the famous C2C route. It was, after all, the most popular long-ish distance, cycle ride in the UK. Not as famous as LEJOG but it was up there. The problem was, whilst looking at the map, I’d also discovered the Hadrian’s Cycleway. This is a route that roughly follows the old Roman wall built by Emperor Hadrian. Well, when I say ‘built by’ I doubt whether the old guy actually laid any of the bricks himself and he died before it was completed anyway. In fact three legions of infantrymen took around six years to complete the construction. Each legion was around 5,000 men strong and extra manpower was provided by conquered tribes. I think we call them slaves nowadays.
Anyway, now I wanted to do two rides. The C2C and the Hadrian’s Cycleway. OK, first problem. Both routes should really be cycled west to east for the reasons given earlier but I wasn’t sure I’d have the time to do two separate rides that were so far from my home town in Pontypridd, south Wales.
Right, easy solution, I’ll combine them and do both. And so yet another silly plan was born. I’d make it a loop and embrace the Buddhist doctrine of doing stuff in a clockwise direction...
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