Map (zoom in for more detail)
Directions & GPX etc
Route directions PDF (right click to download)
GPX file (right click to download)
TCX file (right click to download)
FIT file (right click to download)
Glorious Bike Rides
Glorious Bike Rides
Route directions PDF (right click to download)
GPX file (right click to download)
TCX file (right click to download)
FIT file (right click to download)
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What a super route! Some truly lost lanes of the ‘grass-in-the-middle’ type and even the ‘am-I-really-meant-to-turn-down-there?’ type. So quiet even on a Saturday in July. And the Northumbrian skies are truly big. The apple pie with custard from the Impromptu tea room saw me through the ride (and beyond). The strongish Westerly wind was no problem as the main directions of the route are North and South. Some rough tarmac made me think again that I should go from 28mm to 32mm tyres one day…
If you arrive by car, parking at the leisure centre / Waitrose is plenty and free; you can showere at the leisure centre for a donation, unfortunately I was too slow and they had closed by the time I arrived.
Thanks for doing the book, great information, superbly written and the 5 rides we have done so far were all excellent. Going for a Brief Encounter (Nr30) with my wife tomorrow.
Consistently impressed by the LL routes. Went on a cycling holiday to Northumberland after doing a couple more local to me.
This route is another cracker, thou can only vouch for the northern half as we decided not to do the full 100k+.
Our shorter route (~75k) followed the full version between Birtley round to Wallington then headed west on B6342 until could pick up Rievers (NCN10).
Impromptu tea rooms & Wallington Hall café both good refuel stops.
Wallington Hall def worth a stop (if you’ve not got the foot down), especially the walled garden. spent a good hour or so wandering round.
An excellent route, thanks Jack! I did this whilst on holiday, staying in Longframlington. I started in Elsdon (at the north of the route) as that was closer to where I was staying (although I wimped out and drove by car to the start…). Great cafe stops at Corbridge (Grants Bakery, excellent bacon roll, they also do lots of excellent looking cakes etc) and at the Fountain Cottage Cafe in Bellingham – very nice sandwich, they also do ice creams and various cakes (and a discount for cyclists!).
The route is quite an interesting mix including some real backroads and quite a few gates to open and close which give an excuse to stop 🙂
A great route and really useful to have the GPX download so it is not necessary to check the map at every junction.
This is a great ride! I did it all in one go in July 2025, stopping for a sandwich in Corbridge. Lovely mix of straight drovers roads along which you can really bomb along, plus some twisty back lanes, a lovely section of tow path (surfaced) where you are sandwiched between the river and the railway…some gorgeous views and an absolute cracker.