Coast to Coast 31 August - 1 September 2008

Pre Race

The Coast to Coast started with a slightly delayed drive up the M6, I normally struggle with pre race organising and, with only a week back from Canada, everything was a mess.  Jeremy (support driver for the weekend) and I picked up Joe at Rheged and headed to St Bee's for the start.  We found the golf course on our third attempt (did I ever say don't trust my nav?) and after saying hello to everyone, and picking Shrek as our mascot for the weekend, headed to the pub for a quick pint.   Once back it was clear there would nothing to glean from James about the format of the weekend until the morning, so we went to bed.

Day One

We started on St Bee's beach 9am with a Shrek photoshoot to get our hand in.  It was an unusually calm start to the day, with no boxes to faff with or kit checks.  James distributed the maps and dispelled the first assumption that the paddle would be on Ennerdale (with the small field it was possible to use Wast Water), so a cycle avoiding A and B roads upto Nether Wasdale needed to be planned.  Immediately there were a few route choices and with a half remembered good quality coastal path I recommended that way.  We decided to stay on road for the start and set off into St Bee's, soon to be overtaken by a tandem careering up the hill with Tim and Jenny Higginbottom at the wheel and Mark following close behind.  The plan looked good initially as we dropped onto a track running along the beach from Braystones to Sellafield.  At Sellafield we cut under the railway and came to a fenced off track, so we carried on up the hill to the apparent footpath - this was hike a bike for 1km before becoming impassable, we then hit the high security fencing round the plant and had to drop down onto the railway side. If we'd followed the fenced off track it would have run parallel to the lines from the previous bridge, but this didn't likely to be a right of way.  Once under the high security bridge we were onto the Sellafield train platform and out onto a cycleway to Seascale. We had to avoid doing more than 1km on B roads, so we cut into a housing estate and I proceeded to demonstrate my quality navigational skills by taking us out into the fields one junction too early, the track started good and then deteriorated into overgrown hell and finally swamp.  After much head scratching we realised the error and escaped back onto the bridleway, which was a good quality surface.  We decided to cut round on bridleways, avoiding the climb out of Gosforth, which worked well and was a grassy bridleway.

We met Jeremy in Nether Wasdale and he followed us out to the YHA at the end of Wast Water, unfortunately the drivers behind him were getting irate so he overtook us just before we reached the turn and had to do a little detour, before being able to turn round and get back.  The paddle was great with different views up the Wasdale Valley and of Great End.  The water was inky black and felt quite slow, but we were soon wading up the river before loading the boat on the car and setting off for the trek across the central fells.  We climbing efficiently to Styhead Tarn and then ran gently back down to Seathwaite.  I was getting a bit dehydrated but we pushed on along the Allerdale Ramble at a run/ jog then hit the climb up to Watendlath Tarn.  I filled up with water at the bottom and pushed up the steep gravel path to the Tarn I love this quiet corner of the Lakes the Tarn always looks so tranquil when you reach it.  The trek across High Tove was a bit damp underfoot but not as bad as I expected.  I wasn't happy on the steep descent to Thirlmere though as I was in an old pair of fell shoes (I'd only bought shoe from my newer pair!).  We arrived on the shore just as a team was setting out, so rather than get cold waiting for a support boat we jumped straight in and swam across sharing their support.  Joe started to get a bit cold about two thirds of the way across and I started cramping a bit but we made it to the beach and got some food in before heading up Helvellyn.  Joe was a bit spaced on the climb though it didn't slow him down and on the descent my lack of trust in my shoes made it hard for me to keep up.  The long run down to Patterdale started to batter my legs and toes and I was ready to get out of my shoes and grab a pint and some food in the pub when we finished.

Day 2

We started early with a paddle up Ullswater, well about 15 mins after the official start time, but no one was worried as it wasn't a race!  The Necky handled the shallows with no problem and the mist lifted as we paddled up the lake.  It was so calm we could see the bubbles from Cath & John, and Ant & Helen's boats, even though they were long gone and almost out of sight.  The wind picked up slightly as we reached Pooley Bridge, but the sun was out and we resisted the temptations of breakfast at Joe's house and set off up Askham Fell.  The Fell is steep gravel then rolling grass, but not technical and unlikely to get impassable.  We got to Bampton and headed to Shap planning to stop at the CoOp for some food, of course starting early on a Sunday meant we were there before it opened.   We took the direct route to Soulby which was very slow with constant gates and grass tracks.  The Equestrian Endurance riders came past us in their droves with 'mornings' being shouted all around. Soon we were in Kirby Stephen and picked up Jeremy before slogging up to Hartley.  The sun was still out as we started trekking out onto Hartley Fell, but the rain clouds were forming and soon we were in drizzle.  From Nine Standards we followed the Coast to Coast in a curve round to the South which was probably drier and slightly less boggy than the top, but still boggy and slow.  Ravenseat to Keld was wet and a bit slow, Tom and  Houli disappeared in to the distance after starting a hour or so later and coming the direct route.  We saw them again coming into transition after missing the part of the briefing that said the transition was in Keld and we were looking for it on the road above when Jenny cycled past and pointed us in the right direction.  The track across the river was treacherous in the wet and I just survived it, unfortunately Joe slid into the gate post hitting his knee.  The old railway was great although the middle section not shown on the map was knee deep gloop which was hard going.  The climb out of Grinton was brutal but then we were soon onto Marske and the short foot section to the finish.  This was entertaining with various cows and bulls on the path to keep us awake, getting to the farm proved a bit of challenge as there was no obvious path, but we were soon in and enjoying the hospitality of the farm (the warm shower was much appreciated!)  We drove into Richmond for food and the rain finally eased as we got back to briefly studied the maps for the next day before going to bed.  

Day 3

Although it was going to be a long day we decided to start at 6am rather than 5am so at least it was light.  A short jog to the River Swale brought us to the first challenge, launching into a fast flowing rocky river.  We survived the first few rock fields and settled into the paddle.  This soon proved interesting, every few hundred metres the river went over rock band and the boat had to be shoved or manhandled over the obstacles.  Even two inches more water would probably have been sufficient to make it passable, although much more I think would have required a helmet.  Soon I'd lost count of the number of groundings as we fought our way down river.  Some stretches were very tranquil and after the A1 it was more navigable and shoots could be run without getting out of the boat.  This eventually led us to our demise as I went for one run too many and got trapped under a tree.  After getting out of the boat and shoving Joe under the tree I got back in but my cockpit swamped and we sank leading to a couple of frantic minutes rescuing paddles, kit and most importantly Shrek!  We finished without further event and met the slightly relieved support crews at Great Langton Bridge.  The Open C2 came in shortly after having suffered the same fate as us in the strainer and Steve also knew exactly what we were talking about.  This was probably the highlight of the trip for me as it required some ingenuity and on the fly route assessment to get down safely.  The next bike was a long trek across the Vale of York which passed without incident and keeping road sections to less than 6km wasn't too difficult.

The sun was out as we reached Heathwaite and started trekking along the Cleveland Way it was a long pull to the top but great views across towards Middlesborough.  We jogged along the top and dropped down again before climbing and dropping and climbing and..., probably one time more than we wanted, as the slabbed path became quite monotous and hard under foot, by Clay Bank we were glad to pick up the bikes, if only to hike a bike back up the otherside onto Urra Moor.  From here it was swooping riding over Farndale Moor and onto Danby High Moor, we stayed on the old railway track and could really tank along.  From Danby High Moor we took the southern bridleway onto Glaisdale Moor, which was definitely not optimal.  It was an overgrown single line of uneven slabs across bog, great fun trying to ride on a 5" full suspension bike though  :-) From there it was a fast descent to Glaisdale and a slog up Limber Hill on the otherside, a brief attempt at towing failed as the hill was too steep and we were then off along the roads to Ruswarp with a slight detour to ensure we went off tarmac at least every 6km.  From there it was a along the disused railway to Robin Hood's Bay and the finish.  The tide was in so it was easy to dip our tires and toes before finding the nearest chippy to indulge in a large cod and chips.  

Vague splits

Stage 1 30km 2:19 bike

Stage 2 4.87km 0:37 kayak

Stage 3 20 km 3:34 trek

Stage 4 800m 0:30 swim

Stage 5 11 km 2.16 trek

Stage 6 13.49 km 1:40 kayak

Stage 7 45km 3:15 bike

Stage 8 15.5km 2:34 trek

Stage 9 27.3km 2:01 bike

Stage 10 2.5km 23:23 trek

Stage 11 5km 0:42 run

Stage 12 18.4 2:32 kayak

Stage 13 30km 1:37 bike

Stage 14 10.5km 2:07 trek

Stage 15 56.5 3:21 bike

Day 1 9:25 66.5km

Day 2 9.54 104km

Day 3 10:20 113.5