Editing Sea to Sea Cycle Route (section)

== Route ==
The route has two alternative start points in [[West Cumbria]] at Whitehaven and at Workington, before travelling through the stunning scenery of the western and northern [[Lake District]]. The Workington route runs via [[Cockermouth]] to Keswick, while the Whitehaven route runs via Loweswater to [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]] before passing through [[Penrith, England|Penrith]] and the [[Eden, Cumbria|Eden Valley]] with its lush valleys and [[sandstone]] villages. It then starts the climb up to [[Hartside Pass]] and onto the [[Northern Pennines]]&mdash;the "roof of England". There then follows an undulating ride as the C2C meanders through old [[lead mining|lead-mining]] villages, such as [[Garrigill]], [[Nenthead]] and [[Rookhope]], and down into the [[Durham Dales]] before crossing [[Waskerley|Waskerley Moor]] and entering the old steel town of [[Consett]] via the [[Hownes Gill Viaduct]].

From Consett it's an easy ride via [[Leadgate, Cumbria|Leadgate]], [[Annfield Plain]], [[Stanley, County Durham|Stanley]], [[Beamish, County Durham|Beamish]] and through one of Britain's old industrial heartlands to the [[North Sea]] and [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]]. There is also the option of starting at [[Workington]] and/or finishing at [[Tynemouth]] and also a link route at Penrith to join up with the [[Glasgow]] to [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]] section of the [[National Cycle Route]]. The route is made up of approximately:

*'''main roads'''&mdash;mainly short sections through urban areas&mdash;4%
*'''minor roads'''&mdash;quiet, country roads&mdash;50%
*'''cyclepaths/off-road'''&mdash;disused railway lines, etc.&mdash;46%

The C2C is best ridden from west to east to take advantage of the [[prevailing winds]] from the west and the more favourable gradients.  Tradition dictates that you start the ride by dipping your back wheel in the [[Irish Sea]] and only ends when your front wheel gets a dip in the [[North Sea]] at the finish.

The floods of December 2015 destroyed or damaged some bridges on the C2C route through Cumbria, and there is quite often forestry work which closes some off-road sections, but alternative routes are signposted and are generally shown on the C2C-cycle website.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://c2c-cycle.com/c2c-news/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307214941/http://c2c-cycle.com/c2c-news/|url-status = dead|archive-date = 7 March 2016|title = The Ultimate C2C Guide|website = The Ultimate C2C Guide|language = en-US|access-date = 2016-03-02}}</ref>

It is typically completed in 3–5 days, though it has been completed in a single day (the record is currently held by Joel Toombs and Matt Shorrock at 7 hours 53 minutes and 03 seconds west to east on 28 September 2012). The youngest person to complete the C2C in one day is Christian Webster-Reed, aged 15, who completed the C2C in a moving time of 8:56:04 and an overall time of 13:56:24 on 25 August 2013.

The youngest person to complete the C2C2C in one day, from Tynemouth to [[Silloth]] and then back to Tynemouth again, is Hal Kennedy aged 17; completing the route in a moving time of 11:27:15 and an overall time of 14:28:02 on 8 May 2022.

In September 2021, Johan Lempen and Harvey Logan became the first people to complete the route on children's scooters.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.instagram.com/scooterc2c/|title = Scooter C2C|website = Instagram|language = en-US|access-date =April 24, 2022}}</ref>

The route links to other parts of the NCN so can be used as part of a longer [[Bicycle touring|cycle tour]].

Route maps for the C2C and detailed route guides from other publishers are available from Sustrans.