Old Durham Cycle Sport Club Route - 1/2 over the top.

 

I was looking through some old routes the other night on my Garmin Connect and though it had been  very long time since I did an old route that we used to do many years ago with Durham Cycle Sport club. The last time I did it some of the sections had changed as they had cut the plantation down and the section through the farm was rough going to say the least. 

The forecast was looking dry, windy and warm so set away from Broompark along the old railway line to Waterhouses. Then there is a back way over to Tow Law. I got a little lost in the woods and the original track has now gone I think. I will have to do some more exploring over that way to try and pick it up coming from the opposite direction as I had to walk a far old way through some very overgrown singletrack. The farm section is really over grown and the farmer must not take his tractors along the track no more. It was steady away until I picked up the gravel track and up and out at Durham Hens, Tow Law. From there it is a quick blast along the A68 to turn off left at the house that has being built for the last forty odd years. The next track is just a sheep track running parallel to the wall, through the gate at the end then down a section between two walls which is also overgrown and can be knee deep with mud in the winter. I only had to get off and walk about three times today. From the top junction it is a quite country lane to the next off road section which is very rutted with 4x4's and the puddle of doom as we used to call it is still there. This takes you out at the crossing on the top of the first hump on the C2C. By now it had clouded over and temperature had dropped to 14 degrees with 20+mph wind. I did not hang around too long as I was starting to get cold so I turned right and straight back to Consett then right and back to Broompark in the sunshine with a huge tailwind!  

All in just under 32 miles, ave 11.5mph, 2hrs 45mins with 1500ft of climbing, some photos of the ride below inc a short video clip at the bottom. Enjoy and hopefully more soon-