C2C Day 1. Our trip didn’t get the best of starts! The night before we had an Indian takeaway,  which tasted great but obviously contained something that my body didn’t like.  I went to bed very bloated and didn’t sleep too well. Unfortunately I was still struggling the next morning. On top of that it was raining (not too hard) when we left!

We got the train from Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly,  then another train up to Carlisle.  From there we had to get another train to Whitehaven but unfortunately there were too many people with bikes trying to get on the same train and we were not able to get on.

It did mean we had time for a coffee (and Andy got cake). It also meant that by the time we reached Whitehaven,  the sun had come out, hurray!
From the station we made our way to the official starting point and performed the necessary tyre dipping ceremony.

The route out of Whitehaven followed an old railway line which climbed gently for some miles. There were some interesting seats and sculptures along the track.

We stopped to eat our lunch along the way and the views were amazing.

From there we headed through Loweswater then up the Whinlatter Pass and on to Braithwaite.

From there we cycled in to Keswick,  stopping off at Booths Supermarket before making our way to the Youth Hostel.

After tea we went off for a walk down to the lake, which is always a special place to visit.

Once it had gone dark we headed back into Keswick and had a drink at the Skiddaw Hotel. We sat in the conservatory and listened to the live singer before heading back to the Youth Hostel.

All in all it had been a great day. We cycled about 31 miles with about 2600 feet of climbing.

You can view our C2C Day 1 route below:

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