Honister Pass and Whinlatter Pass – A Second Day Watching the Tour of Britain

18 September 2018 Andy

For our second day in the Lake District watching the Tour of Britain, Andy had planned a route giving us a bit of a cycle ride before and after the event finishing at the top of Whinlatter Pass. However, he suggested an alternative to his original route, a shortcut taking in the Honister Pass. I took the bait.

So, after breakfast at Borrowdale YHA, we set off towards the Honister Pass.

The direction we were taking was supposedly the easy direction, but this still included a couple of sections that were over 20% inclines and one at 25%.

The final section was 20%.

Having cycled over the top, and looking back, you can see that the ‘tougher’ approach was indeed a monster!

The views down the Pass were breathtaking …

After leaving the pass we headed for Buttermere.

We cycled along the lake of the same name.

At Buttermere. we took a break and enjoyed a morning cup of tea at Croft House Farm Cafe.

After the rest, we continued by cycling along Crummock Water.

At Hopebeck we turned off and headed up Swinside.

Then finally we dropped on to the Whinlatter Pass, the easier side. We found a decent spot along the Pass to watch the riders as they came up the sharper side.

Of course, you wait for ages and they whizz past in moments. Thankfully, they were quite strung out so we got a longer ‘whizz’.

Even better, they were taking this climb twice. So while the riders set off for Cockermouth before returning, Andy and I headed up to the Whinlatter Forest Visitor Centre and Cafe to find something to eat.

Then we found a spot near to the finish and waited for the riders to arrive. Eventually, there was the sprint to the finish and the stage was won by Wout Poels of Team Sky. Julian Alaphilippe of Quick-Step Floors would win theTour of Britain overall.