National cycle route 1 Whitby to Scotland tips please!

[elioelio]

Hi there,
I'm currently cycling from Norwich up the National cycle route 1. This was a very last minute trip so I have not researched or organised anything! So, I figured it was easiest to just follow route 1 up as far as I get until money runs out. Currently i'm in Beverley but have got my route up until Whitby sorted.

I realise this could be easy(ish) to research, but being on the road with just an iphone and intermittent wifi makes it difficult, hope you understand!

Anyway, I wondered if there were any tips from people who have cycled this route?

I really like nice scenery, quiet roads, pretty villages and towns, and love history - castles, ruins, quirky museums. I don't particularly like hills, but if the scenery's worth it then fine. I'm camping/warmshowers, or at least the cheapest accommodation.

Any recommended campsites? Villages? Towns? Historical places? Museums?

Does route 1 simply take you via the quietest roads, or also the most scenic?

Is the part around Middlesborough and Sunderland, Newcastle etc nice? I thought maybe it would be boring/busy and maybe to cheat and get a train to Hartlepool?

Towards Edinburgh, I could follow route 1 around via Selkirk and Innerleithen, or is the cycle route 76 along the coast more scenic?

If you have any tips at all let me know, thanks!

[geocycle]

Newcastle to Edinburgh route 1 is called coasts and castles see thread viewtopic.php?f=16&t=95878. This is some of the best cycling in the country if you like quiet routes and want to visit places. Both the coastal and inland routes from Berwick to Edinburgh are very scenic. I don't know much about Whitby to Newcastle but I think I would head west inland toward Stockton. If you want to cut some of the journey you could continue to Darlington and train to Newcastle? Whitby to Newcastle via stockton is 81 miles.

[Ben@Forest]

Though there are some quite nice bits directly north of Whitby (and still in the North York Moors National Park) you have then got to face crossing the Tees, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Sunderland etc if you stay on the coast. I would agree that cutting inland is easier. If you do go though Middlesbrough use the famous Transporter Bridge - costs 60p to go across. You could then stop for a tea or meal at RSPB Saltholme - which I think is amazing because of its proximity to chemical plants/industrial land etc. Not the prettiest area in the country but interesting because of that!

[elioelio]

Hi thanks for your replies. I'll look into getting a train past Newcastle. Ta