Haltwhistle and Hartside

This is a big ride with lots of challenging hills. Hartside is the biggest, summiting at 1903 feet, but the undulations of the South Tyne valley and the minor roads between Haltwhistle and A689 offer some steep gradients and plunging descents to fill your lungs and test your grip on the brake levers. I started at Castle Carrock (Tottergill Farm) but Haltwhistle has a convenient railway station. YHA Alston is very good. So, Alston is England's highest town, Haltwhistle is historic and between the two the South Tyne river is beautiful. The A689 is not a busy road, though it is popular with motorcyclists on summer weekends. NCR68 is pretty good, but be prepared for short sections of poor surface after wet weather. A tough route, but magnificent scenery.