The River Caldew near Caldewbeck The River Caldew near Caldewbeck. Photo: Adrian Taylor / Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Open the interactive map → Map of NCN 10 - Reivers Route

Official route · Sustrans

NCN 10 - Reivers Route

260.3 km 2536 m climbing About 3 days 24% off road Road cycling Lake District & Cumbria

The route runs east from the Cumbrian coast at Workington, cuts inland through Cockermouth and across open ground to Carlisle, then turns southeast through the Border uplands before dropping into Northumberland and the long haul to the Tyne. Around a quarter of the distance is off road. The middle section, from roughly Bewcastle to Falstone, crosses a stretch with no settlements for nearly fifty kilometres.

The figures

Distance260.3 km
Climbing2536 m
Off road62 km, about 24% of the route
Riding timeabout 17 hours, roughly 3 days at a moderate pace
RegionLake District & Cumbria
Route fromSustrans

Worth knowing before you go

Resupply is straightforward between Workington and Carlisle, with Dalston and the Carlisle suburbs close together on that leg, but the gap between Bewcastle and Falstone is long enough to carry food and water for a full day. Ponteland is the last reasonable stop before the route threads through the Tyneside settlements into Tynemouth. Navigation needs attention on the off-road sections; the on-road portions follow a well-signed national cycle network corridor.

Put your own dates on this and TourTrax splits it into days at your pace, finds somewhere to sleep at the end of each one, estimates what it will cost and gets you to the start without flying.

Plan this route → Download the GPX

Other route guides

NCN 10 - Reivers Route is an official route from Sustrans (their website).