Whether you are coming via Edmunbyers Common or Stanhope, you will shortly be passing the 100 mile point stamping station at the Bike Stop at the start of the Waskerley Way. You can get spares and repairs here, or tea and cake. And it's all down hill from here.

This is a pleasant and easy section of the route, past Muggleswick Common, Waskerley and Smiddy Shaw reservoirs, followed by a quick canter into Park Head Plantation near Bee Cottage, and down to the A68. Beyond here is the magnificent Hownsgill Viaduct which carried the Stanhope and Tyne Railway Line, Britain's first commercial railway route. There are great views from here across sweeping tracts of deciduous forest and undulating landscape, on the edge of an areathat was once the embodiment of heavy British industry.

The pathway is dotted with imaginative Sustrans signage andsculptures cast from industrial relics. Just before Consett are the Terris Novalis sculptures, which overlook the 700 acre site of what was once the mighty Consett Steelworks. The Turner prize winning works - a stainless steel theodolite and an engineer's level by Tony Cragg - arenearly 7m tall, are 20 times life size, and symbolise regeneration in anarea convulsed by the death of heavy industry towards the end of thelast century. The art works were commissioned by Sustrans and willstand as a monument to this admirable body long atter the combustionengine has had its day.

"The work sited at Consett marks the watershed between theupland/moorland landscape and the extremes of the Industrial Age,"says the Sustrans website. "Local people see this landmark as amonument to the scale of local industry and its demise - the tragedythat has followed."

PLACES OF INTEREST

Phileas Fogg - alias Derwent Valley Foods Factory. You will smell it before you see it.Shotley Bridge - an old spa town, well-known for German sword-makers in the 17th century.

EATING OUT

Grey Horse, real ales brewed on the premises. Light lunches and right on C2C route.

Jolly Drovers Pub Leadgate 01207 503 994

C2C Features: dotted along the line are story-boards set on vertical sleepers which interpret the history of the railway. These are chapters taken from a novel, The Celestial Railroad, by John Downie. It is available from Sustrans North Eastern Office at Stanley, 01207 281 259.

CYCLE SHOPS

Consett Cycle Co, 62 Medomsley Rd 01207 581205

At Consett the routes part company for the final time; one goes to Sunderland and the other to Newcastle. The split in the route comes just after the Hownsgill Viaduct. On the other side of the lane the route either goes straight on through the centre of Consett to Sunderland. Or you can turn left for Newcastle and Tynemouth. If you go left you will pass the outskirts of Shotley Bridge, whose centre is surprisingly pretty, and then on along the Derwent Walk to Rowlands Gill. I will deal with that later, but for the moment will describe the original route as it progresses gently and scenically into Sunderland. From Consett you head for Stanley, but first you have to get out of Consett so pay heed to the signs.

Go round the A692 roundabout , briefly up the lett side of Front St before going lett between Edith Street and Albert Rd. Cross the latter half way up and go right into Park Rd, cross Front St before heading lett and across the B6308, then the path takes you thourgh Leadgate and past the Annfield Plain. Look out for the Kyo Undercurrents sculpture - a series of earth and stone ramps.

21. Consett		Back to
John & Stepehn Shaw		Hownsgill Bunkhouse, Hownsgill Farm, Consett, Co Durham DH8 9AA
Tel		01207 503597 or 07946 797278
Web		www.c2cstopoff.co.uk
Email		hownsgill_bunkhouse@hotmail.co.uk
B&B		from £16 (discounts for u-18s)
Rooms		2 four bed bunks; 1 two bed bunk room; 1D.
Drying area		Wet room
Patio/barbecue area		Car parking
Kitchen diner seats up to 12		Washing machine/tumble dryer etc

On the Lydgetts Junction, between the wonderful Hownsgill Viaduct and the Consett section of the Stanhope to Tyne former rail track and Sculpture Trail.

Catherine O'Keefe		Deneview, 15 Front Street, Castleside, Consett, Co. Durham, DH8 9AR
Tel		01207 502925
Web		www.deneview.co.uk
Email		catherine@deneview.co.uk
Rooms		1D, 1T, 2S (all en-suite)
B&B		£25 - £30
Open all year		Secure storage
Packed lunch: yes		Evening meal: local pub
Distance from route: 0.5 miles		Pub: 25m

Superior B & B accommodation in Castleside village. Colour digital TV. Radio and Tea/Coffee making facilities. Only 25 yards from an excellent pub serving meals each day. 4 Diamond Award.

Sheila and Victoria Suddick, with Maureen Cottrell at the pumps		Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel, Front Street, Shotley Bridge, Consett, Co. Durham, DH8 0HU
Tel		01207 502006
Fax		01207 583111
Rooms		1S, 2D, 4T, 2F (4 en-suite)
B&B		from £25
Evening meal		Yes
Packed lunch		Yes (please order in advance)
Secure cycle storage		Distance from route: 500m

Vibrant pub/hotel in the heart of the scenic village of Shotley Bridge, a short hop from the Consett to Rowlands Gill route and close to the Derwent Valley Rail path. Public Bar, Lounge Bar, Restaurant and ten letting bedrooms. Private car park. Old fashioned and lovely - time has stood still here.

Terry Page		Consett YMCA, Pariament St, Co. Durham, DH8 5DH
Tel		01207 502680
Web		www.consettymca.org
Email		ymca@derwentside.org.uk
Rooms		10F
B&B		£15 (or £10 without breakfast)
Evening Meal		£5
Packed Lunch		£3

There is a drying room, workshop for repairs, colour TV, bar and lounge, pool table, and even a gym if you have the energy left! Ideal for large groups, accommodating up to 45 people. Consett YMCA also organises lots of outdoor activities. Adventure Activities Programmes and holidays a speciality.

The Bike Bus		The Bus Station, Stanley, Co Durham DH9 0TD
Tel		01207 237424
Web		www.stanleytaxis.co.uk
Email		bike.bus@btconnect.com

Cyclist and bike transport specialists. Transported throughout the UK and size of group no object. Very competitive rates. For more details, see ad on inside back cover.