2011 Event

The 2011 Fred Whitton Challenge will be held on Sunday 8th May. Entry will not open until January. Full details of entry will be on this website in December.


Accommodation

If you are looking for accommodation for the Fred Whitton Challenge, then the obvious place to start is Coniston itself, where the start and finish are. The Coniston Tourist Information website has an accommodation page, and they offer a booking service. If you are into camping or caravanning then Coniston Hall camp site and Park Coppice caravan site are both within a couple of miles of the start/finish, and you can find information on these by searching the web for those names. There are two youth hostels in Coniston, one in the town called Holly How and a simpler one a mile or so up the road/track towards Coniston Old Man, called Coniston Coppermines. And Harry's offers accommodation to groups in Coniston.

The next nearest places are Hawkshead, Elterwater and Ambleside. And obviously if you search the web for accommodation in those places then you'll find quite a few. Of course they are in the centre of the Lake District tourist area, so they tend to be a bit more expensive. All three have their own youth hostels. And in Ambleside you'll find the Biketreks bike shop.

Slightly further away, but still an easy drive to Coniston, are Broughton (about 10 miles) and Ulverston (about 15 miles). And because they are away from the main tourist area then the accommodation might be less expensive. Broughton has a good tourist information website - see their "Food & Accommodation" page. Ulverston is larger and an attractive market town; for information see the "Where to Stay" page on the Ulverston.net website.


Local cycling clubs

Lakes Road Club

Border City Wheelers

Honister 92

Velo Club Cumbria

Derwent Valley CC

Whitehaven Cycle Fundraisers

Kent Valley RC

Barrow Central Wheelers

Lune RCC


Other Challenge & Sportive Rides

UK Cyclosport Website

The Three Counties Challenge

The Cumberland Challenge

Cycle Cairngorms Sportive

Dutch website giving links to sportive rides in Europe and elsewhere