My brother spent three years in Durham and while I can't hope to know the roads around it as well as him and his biking mates, I have been shown some cracking back roads in the area.

​

When the sun shines on the moors, there's no finer place to be on a bike – apart, perhaps from the seaside. And this route packs that in too.

​

This is a fairly laid-back afternoon ride heading from the heart of Durham out to Hartlepool and on to the lovely seaside town of Seaton Carew – the beach will be lovely in the sunshine.

​

Then it loops inland, more or less avoiding the bigger towns of Teeside, heading for the Pennines and a flurry of fantastic B-roads – plus a couple of lovely shortcuts shown to me by my friend Michael.
 

All in all, it's a cracking weekend rideout.