Tag Archives: bicycle

Leg 13 – to Tentsmuir Forest via St. Andrews

13 May 2013

I awoke to a cold and windy morning post a good night’s sleep. It wasn’t raining although precipitation was forecast for later on, whether that be rain, hail or sleet remained to be seen. Breakfasted on oatcakes and cheese, berocca substitute and fruit, and felt set for the day. Oatcakes are a good find as they fit in my panniers easily in their individual packets, and contain plenty of the right sort of carbs, and cheese is always a win.

With the weather looking like it was going to do much the same as yesterday I packed up my thankfully dry tent, stuffed kit in my panniers, and was on the road by 10am. I’m definitely getting into a routine on this, and getting more efficient at what goes where and keeping things organised. It’s really annoying if you can’t remember which pannier you’ve put something in when you need it in a hurry, and you end up going through them all until you find what you want.

Ready to go, bit windy though

Taking advantage of a tailwind I made good progress along the coast, through Elie, St. Monans, and on to Anstruther where it started raining, just a shower and already had my waterproof on.

St Monans or Elie 1

St. Monans I think

The showers were to continue on throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, and the temperature really drops when they pass through so had to pedal vigorously! A lot of the coastal towns and villages I pedalled through reminded me of those down in Cornwall where we used to go on hols when I was a child. They’re stuck on to the coastline, with neat little harbours for fishing boats, a church, cottages and of course at least one pub. I guess the towns around here sprung up on similar sorts of enterprises to those in the south west; fishing, farming or mining.

I pedalled on to Crail where I took a diversion out to the point – Fife Ness, where there’s yet another golf club. I wanted to see the point but regretted it slightly when I had to ride back to the route into a fierce headwind.

Fife Ness – another golf course

Feeling peckish I got back on to the A917 and continued around to St. Andrews, into a partial headwind and at times driving rain that came lashing down with a vengeance. Could have sworn there was a bit of hail mixed with it too as it left my face stinging. I arrived in St. Andrews as the sun came out, and had a quick scout around, immediately liking the town. Nipped into Boots and bought some vaseline, with Aloe Vera (well posh), for my lips and nose which were suffering slightly from the adverse weather. Also bought a few provisions from Sainsburys, using a £2 brand match voucher that was about to go out of date. For those organised people this won’t sound like much of an achievement, however remembering to use supermarket vouchers is a big thing for me, so was quite chuffed with my savings!

Lots of students and tourists in St. Andrews giving it a good atmosphere. One busker playing an accordion, very well, no goblin tendencies as far as I could tell.

I found a lovely cafe for lunch and proceeded to spend the next couple of hours there. Jannettas is a great little establishment, serving reasonably priced and wholesome food.

Jannettas – a welcome break. Bean soup, coronation chicken baguette, hot chocolate and peppermint tea, all for about £14.

As they had wifi I also caught up on my blog, but had to finally drag myself away to get to my campsite in reasonable time.

I noticed St. Andrews has a Gold Gilt award. I’d been seeing these awards as I made my way around the coast in various towns and villages, but only seen bronze and silver to date. I assume they’re to do with general attractiveness of the town, tourist appeal, tidiness etc. Gold definitely deserved for St. Andrews, even if it’s just because of the lack of goblins or trolls.

On my way out I cycled past the cathedral, destroyed in the reformation, and the castle, destroyed in the independence wars and apparently the site of various burnings at the stake and murders. A prominent Protestant was killed there, then his mates all got together and killed the catholic Cardinal (Beaton, who had a mistress, is that catholic?), and set up their own Protestant parish. There were various sieges and French assaults as well, all very dramatic and I imagine you can get a far better account on Wikipedia. Few pictures below.

St. Andrews Cathedral 1

St. Andrews Cathedral 2

St. Andrews Castle

St. Andrews Castle plus Lobster

St. Andrews Castle 2

Cycled around a bit more of St. Andrews, including the golf course seeing as it’s a famous one – road all the way down to the estuary and view point, seeing a few jets take off from RAF Leuchars, and back again enjoying the sunshine. Then watched a few people teeing off from the prodigious clubhouse which has words such as ‘ancient’ in its title, must be posh. Wasn’t so impressed when a bloke in his Chelsea tractor nearly flattened when he turned out of their car park whilst on his mobile phone though.

St. Andrews golf course

Note sunshine out, a rarity.

Scenic St. Andrews view from viewpoint

Leaving St. Andrews via a nice cycle path running alongside the A91, I cycled on to Guardbridge and over the River Eden, watching more Euro Fighters play cat and mouse in the sky overhead. Rode past the RAF base where my Dad was once stationed (a few years ago now ;)) and on to Tentsmuir Forest where I wanted to spend the night wild camping. It was a really nice ride through the forest and down to the beach where the sun was still shining, clouds and rain over St. Andrews now but it was going out to sea so I was saved another soaking. Apparently Dad used to get chucked into the sea off the coast here, for Air Sea Rescue drills, looked abut chilly for that sort of activity to me.

Tentsmuir Forest beach, looking back to St. Andrews

Making my way through the forest I collected some birch bark for at experiment later (doesn’t harm the tree). Nice ride down good trails, smoother than some of the roads I’d been on! I stopped just past Tentsmuir Point at a landmark called the Ice House, which is a perfect place to camp. Didn’t see another soul for the rest of the evening.

Bike in Tentsmuir

Tentsmuir wild camp – watch out for midges, ice house in background

The Ice House was built in 1858, or thereabouts, and was used to store salmon caught in the area, using ice saved from winter. It’s derelict now but home to a colony of Natterer Bats I hoped to see later. Was slightly concerned it might also be home to trolls, and whilst I’ve watched troll hunter I’d forgotten my UV light kit.

Tentsmuir Forest has been home to people for thousands of years, from the Mesolithic period through to the Picts, Romans, Vikings and beyond. A group of sailors, Dutch I think, got shipwrecked of the coast here and set up home, initially in tents, which is where it’s current name came from (Tents Moor). Poles were stationed here in the second world war and built tank traps and bunkers. Then the forestry commission bought it and planted pines. Interesting nature reserve along the dunes with cool species of plants and animals, where you can learn about succession if you’re that way inclined, took me back to biology field trips.

I had a cold supper eating provisions bought from St. Andrews, accompanied by a hot cup of peppermint tea. It stays light a lot longer up here, compared with Norfolk anyway, so although chilly enjoyed a nice peaceful evening in the forest, about 200 yards from the dunes and sea.

I wanted to experiment with trying to light a fire using only flint and steel, which is why I collected the Birch bark earlier. Found and sandy hole and after a few minutes had success. Silver Birch bark makes the best tinder, at least in the UK.

Man made fire!

The forestry commission don’t like fires in or near their woods so I quickly put it out, and made sure it was out. Shame as it was a chilly evening, and could have been handy if anyway unwelcome guests of a trollish nature turned up.

Had an early ish night after waiting up to see the bats, they didn’t appear, making me wonder if there were indeed trolls in the ice house.

Only did about 47 miles today, but nice to have a slower day and have a couple of big legs coming up.

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Leg 12 – to Lundin Links via Dunfermline

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12 May 2013

Officially today was meant to be a recovery day, and with the weather looking pretty bad I was half tempted just to stay in my tent; it was pretty cosy and I didn’t wake up properly until 8 o-clock, a record seeing as it starts getting light so early. Eventually I got up and grabbed a hot shower and breakfast, and checked in with reception for a weather forecast. Apparently today was going to be showery, but tomorrow could be worse. News from home also suggested I might encounter some sleet or even snow, as well as strong winds, oh the joy of Scottish weather.

This left be in somewhat of a quandary, however I decided it would be prudent to get at least some miles done today, back up the Firth of Forth but on the opposite side from previous days, and perhaps today I’d have a tailwind! I spent the rest of the morning relaxing, face-timing my brother, sister-in-law and nephew Seb, and updating my blog from inside of my tent, listening to the rain patter down. It always sounds worse from inside a tent than it actually is, most of the time anyway.

Packing in the rain

During a respite from the rain, I quickly packed up and got on the road for about 13.00, pedalling from Blairlogie down to Tullibody, then along to Alloa which sounds a bit Hawaiian but really isn’t. I found a great cycle path that went in the right direction so followed that, route 764, which goes all the way to Dunfermline. It’s Tarmac and with a tailwind I made excellent progress, which was a handy considering it was mostly raining, that quite light rain that drenches you slowly.

Bad weather in Blairlogie

Curious lambs, pass me the mint sauce

Interesting artwork

Bluebells are out

Unfortunately I got a bit trapped on route 764, which whilst follows the Firth of Forth as intended, doesn’t hug the coast and hence I missed out a few of the villages I wanted to visit, such as Culross, and the Kinkadine Bridge. Route 76 does hug the coast, but I missed this somehow, and it might not have been such a smooth ride anyway. Given the weather I wasn’t overly bothered and pedalled on to Dunfermline enjoying the quiet cycle path and lovely countryside, despite the rain.

Rainy route 764

Firth of Forth

Forth Bridge in distance

Clackmannanshire

With water starting to drip down inside my waterproof I left route 764 and entered the black hole of Dunfermline. At least my feet were still dry and toasty in my Shimano shoes, and I was very glad I’d spent the money on Ortlieb panniers which keep my kit completely dry. Dunfermline proved to be a bit of a trial, especially in the rain. I kept trying to escape but got drawn back in. After a while, and feeling a little dispirited, I stopped at a Subway and consumed a foot long chicken tikka sub with vigour. It disappeared pretty quickly and I could have probably eaten a couple more. After wringing out my cycling gloves and emptying a pocket on my waterproofs of rain – I’d accidentally left it open, I felt a lot better, and the rain even looked like it was stopping for a bit.

I’d originally planned to take it easy and stop in Dunfermline for the night, but decided to carry on as couldn’t find the campsite I’d originally set my sights on. I picked up the coast road again, the A921 I think, and passed through Dalgety Bay, Aberdour, and on to Kirkcaldy where the sun started threatening to come out. I pedalled on through Buckhaven, Methil and Leven, past more golf courses of which Scotland has many, and found a campsite in Lundin Links, the Woodland Gardens, run my Jan and Craig Young. It’s up a bit of a hill but was well worth it for the hot shower and peaceful campsite, with a recreation room I could chill out in, where I could also recharge my phone and iPad. At £16 it was a little pricey but figured it was a prudent idea considering the weather, and I really wanted a shower.

Threatening weather

The site has separate enclosures for tents, affording some privacy, and wifi. Was nice to have a chat with the owners and a few others staying at the site, and I called a couple of friends to catch up.

I cooked up a large bowl of pasta (250g) with tomato sauce, cheese and Tabasco, whilst updating my journal, something I do every night as preparation for my blog, and to record things afresh in case I don’t have a decent Internet connection. Also had some fruit, ginger biscuits, more cheese, and some peppermint tea, mange tout. The weather was definitely brewing up something so I retreated to the recreation room to do some planning, before retiring at a sensible time. Went to sleep to the sound of rainfall and wind gusting, I was very cosy in my sleeping bag.

Scotland so far is great, but most definitely wet, and of course in places infested by goblins. I’m looking forward to seeing more of it and getting to less populated areas. Will need to pick up some more fuel for my Whisperlite as think some wild camping is on the cards, campsites are getting a little sparse in places.

Off to St. Andrews tomorrow, and then up to the Firth of Tay, probably stopping in the Tentsmuir Forest after a shorter ride. Did 56 miles today on what was supposed to be a rest day so I’m ahead of schedule. In fact I’ve totalled up 810 miles so far, an average of 68 miles a day, including rest days, so pleased with progress.

On the Garmin front I’ve emailed them concerning the Nemesis device and it’s failings, waiting to hear back. At the moment I can’t recommend them, but maybe they’ll sort a replacement.

Might be a couple of days until the next update, depending on where I end up, power and signal etc. At least I’m out of Goblin country now, touch wood, so just the trolls to worry about now, but I watched troll hunter so should be fine!

Troll country ahead

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Leg 11 – to Stirling via the Union Canal

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11 May 2013

With Noah off to little ninjas club with Meredith, Hugh cooked up a fine cyclists breakfast of sausages, beans and fried potatoes, most excellent fare for a day on the road. I needed to get a few things done to the bike before leaving Edinburgh, and after a few false starts we found a bike shop that stocked what I needed. Hugh printed off a more detailed map with directions to the bike shop, and then on to the Union Canal which I intended to follow to Falkirk.

Bidding goodbye to my excellent hosts, with a snack pack, clean laundry and boosted Star Wars knowledge aded to my inventory, I set off cycling down Princes Street again, seeing the castle, and managed not to get lost or waylaid by Edinburgh drivers or buses, on my way to the shop. Bit of an overcast and dreary day, but no rain as yet.

Edinburgh Castle 1

Edinburgh Castle 2

I found Blackhall Cycles owned and run my Derek Laing, who turned out to be a real whizz on the bike front, as well as being very friendly and helpful. My brake blocks needing replacing before tackling the rest of Scotland, and my tyres had seen better days, so I got them all replaced – got some funky Aztec brake pads, and Schwalbe tyres which are much tougher so should cope with the sometimes rough cycle tracks better. Derek also straightened my wheels which had gone a little out of shape, and tweaked, cleaned and lubed various things, quite an education in bike maintenance. Glad to report everything is running a lot more smoothly again now, with far more responsive brakes which I think I’ll need. Hopefully won’t need to change anything else significant for the rest of the tour, touch wood. Would strongly recommend any tourers passing through Edinburgh stopping in at Blackhall Cycles (15 Marischal Place, Blackhall, Edinburgh)for a bike health check and chat, thanks Derek (and for the donation).

Post Blackhall Cycles, and again following Hugh’s map, I made my way through the city to the start of the Union Canal, stopping for a pizza lunch break on the way. The Union Canal runs all the way to the Falkirk Wheel, something I wanted to see, a distance of about 34 miles. I spent quite a few hours chugging along by the canal, passing various towns and villages, including Linlithgow and it’s palace. I passed over several aqueducts, and through some lovely countryside once out of Edinburgh. Unfortunately I still had the headwind from yesterday to contend with, and the track was pretty bumpy and muddy in places so was glad of he new tyres. At least it was flat being a canal track.

Union Canal 1

Union Canal 2

Union Canal 3

Avon Aqueduct

Also passed through a couple of old and mysterious tunnels, at least one of which was Goblin infested, but made it through unscathed.

Goblin tunnel 1

Goblin tunnel 2

Goblin tunnel 3 – leaking!

There were a lot of other cyclists going the other way, on a charity ride from Glasgow for Guide Dogs for the blind. I stopped and chatted to a few of them who were comprehensively mud splattered, apparently there was a bad stretch near Glasgow but I wasn’t going that far. I helped one mend a puncture as his pump was broken, my good deed for the day, couldn’t help another with a broken pedal though, hope he made it okay.

Nesting swam

I made it to the Falkirk Wheel about 5ish, and stopped for a look. It’s an amazing piece of engineering, which transports boats from the canal on high down to the next section of the route below, via a huge rotating device. Apparently it’s the only one like it in the world.

Falkirk Wheel 1

Falkirk Wheel 2

Falkirk Wheel 3

Falkirk Wheel 4

Falkirk Wheel 5

From Falkirk I rode north up the A9 to Stirling, passing Bannockburn but not stopping as it was getting late and would be closed. I stopped in Stirling for a bite to eat before heading off to find a place to camp. I’d been roughly tracking the Firth of the Forth all day, so was good to cross the River Forth.

River Forth

I rode up past the William Wallace monument, an impressive structure that looks great up on the hilltop, and can be seen for miles, dominating the landscape, I’m sure Mel Gibson William Wallace would approve.

Wallace Monument 1

Wallace Monument 2

Rather than wild camp I opted to stay at the Witches Craig campsite. A lovely site although the midges had started to appear so I quickly applied Avon Lady skin so soft which worked a treat, and probably helped my wind chapped face too! A group of fellow campers had just finished their BBQ and had leftovers which they kindly offered me, plus a glass of wine, very kind of them and was great to have a chat. Never going to turn down more food on this tour! They live on the coast so might meet up with them again at some point.

Got to bed late due to starting late, but a great day. As I was settling down, in sight of the Wallace Monument, there were some very loud bangs in the distance. No idea what caused them, a quarry maybe, but seems weird late at night. Suspect more goblin activity!

Going to be a cold night as clear sky, hopefully better weather tomorrow.

Witches Craig

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Leg 10 – into Scotland and on to Edinburgh

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10 May 2013

Warning, this post might go a little odd, it was a long day and hard ride. 71 miles, across some serious hills to begin with, and into a nasty headwind all the way.

I awoke to a grey day but at least the rain had stopped, and I’d had a cosy night’s sleep under the Monkey Puzzle tree post lots of food the evening before. Packing up a wet tent is never good, but is something I’ll have to get used to I expect, gave it a good shake but impossible to get it dry without some sunshine.

I breakfasted and set off before 9am, wanting to make good time up into Scotland and to Edinburgh. Little didn’t know at this point what the day had in store for me. I cycled down into Berwick-upon-Tweed, and across the bridge into the town proper, before finding a McDonald’s on the outskirts for a quick second breakfast and to upload a couple of blog posts via their wifi.

Berwick-upon-Tweed

To get into Scotland I had to hit the A1, crossing the border after a few miles, with hills getting hillier, and a headwind building from the East. Sunnier though.

Across the border into bonny Scotland

I finally turned off the A1 at Burnmouth, which was somewhat of a relief given the traffic, and headed down to Eyemouth along the A1107, following route 76. The headwind was getting stronger making hill ascents trickier, but the countryside was lovely and the sun was out, so all good. I had a break in Coldingham post a long climb – quick rest and a banana from my fruit basket, on the St. Abbs road in a nice warm sheltered spot. I didn’t go all the way to St. Abbs as would have involved long hill back up into Coldingham, and I was already feeling a bit tired.

I followed the coast road back towards the A1, past a wind farm having a particularly productive day. Some pretty long hills up, followed by some lovely long descents despite the wind which meant I had to keep pedalling to prevent stopping, even downhill.

Yet more wind farms

Scottish Borders countryside

I had to cycle down the A1 again for a bit, whereupon I passed a sign which as well as advertising various tourist attractions, mentioned Goblins abounded in East Lothian, but that you might not see one; I’d had a feeling I was being watched for some time.

Goblins

I turned off the A1 to Dunbar where I lunch from a local bakery – nice chicken tikka masala slice and cake. Met up with a large group of cyclists on their way to Newcastle from Edinburgh, they were enjoying a nice tailwind, I had the opposite to contend with. They were riding for a children’s charity and taking three days, looked fun but think I prefer cycling on my own or in a smaller group.

In Dunbar I also passed a Peruvian busker, sending familiar notes drifting through the town from his pipes. I’m sure I’d seen him in Norwich at some point. Quite strange to hear in Scotland where I was more expecting bagpipes. He had a funny hat on, maybe he was a goblin.

From Dunbar I headed off once more into the fierce headwind, which was proving very draining. I had to turn off route 76 to keep following the coast, and headed up to North Berwick past Tyninghame and Whitekirk. I passed Tantallon Castle and the impressive Bass Rock island.

Tantallon Castle and Bass Rock Island

I turned into North Berwick where I had a break. I’d had a tiring day so far with my bike feeling heavy. I had suspicions someone or something had slipped stones into my panniers but couldn’t find any. North Berwick is a lovely spot and would be worth a return visit.

North Berwick 1

North Berwick 2

Possible Goblin Mound or Citadel

On the subject of the large hill/mound to the north of the town, it was a little bizarre coming out of nowhere, and very imposing. Don’t know if it was man made, I suspect not, probably volcanic origins, or more likely Goblin in nature.

The clouds started to draw in now and it was getting colder, so I tried to pick up the pace, heading down the coast through Dirleton which had an impressive castle, then past Aberlady Bay. As well as getting colder my lower back started to ache on the right hand side which I tried to ignore; suspect poison darts from the Goblins who’d realised I’d rumbled them.

I rode past Gosford Bay where there were several goblins kite-surfers out taking advantage of the wind that had been plaguing me. They were going really well but hard to capture in a photo.

Kite Surfer

I think I was starting to hallucinate at this point so I ate some sweets to try and get some energy and sanity back, before continuing along the coast past Cockenzie and Port Seton, then on to Musselburgh where the charity ride from earlier had started. It started raining at this point but I didn’t bother with a waterproof, it would have been too much effort to get out.

Rode on determinedly towards Edinburgh city centre, hoping to make last orders at the Virgin Money lounge above which our Edinburgh office is based. I road around quite a lot of Edinburgh looking for the office, due to going wrong then getting trapped by roadworks. Everything is a lot more difficult when you’re tired. Finally found St Andrews Square, which should have been easier seeing as I passed really close to it about 30 minutes previously, however unfortunately it was well after 17.30 by that point. Thanks for the donations though Edinburgh colleagues!

Worth mentioning that Edinburgh drivers are a little mad, and quite aggressive, plus there are lots of buses to contend with. I think Princes Street had the highest density of buses I’ve ever seen in one place, even more than London or Marseille, and they’re all driven by goblins as far as I can tell. You also have to watch out for the tram lines they’re installing at the moment, no trams until next year however the lines are easy to get your wheel stuck in; several cyclists have apparently fallen afoul!

Negotiating more of Edinburgh I made my way to Hugh and Meredith’s flat, friends who I’d been threatening to visit for years but never quite made it. Arrived in time for dinner, a very welcome Mexican cooked up by Meredith, followed by strawberry tart and ice-cream. Great to catch up and also learnt lots about Lego Star Wars from their son Noah. He could seriously go on Mastermind with specialist subject Star Wars, not sure 6 year old general knowledge would quite work out though I’m sure he’d give them a run for their money. Also got some laundry done so good for at least another couple of weeks now 😉

Full of food, and with thoughts of goblins receding I retreated to a comfy bed, although thinking about it Hugh does have a Goblin tendencies, especially when he gets his bottle of Everclear out – if you’re ever offered this drink run away!

Tough day, hardest yet with wind and hills, but good to end up with friends. Tomorrow equals finding a bike shop to get new brake blocks, tyres, and a once over (for the bike not me, although I could probably do with it), then going down the Union Canal to Falkirk, and on to Stirling. I might also try and find a chemist for sore nose remedy, and anti goblin hallucination drugs!

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Leg 9 – to Berwick-upon-Tweed via Northumbria

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09 May 2013

After a sound night’s sleep courtesy of Lynne and John, woke up feeling a little dehydrated. Think I need to make sure I drink enough even when it’s cold and I’m not sweating much. It was a beautiful morning with bright sunshine and only the odd fluffy white cloud, however the forecast was for rain later. It often seems to do this in Northumbria, starts off lovely then deteriorates as the day goes on. I made sure I had my waterproof handy after jinxing the weather by applying sun cream.

After a superb and hearty breakfast (full English) I bid goodbye to John, Lynne having left for the office early, thanks again for putting me up guys, recommend no.28 for all touring cyclists! First I cycled back up the hill for a quick look at Warkworth Castle, the first of many I was to see today.

Warkworth Castle 1

Warkworth Castle 2

Warkworth Village

Warkworth Village 2

I then headed back through Warkworth and over the bridge, turning right on to route 1, intending to follow it for a bit before turning inland to visit Alnwick, a short detour down memory lane and to restock with supplies. Reached it in good time after a couple of invigorating hill climbs, and stopped in at Barter Books, the UK’s biggest second hand bookshop and well worth a nosy around. Unfortunately I had no spare room in my panniers, could have spent hours there looking over the dusty shelves of venerable tomes and interesting books of all genres. Feel certain there must be a few magic grimoires hidden amongst the collection, some scenes from the Harry Potter films having been filmed in Alnwick.

Barter Books, Alnwick, well worth a nosy

I meandered around the town some more and past the castle, but didn’t enter – too expensive at £14 to justify a flying visit and I’d been there before. The castle was used for some of the Hogwarts scenes. After restocking with supplies (pasta, sauces, fruit, chocolate and lunch), but forgetting breakfast ingredients, d’oh, I left Alnwick and made my way back to the coast, down to Howick, along to Craster (wondered if there was a Keep there aka Game of Thrones), and on to Embleton.

Bike with banana attachment

Alnwick Castle 1

Alnwick Castle 2

Passed a lot of sheep and lambs lying about in the sunshine. Do sheep lying down mean the same thing as cows lying down, that it’s going to rain? My Gran always said that about cows apparently. It did start to rain about an hour later so reckon so.

Northumbria is littered with castles, a testament to it being on the border with Scotland and more warlike days. I passed several more including Dunstanburgh, right on the coast. The below is the view from route 1 which passes right by it.

Dunstanburgh Castle

I did divert from route 1 briefly as it seemed to leave the coastline and I want to stick to it for the most part, but rejoined it at Seahouses, where you can get a boat a out out to the Farne Islands to visit the seals, colonies of sea birds, and St Cuthbert’s pad; he spent his later life there as a hermit. He was also prior of Lindisfarne (Holy Island) which was somewhere I wanted to visit later, but the tides were wrong to get across the causeway, would have to wait for another visit.

Seahouses 1

Farne Islands in the distance

I didn’t have time for a trip out to the Farne Islands today, and besides I’d been there before, plus it was getting pretty wet and cold. After having lunch (again) I chatted to a fellow Ridgeback Panorama tourer for a bit, always nice, before moving on up the coast past Bamburgh Castle which is very impressive, standing tall and imposing.

Bamburgh Castle

Think Bernard Cornnwall used this location as inspiration for Bebbanburgh, in his Uhtred books which are a great read, set in the period of Alfred the Great with battling Saxons, Normans, Christians and Pagans. If memory serves it was restored by the same person who built Cragside, Lord Armstrong, a great industrialist and inventor. Both places well worth a visit – Cragside especially but was somewhat off route.

I had to leave the coast post Budle Bay to avoid the A1, so moved inland on route 1, and up and down a few more hills. Met a couple from over the pond on heavily laden tourers on their way from Glasgow to Amsterdam, on their first visit to the UK. Nice to chat for a bit and they said how friendly and helpful they had found everyone so far, very encouraging. They started on the 01 May too, and were cycling into the headwind today which I didn’t envy them. Recommended a trip to Norwich on their way down to Harwich to get the boat. They were somewhat surprised I was in in shorts – said I was acclimatising for Scotland!

Continued on to Beal in the drizzle, and stopped at the Beal Barn Cafe for a hot chocolate, followed by a beer as it was still raining – got to keep hydrated after all. Beal is at the head of the causeway to Holy Island, but as mentioned the tide was in so it would have to wait for another visit. This is the second time this has happened to me, poor planning, maybe third time lucky. The Cafe has free wifi and was nice and warm so spent a good hour there sheltering from the rain, and downloaded a new WordPress app for my iPad, hence the photos now. Friendly staff too who gave me marshmallows for my hot chocolate, must have taken pity on my somewhat bedraggled state.

Holy Island in the drizzle

Beal Barn Cafe – rehydrating

From Beal I headed towards Berwick-upon-Tweed. Had to travel on the A1 for a bit to make up some time, and I wanted to get to the campsite to get out of the wind and rain. The A1 was surprisingly okay, despite the big trucks – probably hit it at a quiet point. After an 8 mile stretch I turned off into Scremerston and headed into Berwick looking for the Pot-a-Doodle campsite – they have wigwams which I thought sounded cool. I doubled back through Wittal in a big circle, on a very bumpy route 1 along the cliffs which I was glad it’d avoided earlier. Eventually found the campsite back in Scremerston, but it was closed.

Rode back to Berwick and found a different campsite – East Ord House Park, which accepts tents and had a cosy spot for me next to a monkey puzzle tree. Quickly set up the tent and got a very welcome hot shower, before retreating to the on site bar for a huge plate of liver and bacon, side salad and onion rings. Really nice and very much needed. This was to be my last night in England for a while being only a stones throw from the border, so I had a couple of pints from the Belhaven Brewery, as recommended by the friendly clientele, to mark the occasion, whilst writing up my blog from the comfort of the bar.

All in all a great day at around 70 miles, and trip down memory lane, if a little tough at a couple of points; I did resort to playing some Pantera and Disturbed off my phone at a couple of points to get me up a few hills! Then Coldplay came on which slowed me down somewhat – this was on speaker by the way as don’t agree with cycling in earphones, but there was no one else to annoy apart from the odd bemused looking cow.

Off into Scotland tomorrow, and round to Edinburgh which I hope to reach in time to visit the office in St Andrew’s Square, should be doable depending on the weather. Looking forward to seeing Hugh and Meredith who have offered to put me up for the night.

Bike and body still doing well, although one unpredicted side effect of lots of cycling is a very dry nose, and think I might have burst a few capillaries therein. Will visit a chemist in Edinburgh but probably just needs to acclimatise to lots of outdoor activity!

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Leg 8 – to Newcastle & Warkworth

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08 May 2013

After a good night’s sleep I awoke to a duller day requiring more layers due to an overcast sky and colder wind. Eating nearly the last of my porridge I realised I’d definitely need to buy supplies soon, luckily I had a B&B stop at a colleague’s house planned for that evening.

After a quick check of the route on my maps, due to my Garmin still being disabled (must email them!), I hit the road in good time and pedalled back to Seaham, before turning North up the coast towards Sunderland. The clouds were building up and looking more and more threatening at this point however I hoped to avoid the worst of any rain which was moving up from the South. I stopped in Sunderland for a second breakfast at a McDonald’s, the first of the trip, because they have free wifi and I needed to do a blog update. Breakfast wasn’t to bad either as it happens.

Post hobbit breakfast I crossed the river, negotiating some serious traffic and exchanging a few pleasantries in the process. I actually enjoy the challenge of cycling in cities and it makes a nice contrast to sleepy country lanes. It doesn’t intimidate me, you just have to keep your wits about you and respect the rules of the road. Don’t jump traffic lights, it really annoys drivers! Mutual respect is the way forward.

Continued on to Whitburn Bay where there were a few kite surfers out braving the cold North Sea, then on to South Shields, a pretty dull and dirty ride so far.

Whitburn Bay and kite surfing

I turned inland following the banks of the Tyne and the Keelman’s Way cycle path, to get to Newcastle. After quite a few ups and downs, a few wrong turnings and random horses wandering about, I reached the cycle/pedestrian bridge in Newcastle and crossed over the Tyne.

Newcastle cycle bridge and Opera House

Up into Newcastle I rode a bit of a circuitous route to get to Gosforth, where work have our main office. I wanted to avoid the duel carriageways but succeeded in getting slightly lost due to the warren like nature of Newcastle and it’s suburbs, and the fact my map wasn’t fit for purpose at this point! It also started raining, typical.

Finally reached the office and had lunch with some colleagues. Great to meet up after a week on the road and take advantage of the canteen – got a free lunch too courtesy of the boss who should also be joining me for a leg at some point – no pressure Dave! Another colleague was a little late turning up due to his motorbike breaking down on the way up from Norwich, wheel bearings disintegrated which could have been a lot nastier than it was.

Back on the road, post a morale boost and with jelly babies in hand, I headed back to the Tyne and followed the North bank out to the coast, passing through Byker Village, which I’m assuming gave rise to the tv series Byker Grove with Ant and Dec, and then Wallsend. Wallsend was a bit unimpressive, I’d heard it wasn’t much but I expected a bit more for the end of Hadrian’s Wall.

Wallsend

I reached Tynemouth Village after cycling along Hadrian’s Wall cycle path, past various dockyards and ships, and found an impressive castle on the bluff.

Tynemouth Castle 1

Tynemouth Castle 2

After the morning’s ride the coastline was much more impressive, and nice to spend the majority of the ride on cycle paths or the promenade.

Tynemouth Village

Tynemouth Castle 3

Into the mists

Continued on through Whitley Bay, where I didn’t stop, making really good progress despite the nasty weather. The sun would come out occasionally and make everything steam. Things looked quite eerie in the mists, especially the slowly turning now familiar wind farms. Sound also goes a bit different in the mist or fog so was a bit spooky, and I thought I might be cycling into Ravenloft (obscure reference there). I was also getting quite tired so started singing to keep rhythm up – probably sounded quite bad but belted out a few Queen numbers anyway.

Had a long yet invigorating stretch up to Blythe, where it started raining again so I put my waterproof back on. I decided not to bring waterproof trousers and just get wet legs. Lycra and thin shorts dry quickly so not regretting it yet. Crossed a couple of bridges and continued north to Newbiggin, which has a plinth in the harbour with two people standing on it. I assume these were statues rather than real people but it was still quite misty so who knows!

Newbiggin – people on plinth

Continued on through Lynmouth and Ellington, where I passed a bit of a brawl between a group of girls, steered clear of that one, they fight dirty, not a great place. Back on route 1 I passed through Cresswell and then along a coastal track beside Druridge Bay. Really nice ride as the sun started to come out, and the route goes through a bird reserve. There were quite a lot of twitchers out, and a few other cyclists to say hello to. It was getting late at that point and in wanted to make Lynne and John’s in good time so pushed on harder, but had to stop a few times to admire the views.

Highland cattle

At one random point I suddenly remembered where I put my passport and driving license, which had been worrying me for a while. They were cm’s from me in my handlebar bag underneath the money pouch. A safe place! Phew. Had some liquorice from Whitby to celebrate. Also noticed the Ridgeback was starting to make grinding noises, probably due to the rain and sand, so made a note to give it a wash down and lube the following day.

Finished with a ride through Amble, then on to Warkworth with the sun silhouetting the castle – got the picture somewhere but don’t think it’s uploaded to the cloud yet for some reason. A great days ride, bit longer than expected at 81 miles (plotted it on Garmin connect later that evening), but very satisfying to get through the adverse weather and see some friends.

Stayed at a colleagues B&B, No. 28, in Warkworth, Lynne and John Ross, thanks for putting me up guys! John had cooked a fine chilli which really hit the spot, and there was plenty of it to satiate my cycling carb requirements. Also had a couple of pints in their local and tried a different beer, Wymer I think, was very nice. Good to have a natter and swap stories of various adventures. Lynne’s sister is currently sailing from New Zealand to Tahiti, sounds amazing yet slightly terrifying. Good luck to her and her husband! I heartily recommend their B&B for cyclists, bikes can be locked away and they’re great hosts.

Found a note a work colleague had slipped into my panniers when I wasn’t looking wishing me good luck from everyone, thanks Jayne!

It was weird to go to sleep in a real bed again, but I was very quickly snoozing and looking forward to seeing more of Northumbria the next day, and places Lu and I visited a few years ago.

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Leg 7 – to Houghton le Spring via Middlesborough

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07 May 2013

After a slightly slower start to the day I was on the road by about 10 o’clock, post a breakfast of porridge etc. I’m going to have to get something different for breakfast, perhaps even cereal which I usually abhor but now is seeming a more attractive proposition, probably as my body is craving more carbs. Can you still get sugar puffs? Used to like them, or shreddies, not sure about some of these new fangled cereals, and coco pops are right out I’m afraid.

Back to non-cereal based conversation anyway. The nemesis device still wasn’t working so was reliant on my road atlas map; I’d removed all the relevant pages from my 2010 road atlas before leaving so I could just have the relevant ones to hand, and had a handy map case to put them in, over my bar bag. The Garmin was relegated to a paperweight to tuck my map case under for the time being.

Map case

Things didn’t start excellently on the map reading front as I went in a big circle of a few miles, nearly ending up back at the campsite, but I was soon into the swing of things an on my way to Sandsend. The beach and village at Sandsend looked great in the sunshine so I stopped for a hot chocolate at a beach cafe, before venturing into the Yorkshire national park.

Hot chocolate in Sandsend

I could have quite happily sat here for a few hoursmbut needed to get on my way, as had a long leg ahead of me – hill wise if not mile wise.

The first hill of the day was out of Sandsend, and a bit of a leg killer. Glad of the hot chocolate I huffed and puffed my way up to the top without having to stop, using the lowest gear out of the 27 I have available. The hill was one of those that doesn’t seem to stop. Every time you expect it to be over you go around a corner and there’s another stretch! It was about this time I started to crave cheese.

With slightly jelly like legs I continued on through Lythe and Runswick, and several other picturesque moors villages, farmsteads, and hamlets, trying to stick as close to the coast as possible whilst not off-roading. Just before the next really big ascent I passed Boulby Underground Dark Matter Research Lab, which sounds intriguing. Haven’t had a chance to look it up yet, however they are no doubt unravelling the mysteries of the universe. I wondered briefly if they could help with aching legs and heavy panniers, maybe some kind of dark matter fuelled anti grav system. Doubt it, but didn’t have Prof Brian Cox to hand to confirm; he seems to be the latest in-vogue scientist that knows everything. I preferred Jonny Ball.

I had to stop halfway up Boulby hill, it had annihilated my legs by that point and I was in danger of going backwards it was so steep. The photo doesn’t really do it justice, but shows off the lovely countryside.

Boulby hill

I pushed the rest of the way up the hill, then pedalled on through Brotton and Saltburn, where I stopped at a spar for a bacon roll refuel, and to pick up a few supplies. Next was a descent out of the National Park, which I was sorry to leave behind as the industrial North appeared on the horizon, with chimneys aplenty spouting various vapours lending a slightly noxious quality to the air.

Still craving cheese I ate some baby bells.

At least it was flatter, and undeterred I pedalled on to Redcar where there were several rigs visible out at sea, as well as wind farms. I’ve passed lots of wind farms and they don’t bother me. Got to be a good thing producing clean energy, as long as any adverse impacts are understood. You can’t put them up where there are lots of bats as they can make them explode – the bats explode not the wind farms, due to changing pressure around them. The other way around would be cool but worrying and somewhat hazardous. I wonder if we know the impacts of wind farms out at sea? Do they send whales astray or slice up sea birds? Still on balance a good thing I think.

Wind farm

On to Middlesborough via route 1, which turned a little hazardous as I passed through some less well kept areas, with burnt rubbish and glass blocking the way a few times. I cycled quite quickly through these bits. I passed Middlesborough football club and spotted the transporter bridge over the river Tees, which I elected to take. At only 60p it was a bargain as I hadn’t been on such a contraption before. It’s a platform suspended about 3m above the water from a huge gantry, which moves the platform over the river, carrying cars, trucks, pedestrians and cyclists a few at a time.

Tees Transporter Bridge

Off the bridge I continued up the coast again through more industrial areas mingled with RSPB nature reserves. Reaching Hartelpool I decided to head out to the historical headland where there’s a gun battery and lighthouse. It’s quite a famous point, where the first shell from the lead German battleship landed in the First World War. There’s been a look out point there for 100’s of years, probably longer, including a beacon point during the Spanish Armada years to alert the local militia; don’t think we had a standing army then.

Hartlepool Headland 1

Hartlepool Headland 2

Leaving Hartelpool behind I cycled North along the coast past a choppy sea, with a strong tailwind which helped tired legs even if it was a little cold. Going rather slowly by this point I passed through Easington and Seaham, before turning inland to find my campsite at Houghton le Spring, where Lu’s parents lived ages ago. I was so tired by this point I cycled straight past it and had to circle through the town, and then back up a big hill. Thankfully the Copt Hill pub was present on aforesaid hill so I stopped for a point and to check directions. Helpful locals duly set me right and refreshed I set off back up the road to the campsite.

The long cycle was well worth it, a great campsite (The Croft), with very welcoming owners who waived the fee when they heard what I was doing – will add to charity donations. They had a barn I could put my bike in overnight, nice hot showers, and a good spot for my tent close to the kitchen where I could recharge my mobile and iPad. They want to welcome more cyclists, and it’s a well placed spot being the only decent campsite in the area close to route 1. You’ll need to be a Camping and Caravan member though, which is worthwhile for any extended touring.

Finished the day on a dinner of sausage casserole cooked on my stove, plus quite a bit of cheese! I needed the carbs after today’s 70 hilly miles. Weather due to change tomorrow so expecting rain and waterproofs for the first time.

The Croft, Houghton le Spring

Edited with BlogPad Pro

09 May photos

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Got a new app for iPad, so here’s a few photos from today to try it out.

Good ride so far, if a little wet.

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Leg 6 – To Whitby – rest day ahoy!

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Still a couple of blog posts behind but getting there on the catching up front. Photos will have to wait until I get to a computer, or I might put up a complete gallery individually if get to a good place with wifi for my phone to connect into. Trouble is the wordpress app on the phone isn’t that great, several usability issues that could be fixed relatively easily and improving it lots.

06 May 2013
Seeing it was a rest day had a later start to the day, not setting off until 10am. My legs were aching slightly from yesterday’s exertions so definitely good timing on the break front. Packed up in the sunshine, with little in the way of wind, just enough for the kids camping nearby to get their kites up in the air. One of them proceeded to nearly dive bomb me several times accidentally – was slightly worried any sudden gust might take them over the edge of the hill and down a steep drop, that would have been character building at the very least!

Had a wander around the campsite and was bemused to see several caravans with satellite dishes or tv aerials, not sure why people would want to watch tv in such a beautiful spot but guess they like their home comforts, and don’t want to miss their favourite soap.

Bay Ness farm also hosts an off roading centre which I thought was a little dangerous, perched as it is at the top of a very steep and long hill, but probably adds to the adrenalin rush. A group of men were standing around a rugged looking jeep being loaded on to the back of a pick-up, all peering at the underside and admiring the damage done the day before; bent axle, bits sticking out that shouldn’t be, I’m sure my friend Neal would have been able to identify the bits far better than I, into off roading as he is. The owner of the jeep was promising to put photos up on his website of the post mortem, all very exciting if you’re into cars judging by the convivial atmosphere and general mirth and grunting. I prefer bikes, easier to mend and generally less expensive, most of the time.

Anyway I mounted my trusty steed for day 06, seems like longer than that since I left Norwich, and made my way back down the hill that nearly broke me the day before. Think I’m going to have to get some new brake pads in Edinburgh! After a couple of false starts I found the Cinder Trail, helped by some locals who called out that I was going the wrong way, must happen a lot. Headed North towards Whitby with the black dust coating everything again, making me think I should have taken the road, however the trail goes through some great countryside and wasn’t too bumpy today. I wouldn’t like to do it in the wet but fine in the sunshine, and I was having day 6 of sunshine so all good.

Quite a few other cyclists and walkers out for a bank holiday morning outing, general greetings exchanged in passing. I try to vary my greetings now otherwise gets boring, so occasionally I throw in some French, or Italian, the latter being trickier as I know very little Italian. Even broke into a tuneful ‘good morning, good morrrning’ at one point due to some downhill exuberance, which seemed to confuse the elderly couple I passed, they smiled though. I was passed by one other tourer, the first serious one I’ve met so far, on more of a mountain bike than my Ridgeback so he was coping better with the terrain. We had a brief conversation on the merits of different tyres for this sort of track; I was worried mine might get shredded at some point. I think I’ll either have to change to fatter tyres or stay on them roads more, although saying that haven’t had another puncture, touch wood, since day 2.

I made it to Whitby in good time and checked out the Abbey, which looked suitably Gothic and impressive (insert photos but look it up on google for the time being). Couldn’t see any Goths though, probably a bit bright, and I’d forgotten my goth get up, wouldn’t have fitted in the panniers too well anyway.

From the Abbey I walked my bike down an extremely steep and cobbled road into the town, it was a little hair raising at times with such a heavy load. If I’d let go could have caused quite a pile up at the bottom due to the sheer volumes of tourists out today. Whitby was absolutely rammed, so before going any further I stopped for a bacon and egg roll from a great little cafe at the bottom of that hill. Only £2.50, the yoke did go everywhere though and I had to do some emergency cycling top cleaning.

I continued to brave the masses for a bit, taking in Whitby’s lovely narrow streets and odd mix of shops, from the standard touristy ones where I bought some liquorice and ice cream, to the weirder curiosity shops and goth jewellery and clothing boutiques. And of course a host of fish and chip shops, more than I’ve seen anywhere else. I did have to be careful not to take anyone out with my panniers as I cycled out to the harbour, it was so crowded and people don’t hear or look for bikes, plus they were in general holiday bimble mode so weren’t very alert.

One comment, people really need to get on their bikes more or do some exercise, haven’t seen quite so many overweight people in one place for a while. They’ll be a heart disease epidemic at this rate; something close to my heart, as it were, having had an erroneous electrical pathway in my heart fixed a couple of years ago. Amazing operation via catheter ablation, I got to watch it on a screen whilst it was being done, under the effects of morphine. I remember grinning inanely at the nurse. Glad it’s fixed as your heart rate going up to insane speeds is not pleasant for an extended period of time and made the Docs think I was having heart attacks. In and out in 2 days, hurrah for wonders of modern medicine and the NHS.

Having had my fill of crowds I retreated to the campsite, Broading’s Farm, located just outside the town. Nice and quiet site with good shower block, always important, and friendly owner who let me charge my mobile. Lots of friendly dogs too, including a black lab puppy I think, very inquisitive. At this point my Garmin decided to break, and wouldn’t turn back on despite leaving it to charge for ages. Think it needs a hard reset but can’t do that on the road as don’t have the right tools, will try and find a shop in Newcastle or Edinburgh. Until then the Nemesis device will be out of action, probably a good thing given the last few days of it going wrong. Will use maps for a bit and see how I get on, plus write to Garmin with some feedback when this is over. It’s great when it works but has gone wrong too often, and now I’m going to have to record my miles manually.

Spent the next few hours reading my book, Josie Dew’s Slow Coast Home as recommended by a mother and daughter I met when out training in Norfolk, seems like an age ago but was only a couple of weeks. Great read so thanks for the recommendation. I also napped a fair bit.

Headed back into Whitby in the evening for more feeding and a few beers. Chilled out in the Shambles Bar for a while, which overlooks the harbour and serves great ale. Unfortunately they’d run out of food due to the bank holiday masses, who as mentioned earlier could really have foregone a meal or two and left some for me.

I had dinner at the Fisherman’s Wife, tomato soup followed by haddock and chips. Best haddock and chips I’ve had so far and the waitress gave a donation to the Big C which was great, must add it to my page. The restaurant has a great view over the beach and harbour area. Took some more photos which again I’ll put up at some point – there’s going to be hundreds of them, might have to buy a camera if iPhone runs out of memory. Saw a few rowing jigs, think that’s what they’re called but could well be wrong, out for an evening’s team session, haven’t seen the like since I holidayed in Cornwall.

I did miss the Magpie Cafe which I’d wanted to visit, it was just too busy; the queue was massive for hours. I spent a few hours in the Buck Hotel Inn bar writing up my blog and enjoying a few pints of Tim Taylor’s Landlord again, really superb pint and seems to taste even better up North, must be because it’s closer to home. The bar has free wifi and was playing some great old school tunes as mentioned in my post last night.

So, fully rested and fed I made my way back to the campsite, in a slightly wobbly but responsible fashion, and crashed for the night. Aching legs and body all forgotten, and ready for tomorrow’s leg over the River Tees and beyond. Feels like quite a long way from home now but morale good and looking forward to the next week. I recommend Whitby for anyone that’s not been, i’ll be trying to make it for the Goth festival next year 😉

Leg 5 – to Robin Hood Bay via Hornsea and Scarborough

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Writing this from Whitby again, after a couple of pints so apologies for any spelling errors! Listening to reggae in the Buck Inn Bar, taking me back some 20 years to holidays in Nidris in Greece and the No Wind Club!

Anyway back to 05 May 2013
Had a slightly later start than anticipated due to Mr Timothy Taylor keeping me up later than expected, but worth it from the spiritual side of things. Still packed and on the road by 9am with an 86 mile stretch ahead of me, with a tailwind of sorts so comparative luxury to yesterday.

Rode North through Withernsea and various small villages, with the sea never from sight which was nice after Lincs. Stopped in Hornsea after 30 miles and did some shopping at supermarkets – two rounds of sandwiches for a quid cos they were about to go out of date, plus jelly babies, crisps and a drink. Visited Hornsea Mere and Seafront for a break, nice town and somewhere Lu went as a babe. Again got some photos I’ll put up in due course. There were ducks on the mere and I think I found the Hornsea pottery museum as requested.

Random thought – must give freeganism a go as planned, need to do a supermarket skip raid to load up the panniers. It’s not strictly illegal you just have to be careful, and I hate seeing food go to waste.

From Hornsea I piled on the miles through Flamborough and on to Scarborough, encountering the first real hills since North Norfolk, real Yorkshire Hills too. Power Monkey working well and recharging in the sunshine – topped up phone, but still think a dynamo hub would be better.

Scarborough very nice and would be worth visiting for a few days I reckon. Had a scoot around ignoring the Nemesis device’s constant ‘you have gone the wrong way’ beepings. Lots of good spots for photos which I’ll insert in due course. It’s also true what Mike Carter said in his book, you notice scents more as you’re passing through places, lots of interesting smells from the nasty to the nice – including perfume wafting from pretty girls in summer dresses. That’s a nice smell incidentally.

Rode up to the castle in Scarborough, big hill. Weather lovely and sunny again but the temperature suddenly dropped on the way out of Scarborough, must have been a weather front coming through. Strange to have such a sudden drop in temperature, I couldn’t be bothered to stop and put on layers so I just cycled faster.

Now an advantage to cycling, of which there are many but this one is particularly satisfying. Sailed past several traffic jams today caused by bank holiday cars and caravans. Gave my bell a jolly ring as I rode past sweating drivers, screaming children, and annoyed people in general. Started humming ‘Road to Amarillo’ accidentally, must be because I was up North, but it was then stuck in my head of next few hours. Tried to replace it with songs from Buffy the Musical and was soon belting out ‘Walk through the Fire’, no doubt to the bemusement of any pedestrians.

Turned on to the Cinder Trail North of Scarborough which is apparently a good bike trail, and route 1 was signposted that way. Started off well…got steadily more eroded…I started creaking, bike started creaking, arse starting creaking, then I passed the Hayburn Wyke Inn. Quickly doubled back for a pint – fantastic pub frequented by lots of cyclists taking the Cinder Trail. Was just leaving when a rock band turned up, wish I could have stayed. Lots of motorbike parties and many tattoos in evidence. Lobster rebelled, so I stayed for another pint.

A long ascent followed up towards Robin Hood’s Bay, again along a very bumpy track eroded by the bad winter. The trail is really filthy as it’s built on cinders, hence the name, so everything including me was getting coated in black dust. Ascent finally finished at Ravenscar, which I think is a cool name. A railway line was supposed to finish here but apparently it was never actually finished, the trains couldn’t make it up the gradient. Grea ride through the Yorkshire National Park, past cows going home for the night and beautiful scenery. Photos to follow.

Finally had a long descent to Robin Hood’s Bay, very bumpy and somewhat treacherous at speed but I was buoyed by the thought of reaching the campsite at the bottom. Passed lots of other cyclist who said hello, including one I couldn’t strictly understand however I nodded and made appropriate noises in the right places which seemed acceptable. He mentioned Reynolds Tubing so obviously knew something about cycling but think he might have spent the afternoon in the pub.

Robin Hood’s Bay is lovely, and built up the North side of the bay, unfortunately my campsite turned out to the be at the top of that North side. A truly lung bursting ascent followed, with a severe gradient. Had to push for a bit but didn’t feel too guilty as later learned an Italian competition rider was using it for training.

Finally arrived at the campsite about 18.30, and set up quickly as needed to get the pasta on – Lloyd Grossman sauce tonight, with biscuits and bananas. On the Banana front I’ve worked out I can attach them to my back rack on the cargo net, so must look funny cycling along with a bunch of bananas. Will try and attach more fruit as I go.

Settled down for the night and started to write my journal, only to be interrupted by fireworks from the cliffs to the South of the bay. Really nice end to the day.

Hopefully will update again tomorrow with Whitby happenings, all good. Listening to cool guitar in a the pub and slightly missing having my own guitar, but wouldn’t fit without a trailer, now there’s a thought, but really wouldn’t have survived the Cinder Trail.

Bike Around Britain

Blog on cycling around the coast of Britain

Tag Archives: bicycle

Leg 13 – to Tentsmuir Forest via St. Andrews

Leg 12 – to Lundin Links via Dunfermline

Leg 11 – to Stirling via the Union Canal

Leg 10 – into Scotland and on to Edinburgh

Leg 9 – to Berwick-upon-Tweed via Northumbria

Leg 8 – to Newcastle & Warkworth

Leg 7 – to Houghton le Spring via Middlesborough

09 May photos

Leg 6 – To Whitby – rest day ahoy!

Leg 5 – to Robin Hood Bay via Hornsea and Scarborough