Coast to Coast Days 5 and 6
I decided to stay a day in Keswick. The weather was glorious and it is a very nice town. I also decided to take a day off the bike and walk.
The path from the camping ground down to the town is very steep. It passed through a really great wooded area. Keswick was a classic market town. It is now a classic tourist town. There must be at least ten ‘outdoor’ shops e.g. Cotswolds similar to Kathmandu. I assume they all make money.
Pencils
One of the attractions is the Derwent Pencils Museum. I posted a comment: “who doesn’t remember owning a set of those pencils”? One of my school friends responded that she didn’t and didn’t want to be reminded of that fact. I had no response.
Bike Shops
The place has a number of bike shops. A bit like the ‘outdoor’ shops, there are possibility too many. I chatted to a 70 year old bloke in one of the shops. His grandson owns the shop and he works there part-time. Business is booming.
Tappis Place
I had a meal at a Spanish Restaurant. It was very good.
Ride out of Keswick
Finally I headed on. The route took me along the lake to the west. I came across a sailing club that seemed to be exclusively for ‘Flying 15s’. This was a class popular in the 1960’s and 70’s. I am not sure if any have been built since.
The Pleasant
I stopped for lunch at a great little country pub. The waitress picked my accent. She told me that she had spent a year in Australia, working as a nanny for a family on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. She found that being away from the Lake District made her aware of the positive things about the place. However, she said that she definitely wanted to move to Australia.
Into Whitehaven
I rode into Whitehaven. It is on the fringe of the Lake District. The contrast is stark. It is a pretty grim place.
The main industry in the area is the Sellafield Nuclear plant.
There is a bit of building boom in Whitehaven as result of the decision to move a lot of the administrative and support staff from the Sellafield site into the town.
Down to Heysham Port
Next day I took the train down to Heysham Port. The train passed the the Sellafield plant. It looked a very grim place. I end up staying in what turned out to be a relatively expensive hotel in this very ordinary town.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield
On the Ferry
Soon I was finally on the ferry to the Isle of Man.
Flickr Link
Garmin Link
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/548125538
billrider2013 