LEJOG Day 15

After a very good night’s sleep in a big bed and reasonable breakfast, I left the Dumfries B&B.

Stop for tea for with lemon and fruit scones in Sanquhar.  I have found this to be a simple and predictable snack.  Coffee is a bit iffy over here.  I am not sure where the baristas are trained, if at all. Also, I have found that it is useful to put a lemon in my drink bottles.  This is particular the case in England where the water is recycled many times and usually tastes crap.  The water in Scotland is a little better, but is also improved with a bit of lemon.

The route then took me up a long river valley and then down the other side.  This was reasonably picturesque, but not the best choice of route.

I finally came out onto a main road heading west. I stopped to speak to a bus driver stopped by the road.  I asked him how far it was to the nearest village or town with accommodation.  His reply was that he didn’t know, as “this was as far [west] he had ever travelled”.    There must be some advantages living in such a small world.  I will think about what they might be.

A few miles on I arrived in Into Muirkirk.  This not a place you would normally pick as place to stay.  I found the camping ground without the assistance of the Garmin.  The operator is very shot woman with an almost unintelligible accent.  Her offside is a retired soldier who was forced to perform the role of translator to finalise payment and other details of my stay.

I walked into the town to buy some dinner at the only ‘restaurant’ in town.  I ended up with something described as ‘chicken curry’.  I am really not sure what it was.   I took it back to the camping  ground with a bottle of Newcastle Brown, purchased from the Co-Op.  The ex-soldier, spotted me and came over for a chat.  He has a son, in the Australian Army based in Canberra. The old bloke was in Canberra last year. For 45 minutes he told me all about the city, seeming oblivious to the fact the I had lived there most of my life and told him that on three occasions during his monolog.

I finally finished the meal and headed up to the nearest pub for a pint on Tenets.

Another night in the tent.   Not the most thrilling of days, but at least I vaguely headed in the right direction.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGLSpGk

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/340754989

LEJOG Day 14

When I woke-up in my tent in the field behind the pub in Hesket Newmarket, I realized that I had had a couple of the pub’s fine ales too many.  Let’s blame that of on the Gordie barman who was intrigued that the “son of a Macca would want to ride to from Lands’ End to John OGroats and gave me free beer.

As I emerged from the tent, I was initially shocked to see a herd of cows walking past.  I quickly realised that was their usual routine.  Sleeping on the path to their meadow was not my usual practice.  Dismantling the tent took a bit longer than usual.

My planned route took me north.  I ran into a young couple riding south with laden bikes – a sign that they were E to E ers.  They had come to same conclusion seeing me.  The usual exchange of: “how long have you been riding, how long do you expect to take” etc took place.  Their plan was to ride for 17 days and stop.  If they didn’t get to Land’s End that didn’t matter as they were moving from Coventry to Cornwall to start practicing a newly qualified doctors.  They were both on Cannondales.  Smart people.

I stopped in Dalston. The author of the book I am reading stopped at the bakery in the village for a current bun.  I went to the said bakery and also bought a bun.   The gals in the shop loved the story about the writer of a book on the LEJOG ride mentioning their shop, and a reader of the book visiting the shop.  They insisted on having their photo taken with a basket full of bun.  Look at the Flickr Link.

The route took me into Carlisle – another town not worth visiting twice.  I was now close to the border with Scotland.  Some back roads then an A road running parallel to the M6 took me into Gretna and the border.  Unfortunately, this border crossing is forgettable.

Next stop was Dumfries.  The ride in was along the River Nith a major tidal inlet with quicksand.  These tidal areas are common of the British coast.  They are very different to most of Australia’s estuaries.

I found a good B&B in Dumfries.  There wasn’t a camping ground to be found.  A young Dutch couple in the B&B had encountered the same problem. They were very perplexed.  Anyway the B&B was good for me after a night of ‘rough camping’ – long shower and a chance to wash the ‘undies’ and ‘bike stuff’.

I had a reasonable meal in the Station Hotel and a just one pint in to pub across the road.  I would not recommend that pub.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/ps/wGzXd

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/340017855

LEJOG Day 13

I left the camping ground and headed north on the eastern side of Lake Windermere.  The weather was absolutely fantastic.  Those of you that remember Derwent pencils, I think a picture of Lake Windermere was on the box.

I stopped a funny little café near a ferry that takes you from the eastern to the western side of the lake.  I took the opportunity of a reasonable mobile WiFi signal to Skype old school mates.  It is amazing what you can do with Skype.  These conference calls are a bit of fun.  One of my mates is working for a senior Liberal Politician.  We were told that the latest thought is that the election will be at the end of November.  It would appear that Rudd is going to try and be PM for as long as he can. It would also appear that our mate’s case of ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ is getting worse.

As we chatted, a Spitfire or Hurricane plane flew over the lake.  Amazing stuff.  Later in the day I saw a number of jet fighters flying overhead.  It must be a buzz for the pilots to fly over that area.

After the call, I headed down to the ferry.  As I waited for the ferry, a bloke rode up on a serious looking ‘adventure bike’.  I chatted to him about the bike.  It was a CCM (refer to link below).  After a short time, a rather attractive girl turned up and started taking photos of the bloke and the bike.  It turned out that she worked for a promotions company working from CCM.  Their 450cc Adventure model has just been released on the market. My BMW owning mate in Canberra should look at this bike. It could be a better option than the BMW GS’s or Triumph Tigers.

The girl saw my bike and said: “cool, a BadBoy”.  I said “ yes, and so is the bike”.   She sort of laughed.  I think I should act my age.

The ride along the lake was absolutely fantastic.  Just look at the photos.

I stopped off at a bike shop at Ambleside at the northern end of the lake.  It is a great village.  The blokes in the shop, gave me advice on how to get to Hesket Newmarket, my target for my next stop.

The route took me on a long climb away from the Lake District.  The last part of the route took me down a series of lanes across land that is not dissimilar the area between Jindabyne and Cooma.   I final arrive at the Hesket Newmarket and found the Old Crown pub.  This pub gets a big mention in the book I am reading on the trip.  The locals claim that it is one of the best know pubs in Britain.  One of the locals is Chris Bonington, the famous  mountaineer.  There is lot of his memorabilia in the pub.  There are also picture of Charles Windsor and his second wife.  He signed the visitors’ book as ‘Charlie’.  What a pole polisher.

I had a great salmon meal.  I know a bit about cooking salmon.  After a long chat with some locals and the bar staff, and several pints of Doris’s 90^th Birthday Ale (brewed on the premises), it was time for some sleep.  I asked where the camping ground was.  The rely was: “wherever you like”.  I ended up in field behind the pub – my first experience of rough camping for ages.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGGRXyK

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/340017918

CCM Bikes

http://www.ccm-motorcycles.com/

LEJOG Day 12

The route out of town took me on the Lancaster Canal towards Kendall.  This is great piece  of canal.  After a short distance the tow path turned in to grass.  Fortunately the dry weather meant that this was not a problem.  A few miles short of Kendall, the canal is blocked by the M6.  There is plan to reopen the canal and the tow  path to enable its use through to the town.  The cost of the work will run to millions of pounds.  A couple I meet bemoaned the fact that, if the M6 that been properly built in the first place, this would not be required. This is another case of no forethought.

On the outskirts of Kendall I stopped to buy some sun screen in a small supermarket.

In response to my request for the said product, I was presented with a jar of salad dressing.  I told shop assistant again that I want “sun screen”.  She responded with “son cream”.  “No” I said “sun, sun”.  She replied “son”.  In the end I resorted to saying: “sun as in the big yellow thing is the sky that is making us hot”.  “Oh”, the shop assistant said, “we don’t have much demand for that here and we don’t sell it”.

Kendall is another one of those shabby towns that seems to be on the decline.   I was pleased to move on towards Windermere.

The route took me through back lanes onto the side of the lake between Windermere and Browness . I stopped off at the Visitor Centre to ask for directions to the nearest camping ground.  I have given up on the Garmin providing accurate advice on such matters.  The nice lady in the centre sold me a piece of paper, purporting to be a map, for 50p.  It did not have a scale. However, she informed me that the camping ground, marked on the ‘map’, was less than a mile away.  It turned out to be 5 miles south of the town.  She should get a job with Garmin.

The camping ground turned out to be pretty good.  My pitch was high up on hill with ‘water glimpses’.  The place had a bar and restaurant.   I plumbed for the chicken curry off a limited menu.  Not too bad.  I can’t remember the Ale I drank. It was one of the mass produced stuff – very forgettable.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGGRKbK

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/340017957

LEJOG Day 11

I woke up reasonably early and headed across the car park into the pub for breakfast.  It ended up being a case of Faulty Towers the ‘duck is off’ – not milk, no fruit and two guests (me and one other) discussed who would have the only tub of yoghurt.  I ended up having some muesli (Alpen ?) with water and some toast. Halfords not good a place to stay.

I took the opportunity of have a good 4 g signal on my mobile WIFI to make a Skype call to a Scottish mate in Canberra.  He is has a thing or two to say about Rugby.  He predicted anther close game in the Wallabies  v Lions Test that was to start in 2 hours.  He also had some further advice on my planned route through the Hebrides.

I had expected that the Test  would have been broadcast in the pub.  Unfortunately, Mr Murdoch’s charge, which apparently run  to thousands of pounds, were too much for this pub.  I headed off expecting to find a pub in which to watch the game.  I couldn’t find one.  As it turns out that was probably a good thing.

My route north took me to on main roads, however they were not too busy.  I found a pub on a canal.  A reasonable meal for a good price.  Thing appear to be getting cheaper in pounds as I move north -probably not on dollars given what is happening to the AUD.

The next main town was Lancaster.  This is a university town, with two. As with all university towns, Oxford, etc  in the UK and elsewhere, it is place on the up.  Education, research and ‘hang off’ industries are the future for high cost countries.  Lancaster is also a bike  friendly town.

Leaving Lancaster I headed to Bolton-le-Sands.  Most of the ride was on the Lancaster Canal.  It was getting late and I decided to check into the Blue Anchor Bolton-le-Sands.  The barmaid was particularly friendly and introduced me to most of the patrons. My answers to the questions: where are you riding to too (John O Groats) and where are you from (Sydney) is a great conversation starter.

A couple I chatted to told me that they owned and canal barge and they had taken from the village to London.  I took two months. I was surprised that this was possible.  I had thought that the canal network run from the main cities, e.g Manchester to the west or east, not north – south.  Apparently this is not the case.  A bit of reading coming up.

The couple told me that there was a band playing at another pub in the village.  I headed there.   As I entered the pub the band stated their last set.  It included some old classics.  These included:   Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen), Jet (McCartney and Wings), The Wall ( Pink Floyd) and Jumping Jack Flash (the Stones).

A great night.

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/338440033

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGDJtJe

 

LEJOG Day 10

It took me a while to leave the camping ground.  My tent dismantling and packing skills are a bit rusty.   The lady in the office told me of good place for breakfast less than a mile away.  The place if called Hollies attached to a farm shop.  It serves a really good breakfast.  By the time I got there people were also arriving for lunch.  It is very popular it the Yummy Mummy set -similar to the place in RTW that it posted about.  However, this lot have very different accents.

The Garmin took me a series of very picturesque lanes to outskirts of Warrington.  I noticed the roads had some familiar names if you follow Rugby League – Warrington itself, St Helens, Widnes etc.  This part of Lancashire and Yorkshire is where League is played in the UK.  It was that case that players from this area move to Australia to play in the Sydney competition.  Now a lot of Australian players move to the North of England towards the end of their career.  A pet loving Canberra Raider decided to make the move mid-career.

Warrington is not the most bike friendly place on the planet.

I continued north into Chorley.  I ask a couple that were walking down the road about a place to stay.  They told me that there aren’t many place to stay in Chorley and “would not recommend any”.

I finally found a place on the northern side of the town.   The accommodation was in an annexe to a pub.  I assume that the pub would be showing the Wallabies v Lions game the next day (Saturday).  A very ordinary curry was washed down  with a couple of pints of John Smiths.

This being Day 10 of the ride, it occurred to me that some E to E – LEJOG riders are in  John OGroats by now.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGChmpP

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/337940677

 

 

LEJOG Day 9

I left Stewsbury under the guidance of the Garmin.  It took me through at pedestrian precinct.   I was a accosted by a bloke in a tweed jacket who sounded as though he a had a plumb in his mouth and a pineapple  somewhere else. He informed me that I “was ride riding my bicycle in restricted zone and that there was a policemen behind me that will take the appropriate action”.  The said policeman soon appear and told me to “continue on,  that the t the bloke who spoke to me has form and not to worry”.  That is: 1 to the cyclist, 0 to the grumpy old fart and 10/10  for the policeman.

As I left the town I stopped in at bike shop to check the pressure my in my tyres.  The bloke who ran the shop was fascinated by the BadBoy.  He very interested in Rohloff and the front pannier frames.  He started a long conversation (one sided) about the Cannondale Lefties – bikes with only one fork.  He though they were not obeying the laws of physics.  I thought of giving him the contact details of my mate in Canberra who owns a  Lefty.  That was a cruel thought.  Next time I stop a bike shop I may pretend to be a mute.

I again left the Garmin do some of the navigation.  It took me down some great country lanes.   At one point it took me up a dirt track.  How had it know about that track?  Sometimes it will take me on an A road when there is bike path nearby.  Other times it seems to know about the most obscure paths.  Who knows???

The route me took past, not along more great canals.  How many are there in this country?

The weather had turned really nice.  This was an ideal time to use the tent I have been carrying the whole trip.   I checked into a camping ground on the edge of the Delamare Forest.  I set up the tent next to the biggest campervan I have seen outside the USA (check Flickr).  I then headed off the Fish Pool Inn for a meal.  This place has the same recruitment policy and the Lord Nelson (the Rocks Sydney) and the Beach Hotel (Byron Bay).  Great meal and service.

I slept well in my tent.

Good Ale at the Pub

http://weetwoodales.co.uk/index.htm

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGANHng

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/337511440

LEJOG Day 8

I left Cleobury after a very comfortable night in an interesting room that had the smallest window I have seen in a hotel bedroom. Is suspect the pub was built before Australia was discovered.

The ride up to Clee Hill was long . I like the rolling hills of the English countryside and looking at the sheep with white and black noses, but there is so much you like of this stuff pedaling up and up. Finally there was some down. Sheep look better if you don’t have to look at them walking as fast as you ride.

Ludlow is a classic Market Town. It has won the ‘Best in Bloom’ competition for every year since that that completion started. It is a nice town with castle and quaint old buildings. There was market going when I arrived. One enterprising vendor was selling reasonable crepes.

I had let the Garmin do the navigating. My plan was to go to Stewsbury. I am not sure the Garmin took the best route. It did however, me through more fabulous countryside. I finally made it into Stewsury quite late checked into a funny little hotel on the edge of the town centre. The town centre is bounded by the Severn River. Just think, I was sailing on the same river last Sunday.

I went for a walk into the main street to find a meal. I found an Italian Restaurant and ordered Penne Arrabiata. It wasn’t too bad. I have found that most Italian food in England isn’t a patch of the stuff we get in Australia. We have been spoilt by all those Italian immigrants, particularly in Melbourne.

I finished off the night with a pint of Hobsons in pub in the High Street.

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/337040654

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGzry4x

Hobsons Ale

Home

LEJOG Day 7

My departure from the Rising Sun Hotel was going to plan.  A cup of coffee with my escort out of Marshfield and breakfast was a good start to the day.  I then received an e mail from my Canberra Lawyers.  The result was a delayed departure as I composed my response.  One day I will post about my experiences with Lawyers on a number of issues.

As I finally rode off, I let the Garmin take charge.  Its first suggestion was a very steep lane (25% gradient) down towards Cheltenham.  This proved interesting with a fully laden bike.  It is times like this that I appreciate the Juicy Hydraulic brakes.

The route then took me towards Great Malvern.  My Marshfield host had pointed out the Malverns in the far distance the day before and had suggested that if I liked hills, I should head towards then.  I did head to towards ‘them there hills’, but not because I like hills necessarily.  After what seemed an eternity I finally climbed into Great Malvern a very pretty town that lies very close to the top of the Malverns.

This is Elgar country.  In deference to the great composer I played the Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches on my MP3.  I must put the Cello Concerto on my music machine.  The Jacqueline du Pre version is just the most amazing performance.  Watch it on YouTube.

As I headed towards Worcester, I finally picked up a NCR trail.  It took me over a very futuristic bridge that has been constructed just for bikes.  Good on you Worcester Council.

As I rode into town I heard load clapping.  I was passing the County Cricket Ground. The Australians were playing Worcester in their second warm up game in the Ashes tour.  I spoke the gatekeeper and for the second time on tour, was allowed to enter a ground to take some photos.  This time (remember in Taunton the rain had started) I saw some play.  Clarke and Cowen were batting.  It seems Clark’s back is holding up.  It needs to if the Australians are to be competitive in the Tests.

I took a photo of the tour bus again.  This time the driver was in the bus and we had a chat.  He spotted that I was Australian – clever man.  He went on to tell me that the bus company was not happy with him.  For his penance he was given the job “driving a bus load of Aussies around the country for 3 months”.  He said he “had suffered serious sledging”.  Enough chatting, I was back on my bike.

My Marshfield host’s plan was that I ride to Ludlow.  When I got to Cleobury, the Kings Arms look like nice pub.  It had great Ales.  I decided to stay the night.

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/336567573

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGyoVpL

LEJOG Day 6

Time to continue on to Scotland.

I had a great time with my hosts in Marshfield. It is so good to see familiar faces when you are travelling.

One of my hosts kindly offered to accompany me on my need leg. He, like me, is retired and has time to do such things. He also has an extensive collection of Ordinance maps detailing all the lanes and paths ways across the UK. Some research identified a route north and off we went. My host was somewhat amazed at the weight of my Cannondale laden with my meager possessions. The weight is in stark contrast to his road bike. This road bike is soon to be replaced by a new model as reward for achieving weight loss and other fitness goals. My host is yet another of my friends that made personal fitness a retirement project.

As we rode north, the contrast between the laden Cannondale and the road bike ridden by an ever increasing fit rider became palpable. I was slower on the flat, about the same downhill, but very much slower on the ups. My host had many opportunities to pause and take in the scenery en-route as I slowly made my way up the hills. Again, the country-side was great. The bright yellow of the rape plants is really spectacular. Our route took us past the National Arboretum. It is obvious why this part of the country was selected as the site of this important institution.

Our route took us into Cheltenham, which I recall is famous for horse racing. My host noted that the town did nothing for him. I agree. As I keep saying, I am intrigued why some towns and villages (e.g. RTW) seem to get more pleasant and other fade and become tacky.

The last part of the ride took us up a steep rise to Cleeve Hill and the Rising Sun Hotel. The view from the pub is spectacular. A great steak meal was washed down with a pint and a good red.

My host noted that he had successfully seen me out of the premises in Marshfield, escorted out of the village and made sure that I had left the county.

Next morning my host provided me with a suggested route. I think I sort of followed it – stay posted.

He headed back to Marshfield, taking about half the time it had taken the other way.

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/336017739

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGynKqJ