I left Whitby by train to Durham with a very brief stop in Doncaster where I visited the Rail Museum. There is one of Stephenson’s first locomotives at that museum.
Time in Durham
I spent a few days in Durham staying at St Chads which is one of the colleges in the University. I have stayed there before. My parents also stayed at this college. It is a great place to stay. The students rooms are small, but very comfortable.
I like Durham. It has good pubs and an excellent little micro-brewery. The restaurants are also good.
One day I travelled into Sunderland. The contrast between Durham and Sunderland is stark. Sunderland is still very much ‘down at heel’. The city voted over 60% for Brexit.
Silly Buggers.
Train to Alnwick
I took the train from Durham to Alnwick. The last time I was in Alnwick was in 2013, when I did the Land’s End to John O’Groats ride. At the end of that ride I rode from Edinburgh through the border country and down the East Coast towards Newcastle. I stayed in Bamburgh.
When I left Bamburgh it started to rain. By the time I got to Alnwick, it was pouring down that it didn’t look as though it would stop.
I gave up and took the train to Newcastle.
This time I was determined to complete the ride to Newcastle, albeit I had a few things to do in Alnwick and the surrounds before heading south.
Trip out to Lindisfarne
One of these was a trip out to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. This is an interesting place.
The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway. The causeway is covered in water when the tide is in. It is a frequent event for cars to be swept away by the incoming tide. This is notwithstanding numerous signs warning of the danger.
Check out the video with a chat with driver of the bus that took me across to island.
There is plenty to see on the island. There are the ruins of the Abbey, the castle and a small museum. The scenery is spectacular.
There are also a couple of good pubs for a beer and a meal.
David Gilmore Film
Another thing I did while I was in Alnwick was to attended a showing of a film on David Gilmore’s concert at Pompeii. The concert was performed 45 years after the famous Pink Floyd concert at the site.
The film was shown at cinema all around the UK on the 13th of September. I bought a ticket to see it at the Alnwick Playhouse, which is used both as a cinema and a playhouse for live theatre.
The place was packed for the screening. One notable feature of the audience was its demographic. I was one of the youngest there. There was a lot of grey hair or no hair.
There were also several Zimmer frames.
Anyway, it was a great experience. The concert was great, and film captures the sight and sound of the event perfectly.
Riding to Newcastle
I finally left Alnwick and headed to Newcastle. This involved heading east to the coast and picking up Sustrans Route 1 which follows the coast.
The route is a mixture of cycle paths, and back roads that are typically right on the coast. I stopped at café for lunch that was full of cyclists. I am still not sure where they had come from or were going to as I didn’t come across many cyclists actually riding on the cycle route.
Older Couple
However, as I approached Blyth I did come across a couple of cyclists. It was good that I did as this part of the route was very difficult to follow.
The couple, a bloke and his wife, showed me the way into town.
As we approached the centre of Byth, the heavens opened and we stopped in a shelter in a park. As we waited or the rain to ease we chatted. It turned out that the couple were both in their seventies. They were keen cyclists and had been for years. They told me that they were about to head to Spain for a couple of months where they be doing “lots of riding’.
I was very impressed. They were very fit.
Byth is where many the platforms for the North Sea oil industry were built. The technology is now being used to construct off shore wind farms.
Tynemouth to Newcastle
After leaving Blyth, I continued on to Tynemouth, which as its name suggests, is at the mouth of the Tyne.
I then had about 20 klms further to go up the river into Newcastle.
On this leg I came across two groups of cyclists who were completing the Route 7 Coast to Coast ride from Whitehaven on the west coast to South Shields.
It was late when I finally arrived in Newcastle.
Flickr Links
Durham
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm8ohC7e
Sunderland
Lindisfarne
Alnwick to Newcastle
Garmin Link
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1984790355
About Lindisfarne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindisfarne
David Gilmore Concert Screening 13th September
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/david-gilmour-plots-live-at-pompeii-film-one-night-only-screening-w485010
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