September Surprises

The car park of the Sycamore Inn between New Mills and Hayfield provided an enormous, well sheltered camping spot from which to tackle the remaining sections of the Pennine Bridle Way - the pub ask that you have a drink or meal and their food was excellent and served by delightful staff.

I set off towards Buxton but on a badly eroded ascending gully met three idiots on ebikes careering down the narrow path, one just missed me, I jumped out of the way for the second but the third slammed in to my front wheel. On expressing the opinion that they should be more considerate towards other users and slow down I received an Anglo Saxon tirade after which they shot off. At the top of the push I discovered that the latter genius had knocked my wheel well out of shape - cheers guys.

Thanks to having disc brakes I was able to ride it though and continued south on a good mix of tracks, trails and minor roads. As the southern sections of the PBW are well known to me I decided to pick up the Monsal trail instead and head down towards Bakewell and then over to Bamford from where my digital railcard enabled me to get a ticket for the train back to New Mills and the short ride back along the Sett Valley Trail for a good meal in the pub.

The following day I headed north to Broadbottom and took the Trans Pennine Trail back through Penistone in to Sheffield stopping en route at a great little snack bar in a converted horse box. As Mandy had an unexpected few days extra free she drove us both back over for another good meal and quiet night at The Sycamore.

 

The helpful landlord allowed us to leave her car there and we skirted Manchester to park up at the Ship Inn at Downholland on the Leeds to Liverpool Canal for a couple of days good riding using the canal, the old railway lines and coastal cycle paths to explore the area. Up at Southport we cycled to the end of the pier where an ice cream van in an old Citroen van wasn't quite what it seemed - look at the wheels.

 

That morning we had had trouble unlocking a recently bought D lock that secured both bikes so we returned it to Halfords and bought a sturdy padlock locally from the most disorganised hardware store before returning for a well earned pint in the canal side pub garden.

The canal took us south towards Bootle where a large terrapin sunbathing on a raft of reeds provided interest and amusement before we followed a trail towards Liverpool. Unfortunately my derailleur had not been running right since, on reflection, the meeting with the ebike and decided to fail. I removed it and shortened the chain to give me a rideable gear for the flat terrain and we headed out to Crosby to see the art installation 'Another Place' which was very impressive.

As the tide receded we walked the two mile stretch of beach that contains a 100 of these statues before returning to base along the old railway line.

 

A bright idea developed to avoid tedious driving and parking in Liverpool - again using our railcard we took the commuter train in to the city from Formby which had free secure parking (and no 'No Overnighting' signs incidentally) and for a few quid each were dropped at Moorfields Station just a few minutes walk from the waterfront. We decided to take the Mersey ferry which now carries few commuters and instead has rebranded itself as a docks tour boat and enjoyed the views of a graceful cruise ship, the Liver building and the new museum as well as the drama of a very smart chopper making numerous landings for scenes in the next series of the BBC's Silent Witness.

 

Across at Birkenhead we disembarked for a couple of hours there peering in to the Uboat museum and enjoying a Thai meal in the cafe before catching the ferry back which took us past the shipyards and returned with good views across to the city's two cathedrals.

The train had us back to the van in time to get round Manchester to New Mills before rush hour which I then sat out for a couple of hours and had a swift journey across to the cheap and basic site at Northrop near Flint which enabled me to wash the bike, fill up with water and clean the bathroom.

A steady run down to Coed y Brenin north of Dolgellau, passed Llyn Celyn which was very low, and I collected a key to give me access in to the forest for our work party at Penrhos bothy.

Here the security team from Alfa were being assisted by our Area Organiser to remove the shuttering and padlocks that had been necessary to keep Covidiots out of the place last year after some lockdown vandalism. The bothy is dark at the best of times but a year of closure had seen mould grow on the walls and windows, a layer of dust and debris accumulate on most surfaces and the place looking a bit run down with some damage to windows and internal doors.

 

Thus a list was made of the cleaning, repair and decorating materials and equipment we would need and I headed off in to Dolgellau to get them leaving Tony to sweep out. The builders and farmers merchants between them provided the bulk of our needs and I returned to spray all walls, ceilings and painted surfaces with Jeyes fluid before we called it a day and left the doors and windows open to get things dried out.

So as at Dulyn bothy in August we spent the next few days washing the surfaces with sugar soap to prepare for painting, doing the actual painting , starting upstairs, and repairing the damaged windows and doors using the skills and tools of Chris and Martin, the latter having fetched in a remarkable array of equipment all the way from Swansea.

Slowly the place brightened up, the walls shone, new glazing sparkled and the floors gleamed although slightly unsettled weather meant we were working around it with regard to external glossing.Three of us were occupying our vans and two were tenting giving the bothy time to air and the odd walker dropped by to admire the work done. By the Monday we had really made a difference so I decided to head off and return to Brecon to play badminton for the first time in two years, staying in the town centre car park I have used on and off for 15 years.

I called at Lower Chapel to assess the bike and managed to straighten out the wheel using the bike rack as a mount and a small screwdriver to identify the points of distortion. I then ordered a new derailleur and chain but as delivery was delayed turned my attention to replacing a failed brake light bulb that required some dismantling of the van wardrobe shelving to gain access. I then decided to head off  back to Brecon and visit the new Y Gaer library and museum. This project had overrun and gone well over budget and in my opinion there was little to show for it with a museum that lacked the sophistication of the many others I have visited this last year. However it is early days for the site and certainly the library will be popular with children and families.

Neither the cinema nor theatre were open so I treated myself to an excellent pizza instead and slept well in the quiet corner.

On Sunday from above Talgarth I walked over to the small bothy in the Black Mountains where apart from a small amount of rubbish all was well although as the stove lacked a regulator it popped rather dramatically. There had been a rave further down the valley a couple of weeks previously but I don't think they had got as far as our tiny hut.

 

Gliders were taking advantage of the thermals and a northerly wind as I returned and then drove round to Hay on Wye for a night in the main car park alongside a couple of other vans.

On the Monday I dropped a note through the door where I hoped the friend I cycled round Nepal with for 6 weeks in 1987 still lived and then enjoyed a good look round the enchanting town. Hay Castle is being restored at long last and I walked down the Wye watching various canoeists on the slow moving water.

Dave made contact and came to find me - he plays table tennis on Mondays and invited me to tag along so somewhat unexpectedly I ended up in the same theatre space that in recent years I had given HUBB presentations at Clyro Court. Later we returned to Hay and the Blue Boar Inn and enjoyed a long session of catching up having not been in touch for almost twenty years.

As I left next morning I noted an issue with my windows so decided to investigate later and returned to Lower Chapel to fit the now arrived bike parts. This was fairly straightforward and I began to inspect the van's wiring loom where it passes through bellows in the crook of the door. An alarming electrical fizz could be heard so I disconnected the battery, removed door and dash trims and managed to expose the loom and unpick the outer covering.

Of the maybe twenty wires that link window, mirror and central locking switches or motors four were severed, and eight had breaks in the insulation. Thus I carefully bared the wires for rejoining with connectors, taped up the damaged insulation and carefully returned everything to find all well for now.

Next day I was meeting a friend at Talybont who'd just come back from a cracking trip round Ireland and suggested to Jan that she could take her paddle board from there back to Brecon. Crad had enjoyed a memorable trip and Jan managed to reach Brecon before later that evening we went down to badminton to meet the crowd I'd last seen two years ago. We played a shortened session and only had a quick pint as Jan and Ian were off next morning to London for the Chelsea Flower Show.

Next morning they left early and I fed and watered the various animals before returning to the issue of the van wiring - whilst this van is lovely and really comfortable I did prefer the simplicity of my previous one with manual doors, mirrors and windows. I looked online for a replacement loom but figured second hand ones would be heading the same way so contacted TPS who supply OEM parts to VW. They said there was only one left in the UK at the VW central parts warehouse in Milton Keynes and after that was gone it would be a discontinued item so I asked to buy it only to be told that they can only supply to the trade.

Thus I rang the VW commercial van centre in Swansea and spoke to the parts manager - remarkably after twelve years he recognised my name and said 'you're the guy who shipped a van to New Zealand....'. In fact I'd had a spare key supplied by them and on the day of heading to Southampton to get the van loaded in to a container after our Brecon Beast Mountain Bike event had discovered that it had been wrongly coded and wouldn't overcome the immobiliser so had had to head down there in something of a panic to get it done properly. Anyway after a chat he said he'd happily order the loom and pass it on to me at cost price and I hope a friend from Swansea will bring it up to our forthcoming work party next week.

Yesterday I visited the bothy in the Elan valley as part of a catch up with my brother - the reservoir was the lowest I've seen it so we were able to collect bottles and cans from the shore to add to the few removed from the bothy and then enjoyed a light lunch at the excellent Penbont Tearooms half way round the dams.

My final night in Brecon linked the experiences of the last week in a neat way as I attended a fund raising dinner in the Brecon Guildhall organised by the Nepali families of Gurkha soldiers who have a long association with the town. Singing, dancing, music and superb Nepali cooking made for a memorable evening with generous bids at the auction, a successful raffle and  great company.

So I'm now at Llangurig for one night before heading to Nant Syddion bothy where a group of us will spend a week getting the place back on track - it has been a bit neglected in recent years and seen some abuse so we hope to work our magic again. There is a hitch on fuel availability which may affect people's journeys and the closure of the Cwmystwyth road will mean longer journeys for those stalwarts coming from the south. This will also add to our journey times next Saturday for our First Aid Training session near Builth but I'm sure our loyal and resourceful team will overcome the hiccups.

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An august August

 After my night on a small site in Dent I moved up to the station further up the valley at Dent Head where rail users are allowed to park and began to prepare for cycling the Pennine Bridleway that runs from Cromford in Derbyshire to Ravenstonedale near Kirkby Stephen. Thus next morning I was on the platform waiting for an early train north to KS and was pleased to find adequate cycle storage and plenty of space as bikes cannot be booked on.

 

So by 08.30 I was pedalling south towards the northern start point passing numerous traveller families heading for the delayed Appleby Horse Fair. South Lakeland District Council had provided numerous facilities by the roadside with water bowsers, portable toilets and bins or skips but disappointingly some of the stop over sites were strewn with rubbish. I stopped to talk to one family and they said it is (as always) a minority who spoil things but it irritated me that officialdom often pursue individual van dwellers like myself, but won't address the issues caused by the larger groups.

Anyway they were a lovely couple and I continued to the start of the PBW and climbed beside Wild Boar Fell before a good descent in to Mallerstang and then picked up the well surfaced track to Garsdale Head passing an interesting piece of sculpture. It was a sunny breezy day with the Dales looking at their best as I passed under Dandrymire Viaduct before arriving at the pretty and well kept station. Having made good time I lingered on the platform as a variety of freight and passenger trains passed through and workmen repaired the steps up to the manned signal box. Finally the old coal road took me swooping back to Dent station for a quiet night with good TV reception but no mobile signal.

The early southbound train soon had me in Settle after passing over Ribblehead viaduct and I began a stunning day climbing high above Settle, dropping down to Stainforth, heading across to Helwith Bridge with its memories of caving trips to the area perhaps 20 years ago or more and then reaching Feizor where the excellent Elaine's Tea Rooms did a good bacon sandwich.

 

The track around the east side of Ingleborough offered great views of the limestone scenery and dropped in to Selside where a gathering of photographers indicated something was afoot and indeed shortly afterwards the Dalesman steam train puffed in to view - awesome. The climb over Cam Fell had superb views back over my route and across to Ribblehead before I arrived once more for a quiet night at Dent. I spoke with a family staying in the old station building and took a leaflet for the Dent Snow Huts which lie a little further down the track.

 

A heavily laden timber train headed past along with stopping and through passenger trains but I had another peaceful night before dropping down to Barnoldswick where the Rolls Royce Social Club allow vans to overnight for £7. Water was available but as the club only opens at weekends I had the place to myself. RR designed their main jet engines there hence the prefix RB in the numbering of aero engines as in RB211....

I followed the PBW back up to Settle where 3 Peaks Cycles have a good cafe and then took a different route back to Barnoldswick with Pendle Hill looming in the distance. The following day this lump was almost always visible as I headed south to Wycoller Hall east of Colne and then dropped in to the town to return along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal including a stop at Foulridge wharf by the tunnel for refreshments.The trail was by and large well signposted and rideable with a good variety of road, track, trail and bridleway - a quirky sculpture above Wycoller was of interest and the old hall ruins down by the river enchanting.

Moving on to a pub, The Shepherd's Rest above Todmorden that allows overnight stops (another park4night app recommendation) started me on the route back to Wycoller with a return passing the numerous reservoirs around Widdop and a return along quiet roads and through Hebden Bridge before a good meal in the pub.

I picked Mandy up in Sheffield and we spent a quiet night in Derbyshire near the High Peak trail before joining the friends at Dethick to treat them to a 3 course meal in Topaz luxury. We discovered a perfect puffball in the long grass  and decided it would make an amusing contribution to our gathering in Wales the following day.

So on Monday we headed across to Newtown for a good shop and arrived at Llangurig to find Sue had given us a private spot in the far field where the others began to arrive shortly afterwards. It was cool and grey but with Bill's BBQ and a fire pit under Kate and Malcolm's gazebo we were all very comfortable and said puffball was cooked in a variety of ways.

Tuesday saw some decide to walk down at the Elan Valley whilst the rest of us cycled down to Rhayader, around the dams and then against a stiff headwind returned via Cwmystwyth and the welcome shelter of Nant Rhys bothy where all was well. After the fast return to the site we were grateful for hot showers and another night around the fire.

Wednesday saw the girls walk locally whilst the guys took to the saddle again and rode through the wind farm over to Nant Syddion bothy for lunch and a return via The Arch and Cwmystwyth's melancholy mines - the tough hills had taken their toll so we opted out of a futher loop towards Rhayader and were back onsite by early evening.

 A group walk the following day was wet at times but we found shelter for lunch and after the friends had departed for the Bristol area we moved on to a pitch with EHU as the grey cloud had limited our solar gain.

Friday and Saturday saw us joining friends at Sennybridge and Brecon before a return to Llangurig for one night to top up with water and deal with the loo before on the Monday heading to Llandrindod Wells where we had booked the bikes on to the midday train to Knighton. This allowed us to tackle 40 odd miles of the excellent but hilly Radnor Ring, largely National Cycle Route 825, with a coffee break in lovely Presteigne, some stunning valleys around Glascwm and a return to the car park at LW for an overnight with a good curry at Zeeras spoilt initially by my mistaking a hot green chilli for a tasty runner bean.

 

 

Day two of the RR involved the same train to Knighton and then a return via Abbeycwmhir and Rhayader - we missed a sign so climbed high to Bwlchysarnau unnecessarily and that combined with a late departing train meant a late finish at Llandod which justified a chip supper.

As we had a timed entry to the Blist's Hill Victorian town at Ironbridge the following day we decided to do half the journey that night, breaking it with an overnight in the Clun Castle car park down by the river. The ready availability of both loo and shower in this van has opened up so many more opportunities whilst the 6m length even with the bikes on means narrow lanes and tight turns are a breeze.

 

 

Right on the Severn at Ironbridge the Half Moon Inn also allows overnights but first we parked up at Blist's Hill for a fascinating day enjoying all the relocated shops, businesses and trades on this extensive site. We'd each bought an Annual Pass to all attractions for £29 so will return again soon as not all attractions were open yet. The whole set up was very well done with friendly knowledgeable staff, a good atmosphere and lots going on. Many old buildings are still awaiting restoration which will add to the experience but it already needs a full day to see everything.

Despite a rather steep car park the pub overnight was fine and the meal excellent and the handy location meant we could easily walk along the Severn to the famous and now fully restored Ironbridge itself - a spectacular site. We had a timed entry for Enginuity but as this is largely aimed at families with children keen to discover the mysteries of science we didn't stay too long but walked up to the Darby houses where the founders of the industrial revolution in Britain lived above their works, workers and foundries. Both properties were quiet and peaceful with simple furnishings in line with the family's Quaker beliefs and provided good background information on the rise and fall of their fortunes.

 

After looking at the original old furnace where Abraham Darby first perfected the smelting of iron using coke instead of charcoal we had an excellent lunch in the Furnace Kitchen before returning along the Gorge to browse in the small shops and back lanes.

 

 

Back at the Half Moon service was a little slow but the staff worked hard and we fully appreciated the difficulties of staff recruitment in hospitality at this moment and the food was as good as ever. 

So on the Bank Holiday Friday we visited the Jackfield Tile Museum where thousands of beautiful tiles were displayed along with reconstructions of whole scenarios from butchers, public loos and stations - we reflected on the beautiful scenes displayed at the old station near Marvao in Portugal that should also be preserved. 

 

 

 

 

Then before traffic built up we scooted across to the small simple site near Rugeley I had used in May for four nights far from the crowds. Tap and waste tank met our needs and we cycled out to the Trent and Mersey Canal for 40 miles of peace and quiet including a short detour on the Coventry Canal. The National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas looked busy so we had lunch at the Bank Cafe (excellent) in the nearby village before returning through an area of Staffordshire soon to be dominated by HS2, dropping briefly in to Lichfield to see its stunning cathedral, busy though thanks to a food festival.

 

On Sunday Pete and Nina joined us for the day for a super al fresco lunch and a walk on the canal - amazing that Nina can now do up to 5 miles which has given them the confidence to order a new van for travel and adventures next year : good on you guys.

On the Monday we enjoyed exploring a surprisingly empty Cannock Chase with miles of traffic free tracks and trails and had a peaceful final night.

The farm is the location for the Just Crisps company which uses their own spuds and rapeseed oil to produce a delicious range of quality snacks so after a quick look round we came away with a good stash of their products before stopping at the National Trust's Shugborough Hall former home of Patrick Lichfield the royal photographer. The estate had passed to the NT in lieu of death duties and is being slowly restored to good order with extensive walled gardens and grounds. We felt it lacked organisation and could have been better signed but I guess it's early days yet and they too have been profoundly affected by staff recruitment issues and funding challenges.

 

We arrived at a newly opened Certificated Site at Millmeece near Stone to meet the owners who rear Boer goats for meat and are converting an old RAF building in to what will be a substantial property so we had much to discuss with them. The site is close to the busy Midland Main Line so a variety of trains shot past including a large number of freight trains, Avanti West Coast high speed trains and the rather rare Royal Mail specials that shift letters and parcels from London to Scotland.

On Wednesday we had planned to visit the Gladstone Pottery Museum but it had just closed for a refit so we carried on up the Trent and Mersey to Kidsgrove, climbed above the Harecastle Tunnel and returned on old railway lines through Burslem where my tubeless tyre picked up a nick that defeated the sealant. Unbelievably I was carrying the wrong spare and Mandy's unused one had a hole in it so we googled nearby bike shops and fortunately found one less than half a mile away. The friendly owner  of Plant Cycle Works soon had a new tyre fitted and four tubes supplied whilst we ate our lunch and we carried on back along the canal via Stone in time to see a steam special head north.

So after a very rewarding few weeks I am off to finish the last sections of the PBW before heading back to Wales for some bothy related commitments.

We have managed to avoid the holiday crowds as hoped and as education and work get back to normal I hope the countryside gets even quieter.....

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