Northern Delights

Keen as always to avoid Bank Holiday crowds we decided to stay fairly local and visit Hope Agricultural Show in the Peak District so drove to near Ladybower Reservoir and then cycled the last few miles overtaking long queues of stationary traffic. The show was excellent with a good range of displays and stalls as well as the usual horticulture and craft competition marquees.

 

A highlight in the main ring was a superb display of horsemanship with a guy riding two horses standing on their backs and controlling up to 6 others in a free flowing display of great skill and coordination. Later a display of vintage tractors, vehicles and finally the livestock competition winners rounded off a very enjoyable day.

Later that week I headed off to Dent station via York visiting my elderly aunt in her care home and very much counted my blessings as I pulled up to the remote spot high above Garsdale where two years ago we had stayed in the Snow Huts. To enjoy the Settle Carlisle line I decided to hop on a train down to Skipton and back just to enjoy the route and later enjoyed a quiet night with not even the overnight freight trains rumbling through due to strike action. I later meandered across to Penrith where friends had invited me for dinner and to overnight. It was good to catch up and as always I was keen to see his ever expanding model railway layout.

The Solway Aviation Museum north of Carlisle was well worth the visit, had a very reasonable admission price (£6) and provided a rare opportunity to climb in to the cockpit of a very well preserved Vulcan bomber. This sleek delta wing aircraft had carried our nuclear deterrent at the height of the Cold War but only engaged in combat missions during the Falklands conflict when flown via Ascension Island to bomb Port Stanley - refuelling and support meant that each mission used 1,000,000 gallons of fuel.......

 

Other aircraft on display included jets, survey aircraft and fighters with access encouraged to many. The various buildings housed displays relating to the Battle of Britain, Bomber Command and the Dambusters as well as Britain's ultimately unsuccessful participation in a nuclear weapon system known as Bluestreak tested at Woomera in Australia.

 

A lovely drive took me through Dumfries and Galloway to one of the 7Stanes mountain centres at Dalbeattie where under the excellent Stay the Night scheme run by Forest Scotland self contained vans can overnight for £7. There were 3 other vans in the large parking area and on a sunny evening I took myself off to test the easy going blue and green runs. This then set me up for the more challenging red route on the Sunday morning which I had pretty much to myself. Over exuberance saw me part company with the bike on a rocky descent leading to a decent grazed knee but otherwise it was a good ride with stunning views.

Moving on to Glentrool I tackled the 36 mile loop that passed near enough Newton Stewart to be worth diverting for refreshments before continuing through stunning scenery to return via a section of the Southern Upland Way passing White Laggan Bothy. I fitted in the blue loop afterwards but as overnighting wasn't permitted I dropped down to Garliestown for a great night tucked away on a Britstop behind the Harbour Inn which did excellent food.  During WW2 the large bay had been used to test various designs of the Mulberry Harbours, whilst today a few fishing boats still operate from the dock. The CAMHC site wanted £38 a night had I decided to stay there - an outrageous amount so I was more than happy to dine well at the pub who also allowed me to fill up with water.

 

Pulling up at Kirroughtree where I planned to stay overnight I set up on the large car park and enjoyed the red trail that climbed high before swooping and swerving back to the centre. After a quiet night I followed the blue route before moving on to a small aire south of Dumfries having taken the longer but more scenic coast road through Kirkbean. This community supported initiative at Glencaple on the banks of the Nith was perfect with a stylish cafe next door and a good pub across the road. A few other vans were lined up for the sunset and it was another peaceful night.

 

Yet another of the Stanes lay at Mabie where a red route took me past a beautiful marble sculpture before following a mixture of tracks and trails through the forest and around the hills.

My final trail centre was at the Forest of Ae but as I headed out I noticed a loose bolt in the chainring and then that two more had fallen out already so with a fair few miles ahead of me decided to abort the ride and instead enjoy a quiet evening in the sun with yet again and surprisingly, no midges.

After a cracking five days and ten trails in warm sunny weather I headed back towards England stopping at Longtown where the Bikeseven cycle shop took great trouble to find me replacement bolts - these were in fact pedal studs which combined with a small spanner of the right size soon did the trick.

My destination was a small CS site near Appleby that provided nothing more than a quiet field, water and a septic tank - perfect at £5/night and very convenient for parking at Appleby later, from where the following morning I caught the train down to Skipton, enjoyed an hour in the town and then met Mandy who had travelled via Leeds from Sheffield. We jumped off at Appleby and took a walk round the town admiring the charming collection of almshouses that provide supervised housing for widows and spinsters and enjoyed tea and cake in a quiet courtyard gallery.

 

 

 

Near Kirkby Stephen we enjoyed a section of the Northern Viaducts Walk before arriving mid evening back at Dent where we planned to stay two nights as on the Sunday the Flying Scotsman was due to pass through twice.

Saturday saw us enjoy a superb 30 mile ride along the Pennine Bridleway starting with a climb up the old Coal Road before turning south, crossing Cam Fell, dropping down to Horton in Ribblesdale and then climbing up on to the lower reaches of Ingleborough with the remarkable and extensive limestone pavements. The weather and views were superb and although I had done the same route two years ago it was still well worth the revisit and we were grateful for refreshments at the cafe in Faizor before dropping down to Settle for the return train home.

On Sunday morning a few people gathered on the bridge and platforms but having befriended the holiday makers in the Station House we walked down to the currently unoccupied Snow Huts for a great view of the iconic loco as it curved round from the jaws of Blea Moor tunnel. We mved on to Garsdale Head Station for a different view from Dandrymire Viaduct - during our wait I had a nose round an abandoned caravan in the station overflow car park only to set the damn thing off towards the tracks. I jumped out and it stopped moving to my great relief. Slightly behind schedule the Scotsman appeared heading south with the carriages full of happy customers and we moved on in absolute deluge through Mallerstang and back to the small site at  Brampton.

 

Monday was a little overcast and damp so we caught the train up to Carlisle and enjoyed the town centre, cathedral with its stunning Alhambra inspired blue ceiling and then toured Carlisle Castle and its military museum. Steak, wine and a bit of Monday quiz night telly ended a good day and we slept soundly being the only occupants.

Tuesday was settled enough to get out on the bikes for 52 miles up to Melmerby along quiet lanes, back via Brougham castle and a pub at Langwathby and then a final leg to Brampton once more with the line of the Pennine Hills as a backdrop to the east and the Lakeland Fells to the west.

Wednesday as hoped and forecast dawned bright and sunny so we moved on to park at Kirkland where a route up on to Cross Fell, the highest point on the Pennine Way started. An old bridleway wound slowly up to the higher fells and we continued on down to Greg's Hut a bothy renovated only last year that used to be miners accommodation during the working week. The standard of the work was top class and the bothy felt sturdy and fit for another hundred years in the exposed location. After lunch we continued up on to the summit of Cross Fell before returning via the Hanging Gardens of Mark Anthony which we failed to discover on the ground.

 

A small site near Penrith gave us a night on power as the heavens opened but Thursday dawned bright and sunny tempting us to park at Pooley Bridge and catch the Ullswater steamer down to Glenridding where lunch on the terrace of the Inn on the Lake was a real treat in the warm sunshine. 

We found a quiet pub with camping behind near Wigton and on a damp Friday carried on to a rain and windswept Silloth where one of us sat and read whilst the other took a tour of the town's highlights. The RNLI shop opened at 1 and was staffed by 3 jolly ladies who were tickled pink that we spent a fair bit on fund raising items for future gifts.

Finally to complete a very varied and entertaining time away we returned to the friends at Penrith for a final night enjoying an excellent meal once more and a comfy night on their drive.

 

Returning to Sheffield via York for another sobering care home visit was a steady enough journey - we had spent the morning at the Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum which was an absolute gem. Home to a large collection of vintage excavators reached by a short ride on a steam train we were absorbed by the sight of various machines tearing at a large bank of earth and rock with the main showpiece being a nearly 100 year old steam powered Ruston and Bucyrus 306 excavator that had been restored to working order after 50 years under water in a Bedfordshire Quarry whose lime stone waters had prevented rusting. The boiler even passed its safety inspection to operate at 80 psi with almost no work. This and similar heritage projects visited recently such as the Lancaster,Vulcan and S-C line were all inspiringly maintained and run by dedicated volunteers with a generosity and passion that is often under reported in mainstream media. During my time away I was hugely saddened by news of the earthquakes in Morocco and floods in Libya so hope to return to the former early next year and do what I can to support those who have lost so much.

Piccies here ------- take care all.