7/29/19-8/6/19 NCN Route 1: Scarborough to Berwick-upon-Tweed

Grateful for...

• hydraulic disk brakes
• Goretex
• New tires
• Bike shops

Monday, 29 July 2019

Biked 30 miles to Whitby, 853 feet of climb
Accommodations: Elford House. Booked directly at https://www.elfordguesthouse.co.uk/. Very comfortable, quiet.

A shortish day with moderate climbing, all along the seashore, but what a variety of landscape and weather! Farmland, fishing villages, clouds, rain, sun, and wind. It was good to be back on the road.

Sheeps. Lots of sheeps.

Robin Hood's Bay, our lunch stop. With a 28% pitch on the road, cars were not allowed--and we parked our bikes as well. Cute old fishing town with fresh fried haddock and chips at a small fish stand.

The Whitby Abbey ruins were the inspiration for Dracula. The town of Whitby plays on the connection with Dracula-inspired events, including a Goth festival in the fall. The B&B next to ours advertised Dracula-inspired decor.

The fishing industry is also a focus of Whitby.

Tuesday, 30 July 2019

Biked 51 miles from Whitby to Saltburn, 900 feet of climb

Accommodations: Ruby Manor, in Redcar and Cleveland. Host Jason. Booked through Airbnb. Reasonably priced, shared bath, access to kitchen and lounge, secure indoor storage for bikes. The house was rundown and we would not recommend it, but Jason was very welcoming, helpful, and interesting--leader of a fairly successful regional rock band, passionate about politics and cars.

We had a lovely day cycling on small lanes and cycle paths, up and down the rolling hills along the North Yorkshire Moors. Another day with mixed rain and sun, coolish temps. It was a very pleasant day.

This is why we are grateful for hydraulic disc brakes. The 28% grade on the way up to this sign are why we are grateful for first gear. (Yes, I walked up that one.)

In light of the previous photo, I think they should change the image on this sign to show elderly people on road bikes speeding downhill. Don't you agree?

Much of our day was spent cycling up, down, and along the edige of the North Yorkshire Moors. The scenery was stunning.

There were cows on the moors.

Loved these cheerful beach houses in Saltburn.

It was 65 degrees air temp and I don't know how cold sea temp, and the wind was blowing like crazy. Most swimmers and surfers were in full wet suits, but a few were in regular bathing suits. Ken and I were not even tempted to join them!

Wednesday, 31 July 2019

Biked 60 miles from Saltburn to Sunderland, 

Accommodations: Sea Lane Mayfield Guest House, Tyne and Wear, Sunderland. Host Vince. Family-run guest house with sea view on outskirts of Sunderland. We had a twin room with private bath, including a full English breakfast that was the best we have had. Vince was very nice, accommodating our late arrival and making the room available for an additional night when we discovered we needed an uplanned day of rest. We highly recommend the guest house and would like to stay again. Night 1 of 2.

It rained. We were looking forward to cycling on the Cinder Trail--a dedicated path on an old railroad bed--most of the day, but it turned out that torrential rains a few days earlier had flooded many sections of the path, and it was still covered with huge puddles, rocks, holes, and smelly mud. About noon, when we were starting to look for a lunch spot in Middlesborough, we hit stretches of broken glass and ended up with two flat tires--the first of our trip.

We were lucky enough to locate the Paul Curran Cycle Shop (http://www.paulcurran-cyclesport.co.uk/) a mile and a half away, and Paul was kind enough to replace both tires while we waited. His sister served us hot tea, and we all chatted about Paul's former career as a cycle racer and his transition to shop owner. We have run into the nicest and most interesting people all along the way.

Back on the road again by 2:30 pm, we continued to find the going slow and rough. We finally arrived at the guest house in Tyne and Wear at 8:30 pm, stopping a few blocks before we got there to grab some groceries for a picnic supper in our room.

We are mostly following National Cycle Network Route 1 up the coast of England and Scotland. Most sections, like this one, are clearly signposted. The road on the right is not the cycle path. The cycle path is in the trees to the left. Usually the cycle path is similar to the road except narrower, but the week we were traveling it had been flooded and was in rough shape.

Thursday, 1 August 2019

Unplanned rest day

Accommodations: Sea Lane Mayfield Guest House, night 2 of 2.

Lunch: The Salt House Kitchen. Very good crab salad sandwich, fish, and sweet potato chips.

Despite a week on antibiotics, I was still not feeling well, so first thing in the morning, we took a taxi to a walk-in clinic. The doctor found no signs of infection and prescribed a day of rest, followed by more frequent rest breaks and more fluids while cycling. Again we were impressed with the efficiency and care we got from the NHS.

Vince was able to let us keep our room at the guest house for another night. We both napped on and off the rest of the day. And it rained all day--so we were not too sorry about being off the trail. Luckily, we were able to reschedule our accommodations for the next few nights.

Friday, 2 August 2019

Biked 38 miles from Sunderland to Newbiggin by the Sea, 754 feet of climb

Accommodations: Private room hosted by Michelle, booked through Airbnb. Advertised as breakfast included, but breakfast was just instant coffee and muesli. A small room with shared bath and kitchen. Michelle was very nice and the house was fairly clean, but there were two cats and a bit of an odor that we found unpleasant.

Dinner: Shaj Tandoori, family owned and run by brothers from Bangladesh. Wonderful food, nice restaurant with white tablecloths and excellent service.

A beautiful day of biking. We felt refreshed and happy to be back on the road. (With 16 hours of sleep behind us, we should have!) Newbiggin by the Sea is a small residential community with a good-sized caravan park and just a few restaurants and a grocery store. We walked around the old cathedral and the park by the sea before dinner.

Saturday, 3 August 2019

Biked 50 miles from Newbiggin by the Sea to Belford, 1000+ feet of climb (included bonus miles for added scenic loops)

Accommodations: Hollyhock House in town center, hosted by Ali, booked through Airbnb. Large room with private bath and shared kitchen, lounge, and garden, including washer and locked storage shed. Furnishings a bit worn, but we were comfortable and Ali was an excellent host. We would stay again. Night 1 of 3.

The sun was out, people were hiking and biking and playing with dogs and kids and swimming and surfing and kayaking--it was just a delightful day. We cycled about half along the coast and half through little villages a bit inland. Stopped for coffee and cake about 7 miles from Newbiggin and chatted with two guys on a 60-mile Saturday ride. Stopped for lunch at an old girls' school turned art gallery / cafe and had a delicious lunch of frittata, pasta bake, sourdough bread with mackerel spread, and blueberry frangipani.

The seacoast and villages along this stretch are beautiful and charming. Buildings are constructed of dark gray stone and have a heavier, starker look here.

We stopped at Warkworth Castle and village. We thought about getting tickets to the castle and spending some time walking around town, but the day was passing and we were feeling the need to keep moving. We often have a tug between wanting to explore and wanting to reach our destination. We are trying to schedule more frequent resting and sightseeing days. There is always way more to do and see than we can fit in!

Warkworth Village and Castle.

The medieval Warkworth Castle was a surprise to us. We haven't researched this stretch of our journey much--beyond planning the route and securing accommodations.

Lunch at a renovated girls' school was an unexpected treat--as was the sunshine!

Sunday, 4 August 2019

Rest day

Accommodations: Hollyhock House, night 2 of 3

Breakfast: The Well House. Very good English breakfast.

We scheduled this day of rest for doing laundry, catching up on finances and the blog, touching base with family, and planning ahead for the next week of our journey.

We are enjoying our host, Ali, and the other guests, who are friends of Ali's from Nottingham. They are all three just a few years younger than we are. Ali travels extensively and lives 7-8 months of the year in India. Billy, who works in the building trade on large public projects, and Jane, who retired a few years ago from teaching ESL at the college level, have an adult son and wide interests. It is fun to communicate in English in depth, after several months of conversations limited by our inability to speak Greek, German, Hungarian, Italian...

Monday, 5 August 2019

Sightseeing day
Biked 20 miles from Belford to Bamburgh Castle, Seahouses, and back to Belford, boat trip to Farne Islands
Accommodations: Hollyhock House, night 3 of 3
Lunch: Neptune takeaway in Seashores. Fish'n'chips.
Dinner: Cheese, crackers, veggies, and orange juice from the grocery store

It was a bit chilly and sprinkled on and off. The rain jackets and tights are coming in handy! Again, the biking and scenery were a treat, ranging from large fields of sheep and cows to stunning vistas of the sea, beaches, and islands. Often with a castle or ruin in the distance.

We toured Bamburgh Castle in the morning. It is privately owned by the Armstrong family and in excellent condition. The grounds, stables and state rooms are all open to the public (for a fee). A small museum highlighted the many scientific and engineering contributions of William George Armstrong in the late 1800s.

In the afternoon we took a Golden Gate boat tour of the Farne Islands, five islands with a variety of bird sanctuaries (including puffins) and gray seal colonies, plus the lighthouse where Grace Darling and her father launched a daring rescue of shipwrecked sailors in the 1800s.

One of the state rooms in Bamburgh Castle. 

Longstone Lighthouse. Grace Darling (1815-1842) and her family were keepers of the lighthouse and lived on the Farne Islands. In 1838, Grace and her father rescued survivors of the wrecked steamship Forfarshire.

Gray seals on the Farne Islands. We also saw several species of seagulls, cormorants, and a few puffins. Puffins are on the islands from about mid-March to the first week of August--we were lucky to catch a few that had not yet migrated.

Tuesday, 6 August 2019

Biked 30 miles from Belford to Holy Island for coffee and then on to Berwick-upon-Tweed
Accommodations: Secret Cottage, host Yvonne. What a gem! Behind a black door in the middle of Bridge Street in Berwick, there is a tiny little lane leading to three doors. One of those doors opens to a secret garden with doors to Yvonne and her husband's cottage and their rental cottage. Yvonne is an artist, and her paintings fill the walls of the bedroom. The bathroom is large and fully stocked with every possible bath accessory. And the kitchen is fully stocked for a light supper and cooked breakfast, including fresh eggs from the chickens that roam the garden. 

Morning coffee: Pilgrim's Coffee Shop on Holy Island

Dinner: pasta with pesto, tuna, wheat toast and butter, baked beans, and tomatoes from Yvonne's generous provisions

We had periods of beautiful sunshine between downpours. I'm actually starting to like the changeable weather. We are getting used to being wet :).

We started out biking 12 miles to Holy Island, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway that is covered by water during high tide. The tide charts are widely published and the cars were lined up nearly a quarter mile when we got to the causeway. We pedaled ahead to the front of the line and snuck across a little early, getting just a little wet from the tidal waters and a lot wet from the falling rain.

We pedaled through the village, dried off while drinking coffee and and eating scones, and rode out to look at the castle ruins. By then it was raining hard and cold, so we headed back across the causeway and turned toward Berwick. The sun came out, the cows and sheep were grazing, the road went up and down and around through the fields. And then the road turned into a muddy dirt track and it started to rain again.

But the Secret Cottage made everything better. And the frosting on the cake: Berwick Cycles (http://berwickcycles.co.uk/) directly across the street was open. Owner Tim took our bikes right in, adjusted Ken's derailleur, swapped my almost-worn-out rear brake pads for my only-half-worn-out front pads, replaced my rear tire and Ken's front tire, and stocked us up on energy bars and gels. We think we are all set to cross the border into Scotland tomorrow!

National Cycle Network Route 1 turned into a muddy trail the last few miles into Berwick. But we are still smiling!

Holy Island has a small village that fills to the brim with tourists when the causeway is open.

We ducked into a bus shelter to avoid the worst part of the downpour when we arrived in Berwick. Within a few minutes the rain had eased off enough for us to cycle the last 1.4 miles to our cottage.