LeJoG Day 16 - The unpredictability of cycle routes

Until Friday night, we've been very lucky in the Youth Hostels we've stayed in, which have been very quiet overnight.  On Friday our luck ran out, as a coach turned up at Glen Nevis hostel at 11.45 pm, just as Steve and I were trying to go to sleep.  It stopped outside our window with its engine running for 15 minutes or so, and of course its impossible for a coach load of people to come in very quietly!  Not conducive to a good night's sleep!

Coming back to the cycling - on Friday I was very thankful for the cycle tracks we travelled - yesterday (Saturday), I was very unimpressed!  

From South Ballaculish, where we finished on Friday and started again yesterday, there's a good cycle track alongside the road as far as the Corran ferry - although at one point it suddenly disappeared, there was a confusing selection of patched road and dropped curbs in the wrong place for cyclists, which resulted in Joel taking a bit of a tumble - fortunately no real damage was done.

The National Cycle Network sends people across the Corran ferry to the north side of Loch Linnhe, and then back on the ferry at the other end to Fort William.  We'd already decided to stay on the main road - it's shorter, and avoids the potential delays waiting for a ferry.  We also picked up that the route over there goes along a single track road, which is used by lots of logging lorries, so it's not much safer than the main road anyway.  It was lucky for us it was a Saturday - traffic wasn't too bad.  But the main road has no provision for cycles, and little opportunity for people to overtake, so I was very relieved when we made it to Fort William without incident!  At one point, we'd pulled into a layby and were joined by another cyclist.  He was doing Lands End to John O'Groats in nine days - yesterday being the penultimate day.  That means cycling about 100 miles a day - the most we've managed, on a very good day, is 65!  But speed isn't everything - the best bits of our ride, for me at least, have been the times when we've been on quiet roads, or off-road on good tracks, and there's time to enjoy the scenery, hear the birds sing, and give thanks to our Creator God for so much beauty. 

Once we were through Fort William, we joined the towpath beside the Caledonian Canal, which was a lovely ride.  The Caledonian Canal was built as a shipping canal, so it's very wide.  It joins the lochs along the Great Glen, so ships can travel from Inverness at the north-east end to Oban and so out to sea at the south-west end (and vice versa, of course!)  It's one of Thomas Telford's amazing feats of engineering.  The locks (with a 'k' not an 'h'!) are enormous - we saw about half a dozen boats of various sizes start on their way together up 'Neptune's Staircase' (a series of eight locks) from Fort William.  According to Wikipedia, it's the longest staircase lock in Britain, and it takes about 90 minutes for a boat to go through the whole system.

When we got to the south end of Loch Lochy, we were onto minor roads for a few miles, but then found ourselves on a very bumpy forest track for the next few!  After a few minutes, we'd had enough of it, and unfortunately the next section of canal towpath, between Loch Lochy and Loch Oich, didn't look very good either!  So it was back to the main road for the next few miles.  Fortunately, that was followed by another good section of canal towpath to Fort Augustus.  It's a shame that you can't tell from the Sustrans map what kind of surface an off-road cycle track is going to have . . . 

From Fort Augustus, we had a big climb up the road to the south side of Loch Ness.  It was a killer, at the end of the day, and after six days of cycling!  We didn't quite make it as far as we'd intended, but we'd done most of the climbing by the time we decided to call it a day.  Once we'd loaded the bikes onto the car, we drove the rest of our route to Inverness (we'll cycle it tomorrow!), and stopped at the viewpoint to take some photos.

Last night and tonight, we're staying by Loch Ness.  Today is a rest day (much needed) - a chance to wash smelly cycling clothes, do some maintenance on the bikes, and take stock.  We were watching the weather forecast this morning, and looking at the map of Britain, and where we now are, it seems phenomenal how far we've come!  

Cycling up the towpath beside Neptune's Staircase

A collection of boats in one of the Neptune's Staircase locks

Ben Nevis in the background
- we travelled the railway in the foreground two years ago

Part of the Caledonian Canal near Fort William

General Wade's Military Road -
part of our route for tomorrow (Monday)

LeJoG Day 15 - Thank you, Sustrans and Dr Beeching!

This morning we told the boys that over the next two days we needed to cover 108 miles.  They didn't even bat an eyelid!  Our perspectives on the kind of distance we can cover in a day are changing!

We tried to get going as early as possible this morning - there was a 24 mile drive back to where we finished last night, which takes a while on winding Scottish roads.

Those first 24 miles, back to Oban, were quite hilly.  Joel started struggling because his leg was hurting, it was raining on and off, and it began to look unlikely that we'd complete the distance before lunch.  But some edible encouragement, along with ibuprofen, and prayer, worked wonders, and we were back at the Youth Hostel by lunchtime, enjoying a portion of chips along with our sandwiches.

From Oban, we went north, up the coast road, over the bridge across the mouth of Loch Etive, up to the south side of Loch Creran, over another bridge to the Strath of Appin, and round to the south side of Loch Linnhe.  For a lot of the route we were on a very good cycle track, partly along a disused railway (thanks to Dr Beeching!), and partly alongside the main road.  It was part of the Caledonia Way, and was very well signposted, with a good surface.  With beautiful views and very little navigation required (there's not much choice of roads around here!), it was a very enjoyable afternoon, until we began to get tired towards the end, at least!

Decorative barrier on the National Cycle Route 78

Oban in the early morning sun

Eilean Balnagowan

These cheeky chappies watched us
as we took a break

Joel spotted this sign on the cycle route

LeJoG Day 14 - Sun, Sea, Wind and Rain!

We woke up this morning to blue skies and sunshine.  When Steve and I went to collect our clothes from the drying room first thing, we saw a deer with her fawn, just inside the Youth Hostel grounds.  We were able to watch them for a minute or two before they moved away - Mum jumped over the fence, leaving baby to find its way round through a gap a bit further up!

We trundled back to Brodick in the car, ready to start from where we left off last night.  It wasn't quite as beautiful weather as we'd hoped, but a vast improvement on yesterday evening!  The road runs along the coast for 7 miles or so, giving us great views across the Firth of Clyde - the light created as the sun reflects on the sea round here is amazing!  After those first 7 miles, the road cuts across through the mountains - that wasn't so much fun!  It was wet and cold up there, and there was a headwind which was trying to blow us back up the downhill stretches, and prevent us doing the uphill at all.  By the time we'd got to the top, I'd decided that we'd miss our intended ferry from Lochranza.  Amazingly, I was proved wrong!  As we went down the other side, it stopped raining, the sun came back out, and we arrived at the ferry terminal as the ferry was docking!

We crossed over to the Mull of Kintyre, and firstly had to cross from one side to the other - ie up a long way, and then down again the other side.  After that it became slightly easier.  We had lunch by the harbour in Tarbert, which boasted a bistro so we could get a very welcome cup of tea.  

After lunch, the route took us up the side of Loch Fyne and then along the Crinan Canal.  Before we could get onto the towpath, we had to wait while the bridge was opened to allow several boats through - one going from the Loch into the canal, others going the other way.  The Canal was beautiful - very peaceful, with dark, peaty water giving great reflections, and with a newly surfaced path which made for easy cycling.  Afterwards we crossed a nature reserve called Mòine Mhòr, and then came the hard work at the end of the day, as we had lots more climbing to do, once more against a headwind!  By this time, the sun was shining though, so we had no more rain or cold to deal with.

We finished eventually with a fast downhill section, with glorious views across Loch Craignish in the afternoon sun (sadly, no time to take photos!)  

We then drove the route to Oban, where we're staying tonight, and which we'll have to cycle tomorrow.  It's a beautiful route, but looks like hard work on a bike!  Pray for a good night's sleep and a more favourable wind in the morning!

A view across the bay from Brodick

We just made it back to Lochranza in time for the ferry!

Looking back towards Lochranza from the ferry

Another view of Arran from the ferry

The harbour at Tarbert - our lunchtime view!

Houses reflected in the Crinan Canal

Boats moored on the Canal

LeJoG Day 13 - A fair wind!

We had to drive about 30 miles back to today's start point at a place called Kirkconnel.  Joel was struggling with tiredness; Nathan seems to have recovered from yesterday's problems, so thank you to those who prayed for him.

The A76 didn't seem quite so bad this morning, with less traffic and cooler conditions.  We covered the 8 miles left from yesterday in our first hour, and then continued up Nithsdale to the watershed on minor roads.  (I've come to the conclusion that the road was very deceptive yesterday, and while it looked as if we were going downhill, we must actually have been going uphill - which would account for it being such hard work!)

From then on, we seemed to be flying!  There was a strong breeze, fortunately blowing in our direction, and a lot of downhill stretches.  By the time we stopped for lunch, we'd clocked 34 miles!  The rain and possible storms which had been forecast for today didn't catch us, and we enjoyed sunny spells and a fair wind.  The possibility of catching the 6.00 pm ferry to Arran became the probability of catching the 4.40 pm crossing.  

This afternoon, we picked up National Cycle Route 73, which runs alongside the river through Irvine, and on mainly traffic-free paths out to Ardrossan, from where we planned to catch the ferry across to the Isle of Arran.  We arrived with time to spare, and Steve managed to get the car onto the same ferry (he was originally booked for the later one).

We'd had our share of good weather for the day, though, and as we approached Brodick on the ferry, it began to rain.  The plan to cycle the last 14 miles across the island to Lochranza was abandoned, and we loaded the bikes onto the car and ourselves into it, and drove up to the Youth Hostel.  I think the forecast for the morning is quite good, so I'm looking forward to a stunning ride in the morning, before catching the ferry from here back to the mainland to continue our journey.

Looking back down Nithsdale from near the top

Ardrossan Harbour as we left on the ferry

Another view of Ardrossan Harbour

Yours truly on the ferry

The ferry going back to Ardrossan from Brodick,
emerging from the mist!

LeJoG Day 12 - A sunny day in Scotland!

Our main memory of today will be of the heat!  It was too hot for cycling, really, and Joel in particular, really struggled.

We set off from Gretna in good time this morning, and things went very well until lunchtime.  We even found time for an extra ice cream stop, when we found ourselves going right past an ice cream farm which we remembered from our holiday two years ago.  Well worth a break - I chose rhubarb and ginger flavour - yummy!

At lunch, even the bikes were flat out (see below)!  We found another shady tree, this time at the edge of a public playing field, which suited us very well.

This afternoon we spent most of our time on the A76.  Not an experience I would recommend on a bike!  It wasn't quite as busy as some of the roads we cycled in Gloucester and Herefordshire the other day, but it was hard work.  The surface was in reasonable repair, but very bumpy for bicycles, and consequently very slow.  So even though we were going downhill most of the time, and under trees out of the worst of the sun, it was a long, hard slog.  We were stopping frequently for a drink of water, and eventually gave up about 8 miles short of where we'd hoped to finish for the day - 8 miles which we'll have to cycle on the same road tomorrow!

Tomorrow afternoon, we're due to catch the ferry over to the Isle of Arran, so we need to complete 52 miles by 5.30 pm at the latest - it would be nice to do it sooner, and catch an earlier ferry!  So please pray that we'll be fit and ready in the morning, and that nothing untoward (eg accident, illness or puncture) delays us on the way.  We're very grateful for everyone's prayers - and in general we're doing amazingly well, enjoying good weather, and not suffering many problems.  Nathan's not feeling too good this evening, so please pray that he'll sleep well and feel better in the morning.

I didn't take any photos today - these are Steve's:

Even the bikes were flat out at lunchtime!

A shady spot to enjoy a delicious ice cream

LeJoG Day 11 - Fàilte gu Alba!

After a restful time from Saturday evening until this morning, being very well looked after by Geoff and Brenda, it was hard to say 'goodbye' this morning and continue our journey.  It was a beautiful day, and we started by cycling through the lanes from Sedgwick into Kendal.  From Kendal, we took the A6 to Penrith over Shap Summit.  For about 10 miles, we climbed steadily to the top, and then enjoyed the pay-off - much of the rest of the route to Penrith was downhill!  For the first time, we broke the 30-mile barrier before lunch, which we enjoyed sitting under a shady tree in the churchyard of St Andrew's Church (http://www.standrewspenrith.org.uk/welcome.htm).

From Penrith, we took a more cross-country route to Carlisle.  At one point, about 6 tractors came roaring past us on quite a narrow road!  It was one of those days when it's a joy to be out cycling - blue skies, a cooling breeze (not too strong!), beautiful countryside to cycle through, and stunning views of distant fells.

Carlisle provided an ice-cream and toilet break, before we pedalled on to Gretna.  So we're now north of the border, but as Nathan says, 'the end is still not in sight'!  We're over half-way now, but there's still over 400 miles to cycle.

We couldn't do this without Steve - we left him behind at Geoff and Brenda's to pack to car; he caught us up (having been chasing us along the A6!) in Penrith, and recharged our water bottles and provided edible encouragements; after sharing lunch with us, he continued to Carlisle, where he met us again with more water for our bottles and good things to eat; then he drove to the B&B and unloaded the car before meeting us in Gretna where we loaded the bikes onto the car and went to find some tea before coming back here.  He's spent the evening sorting out food and water for tomorrow, and generally making sure that we'll be ready to leave in the morning.  And tomorrow, he'll probably do the same all over again!  

Right at the end of the day, we crossed the border!

The River Kent in Kendal this morning

Looking up Longsleddale on our way up to Shap Summit

Looking back down the road from Shap Summit

Distances from Gretna,
including Lands End and John O'Groats -
we really are more than half way!

LeJoG Day 10 and Rest Day!

Yesterday (Saturday) was exhausting!  We started in Orrell, which was 15 miles short of where we'd hoped to finish on Friday evening, and cycled 63 miles to Sedgwick, just outside Kendal, where we'd arranged to stay with friends for Saturday and Sunday nights.  It rained on and off all day, and we had to find our way through Leyland (we got lost!), Preston and Lancaster (which were both easier, as there are National Cycle routes through the cities, which greatly help navigation - although it was still useful to have a pre-planned set of directions for those times when the route signs just seems to disappear!).  Most of the rest of the time we were ploughing up the A6, which isn't much fun, although at least there aren't many heavy lorries, as they tend to stay on the M6 motorway.  It all seemed to go slowly, but we were determined to go the whole distance, so we could have a proper rest today!  Geoff and Brenda were very understanding of our turning up at just after 7.30 pm, tired, wet and dirty!  They fed us a good meal, and have allowed us to relax today, and do some 'catching up' jobs, such as cleaning and lubing bikes, doing a load of washing, and so on.  It was great to go with them to church this morning as well.

Today has been glorious - it's good to have a brief look at the Lakeland fells in sunshine!  It's also helped us to dry out wet gear and get everything ready for the morning.  Tomorrow we go over Shap, so there'll be lots of climbing!  It's a good thing our legs have had a chance to rest today, because they'll have to work very hard to get us up to
1,400 ft.

The sun came out very briefly as we crossed the
River Lune in Lancaster