The dew was thick on the long grass making it seem silvery.
By the time I was up one of the DofE groups had already gone. No surprise this was the girls group :-). When I asked one if the lads tom the boys group why they had nit left either the other group the reply was... well let's say predictable "we walk faster than the girls. We will still arrive before them." nuff said.
On our arrival yesterday we had noticed Bolton Castle just a couple if fields away. It's a majestic structure constructed from that lovely Yorkshire stone. In the morning light the building took on an all together darker look. Not a bad image but just markedly different from the previous evening.
We had to battle the chickens for our breakfast. They were every where and in everything.
Should have just rung one's neck and had chic for breakfast. |
We stuffed down Porridge, toast and bacon sandwiches. Everything the body needs ;-)
While having breakfast the sun had come out strong so the tents and ground sheets dried quickly.
Once packed and sure the chickens were not in the bags we said our thanks and moved on.
Bobby had done his map reading in the pub the night before and we were well aware that we had to climb the mountain behind Redmire. Boy it was steep but being hardknott veterans it was over quickly.
At the top of the hill we were surprised to see a TANK turning space. No tanks unfortunately
I know the bikes were heavy but not THAT heavy. |
The view from the top was wonderful. |
The ride over the tops of the dales was a joy and the gentle easterly wind blowing across the hill tops did not hinder us to much. It was just right to cool us down in the blazing sun.
The beautiful bird song on the open hills is so cheery that it helps the miles pass so gently.
After about 10 miles we were approaching Catterick garrison. We kept seeing "Tank Turning", "Tank Training" and "Firing range Keep out" signs. Then the route I had so carefully planned tried to take us on a road through the Tank range and the sign on the road did tell us it was an active range today.
OK so probably not a good road to take. |
We had to work out a detour and go round. The Sat Nav came to the rescue again as we could zoom out and see alternate roads. Luckily the detour took us right passed a big Tesco so we stopped for provisions.
We were running out of mentholated spirit for our stoves. Tesco don't sell it. Surprise surprise ;-). We tried Boots, nope. We tried an outdoor sports shop, nope. We tried a bike shop, nope. Eventually we found a wee diy shop and managed to pickup a couple of bottles.
At 1 pm we stopped in an amazing wee town called Scorton to eat lunch. They have big town green and we sat there and had lunch. It is such s peaceful place. You could just lie back and drift through the afternoon without noticing it going by. We watched as village life wandered by these two cyclists eating there lunch.
The Chap at the Heifer Bar was kind enough to allow us to use there facilities. Nice looking bar and restaurant. They also serve people out on the village green. :0)
We peddled on for a pretty uneventful remaining 20 miles. The scenery was still lovely. Some if the small hamlets we wandered through seemed to be dead apart fir the bird song and the occasional lawn mower. It seems a great place to move too to get away from the fast paced world. The roads were much flatter so we guessed we had passed in to the flat lands of the middle of the country.
The Swan house campsite is lovely. The facilities are great. Not quite at Hawkshead standard but close.
Only downside is that the A19 is about 300 yards from the tent and just now it is busy and noisy. Bring on the ear plugs ;-)
I stuck my foot in it when we arrived. Christine (our host) asked what we were doing for dinner. Knowing they also ran the pub I said we would eat with them. It turns out they don't sell food. But Christine did not miss a beat and asked if we would be ok with a chicken dinner. I apologized and said we would sort ourselves out.
Christine was kind enough to put us round the back of the facilities block out of the wind. We got the tents up and I went for a shower and Bobby had a wee snooze.
I have been able to get some much needed washing done so clean smelling for tomorrow :-)
We ordered out for Pizzas! Well why not ;-). We were allowed to sit in the pub to eat. Its nice to eat at a table.
Well we are sat in the bar with a beer watching the France v Ecuador game away from the midges. Our host has allowed us to use there WiFi to upload the blog.
Bobby has been targeted by the midges again. Probably while sleeping in his tent as he was putting it up this afternoon.
Well that's it for today B road fans.
Stats for today.
Distance: 37.28 ( including detour)
Average speed: 10.9mph
Max speed: 34.5
Cycle time:
Trip time: 5 hrs 20 mins
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