Whitby to Scarborough via the cinder track

Here is a picture of Whitby taken last night...

Luke warm shower at the B&B and below par breakfast. Quick trip down memory lane with a visit to the house where we used to holiday when the children were small.

More money out of cash machine then back to guest house to retrieve bikes. Cinder track to Robin Hoods bay for coffee and cake,

then Ian and I rode up the steep hill out of the old part of the village whilst the girls cheered on (hmmmmm - sounds a bit like man-games in retrospect).

More cinder track, which was beginning to irritate with it's poor surface then a stop at a cafe at Ravenscar. Mixed fortunes with lunch - Sally's cheese on toast was over cheesed and under-cooked. Still, Jackie saved it for later so nothing wasted. More cinder track and one fall for me when my skinny tires got stuck in a mini-ravine. The run into Scarborough improved as we got closer and the return to tarmac was very welcome. Slight confusion about which B&B we were staying in but good result when we did find the correct one. Very impressively decorated house with huge rooms.

Taxi and table all booked so life is good.

Helmsley to Whitby via Rosedale Chimney Bank

Good breakfast at the B&B in Helmsley though whether it was all worth £100 is up for debate. Snacks and water at the coop before heading out on route that avoided A road to Scarborough by taking a loop to the south and going through Kirkbymoorside and up the hill to Hutton-Le-Hole. Tea and scone then up an on to the moors.

Pretty bleak today with the cold north wind and no sun but quite stunning at the same time. Down the "steepest hill in Britain" at Rosedale Chimney Banks - the garmin registered 28% but the sign post says 1:3.

The only hill I have seen where cyclists are told to dismount (which of course we all did (n't))...

Went passed the pub in Rosedale where Simon and Jenny took Joan when they visited Whitby (should have stopped for lunch)...

Then up the other side (Stoney Bank) at 24%. Cold and even bleaker ride over the moor to Egton Bridge, arriving too late for food at the pub. Too cold to move on so we went in anyway and had a hot chocolate with crisps (and secretly ate our snacks as well). The hills didn't ease up after the pub with an immediate 20% climb before descending to a deep ford. Paniers off and carry bikes across foot bridge. Through Grosmont and more hills into Sleights. Went into Whitby via Ruswarp though still a few hills to do before finally entering Whitby. Coast to coast - Done!

Some photos from yesterday

Lunch at Betty's Tearoom:

And outside afterwards:

Climbing...

Re-fuel:

Sneck Yate Bank

No proper Internet connection tonight so brief report. Jackie got her bike fixed. Lunch at Bettys in Northallerton. Sneck Yate Bank ridiculously steep. No exaggeration. Cakes at Revioulx Abbey. Another steep hill then Helmsley. No wifi in our room though :-(

As Ian said - "A day of 2 halves"

Got bike out of B&B shed to discover a flat front tire, so slight delay on setting off. Luckily the B&B had a track pump so saved a little time. Rolling ride to Appleby for morning tea and cakes...

Jackie's bike had been making noise in the rear hub all morning and a mile out of Appleby it packed in altogether. Best brains of Buckinghamshire study the bike....

Multi-tools too small to remove it but a bike hire place about 12 miles away said they had tools we could use. Sally set off to Kirkby Stephen and I waited with Jackie and Ian for a taxi. Waved them goodbye and then set off after Sally. Had lunch with Sally in KS then Sally set off to make start on climb to Tan Hill. Waited for J & I who turned up with a hire bike for J, which was declared unfit for service (very basic mountain bike). They went back to hire place to consider options and I set off after Sally. Great climb up over the tops - some very steep gradients. Met up with Sally at Tan Hill Pub and had fine pint of Black Sheep Ale.

When we came out of the pub we were surprised to see J & I roll by in the same taxi they had used from Appleby, on route to Reeth. Did the last 10 miles down into Reeth (plenty of up hill bits mixed in with the down) and found J & I having tea at Ivy Cottage B&B. Turns out there is a bike repair workshop down the road, so that's where we will be going first thing tomorrow.

Wetter than a wet thing

No pictures today cos it was too wet to get the camera out. I decided
to cycle all the way to Penrith whilst other and more sensible people
took the train from Carlisle. I left at 9 and cycled in heavy,
unremitting rain for 4.5 hours. Feet stayed dry until Carlisle but the
roads between there and Penrith were flooded and my feet got a full
dunk countless times. At least you don't care after the first one.
Arrived at Eden House B&B at 1:30 and Roger bunged my shoes in the
drier. Sally, Jackie and Ian arrived about 2:30 having dried out in
the waiting room at Carlisle. The ride from Carlisle to Penrith was
fun in some ways but also feel lucky I didn't take a tumble in one of
the flooded bits.

Also saw some sheep marooned on a island in the flooded river. Didn't
do a sheep rescue though.

How wet can it get?

Not many photos today, too wet. Andy set off early to cycle to Penrith. The rest of us, unable to resist some wet cycling, set off for Carlisle with the plan of catching the train for the last bit. By the time we got to Carlisle, we were really quite wet. We could only get one bike space for a train departing and hour later, meaning that two of us would have to wait a further hour and a half for another train. We actually all crammed onto the first train as we were only going one stop (25 miles). It was a great relief when the train left the station, because by the time anyone noticed there were actually 6 bikes in space meant for four, they could only throw us out at Penrith- where we wanted to be! It was a slow journey, took about 45 minutes instead of 15 as there was flooding on the line and a broken down train. As you can see from the pictures, we spent our wait at Carlisle drying stuff on their wonderful radiators.

Kirkcudbright to Hightae

Great porridge followed by lovely scrambled eggs (the breakfasts on Isla and Arran are now just a memory). Quick walk around Kirkcudbright before setting off up the 5 mile hill with a gentle gradient.

Here is our guest house - The Baytree

Weather was almost warm with no hint of rain in the air. Not bad given what we've had. First stop in Castle Douglas - Street Lights, great cakes....

Staying on NCN 7 took the Old Military Road to Dumfries. Fantastic views. Looked a bit like the Yorkshire Dales. Incredible big sky...

Late lunch in Dumfries at the Pumpernickel Cafe - soup and sandwiches followed by a sit in the sun by the river...

Pretty horrible road out of Dumfries toward Lockerbie so changed route to get off it. Eventually found the Garmin route again but then found that it included a section of unpaved road. However, much preferable to the busy A road and the views from the tops were great. Jackie very happy with a challenging road surface. Arrived at the Hightae Inn at exactly 16:59:45 - we were booked to arrive at 17:00:00. Not bad??

Quite a long day in the saddle.

Sally, Ian and Jackie decided to by-pass the Nick O'Balloch Pass by taking the train and meeting me in Newton Stewart. Fair enough, however they (accidentally) left me to pay for both for rooms in cash. £10 short I had a few anxious moments until the landlord returned from the station with I & J's share.

Managed to lose my way on the way over to the Nick O'Balloch Pass but a couple of extra miles got me back on track. Really enjoyed the climb up Nick O'Balloch - very similar to the high peaks in the pennines.

The descent down the other side was hampered by high winds and hail but had 2 close encounters with deer and one suicidal lamb.

Successfully met up with Sally, Ian and Jackie in Newton Stewart and after lunch followed NCN 7 on very pretty route through the Gate of Fleet (tea by the riverside) and the on to Kirkcudbright via the main road (very quiet). Very steep hill on the NCN near Newton Stewart.

Ian fixed a puncture on Jackie's bike and I had a look at Sally's gearing, which has been causing her trouble. Ian spotted a bent tooth on the middle chain ring, which I removed with pliers and I also removed the shift-mate from the rear derailleur and reinstated the shimergo cable routing onto the clamp, which seemed to fix the rear shifting issues. Not a bad hours work!

Lovely meal at the Selkirk Arms and great room at the Baytree B&B.

Night night all.

Wicker Man

Heading off over the Nick O'Balloch Pass today to Newton Stewart (well
I am, others are catching a train to miss it out). Lunch will be in
Newton Stewart, where the Wicker Man was filmed and premiered. Best
cycle fast then.

Arran to Maybole

9:45 ferry from Brodick to Ardrossan. Took about an hour with good views of Arran and the mountains in Argyll.

Followed NCN 73 and 7 through Irvine, Troon, Prestwick and Ayr, then up into the hills to Maybole. Ayr looked like a prosperous county town but Irvine and Troon looked a bit down at heal. The NCN took an interesting route, sometimes by the sea front and other times in housing estates or skirting some factory or a golf course.

Lunch in Troon at Bradford's Cafe then Sally caught a train from Ayr to Maybole whilst the rest of us cycled the last 10 miles up and over the Torrance Wynd Climb - a great little hill!

Staying in the Gardenrose Guest House in Maybole. Fantastic arts and crafts house hosted by lovely people. Beautifully restored. Even gave us a lift 4 miles and back to the pub to get dinner. Highly recommended.

Our ferry awaits....

Brodick bay...

Sally and Jackie on the hill out of Lochranza.

Good-bye to Islay - we won't miss the weather but it was very beautiful.

Not the best breakfast or weather to start the day in Port Ellen on
Islay, however the sun came out as we neared the Kennecraig on the
mull of kintyre and out on deck we were able to soak up a bit of sun
(for a short while). The 7 mile crossing on Kintyre was much more
scenic than we had imagined, then we had a 40 minute wait for the
ferry to Arran. Late lunch as Lochranza Distillery Cafe and then up
the big climb and dropped down to the eastern coast. Much warmer than
yesterday afternoon and no need for waterproofs - consequently much
better spirits. Spotted 3 seals basking on rocks by the shore and Ian
saw a herd of dear on the hill side, so not bad for one afternoon.
Very pretty road that followed the coast to Brodick.

Tayvallich to Jura ferry

It was quite a rough cossing today but expertly done by our pilot. Very exciting way to travel to Craighouse.

Girls on the ferry.

Lunch in Port Askaig

Terrible conditions on Islay

Heavy going in gales with hail and rain. Just got to Bowmore and hoping for the wind behind us on the way to Port Ellen.

Sunday- to Tayvallich somehow

I have my taxi booked to give my sprained ankle another recovery day. I've just waved the others off, and its raining already. Still, they have been fortified with a wonderful breakfast.

Interesting use of a shower hat there Jacky!

I'm quite envious of the cycling- really. Much easier in the rain when you have something to do all day. I shall be reading my kindle in a tea shop..

This is the route that the Paramo crew are taking today:

Saturday

After another four hour train journey, we finally arrived in Oban. Lovely B&B let us in at two o'clock to escape the rain. We had been thinking about a gentle bike ride, but all decided to leave the wet cycling until tomorrow.

Room for 2 more.

Having a grand time at the seaside

Probably have a swim later.

The first of many a fine meal

At the Saramago cafe at the cca in Glasgow. Yum!

Ready for loading

Roberts bike all ready to receive paniers and Scottish weather.

The day before departure

All packed and ready to go. Tomorrow will be my first cycling test for the sprained ankle (injured falling off the bike last Saturday) with just a short ride to Tring Station. We will travel from Tring to Euston, then first class from Euston to Glasgow. We couldn't get to Glasgow early enough to continue on to Oban in one day, so after an overnight stop in Glasgow we will continue with a four hour train to Oban on Saturday. This is all good for my ankle, giving it an extra couple of days to improve before we start our tour proper on Sunday.

Testing

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