Previous Chapter Return to Tony's Home Page
Day 14
Friday 7th May 2004
Bolton
to Westlinton (north of
Carlisle
)
The
bath last night was something to be seen – it was so big that I couldn’t
resist taking a photo while I was in it to get a feeling of the size!
Today’s
ride should be quite short – it even fits onto one of my map pages – which I
think is a first. I had originally
intended to go further but as Peter is coming up to cycle with me we need a base
which is fairly close to Carlisle Railway station to make his return easier.
I had arranged to meet him at the village
of
Westlinton
about 6 miles north of
Carlisle
. He was going to cycle with me for
the weekend until we got to Edinburgh.
It
was a beautiful sunny morning but I soon found myself on the busy A66 – 1.6
miles of it according to the CTC route information.
However there was a footpath alongside the road into the village
of
Temple
Sowerby. I am not one for cycling
on footpaths but this time I made an exception as the traffic was fast and quite
heavy. By the time I got to the
village half of the 1.6 miles was complete.
But I then noticed that in the village there is a lane leading off to the
Acorn Bank National Trust property – this is very close to where I am going.
Therefore I chose this road in preference to cycling on the main road as
the footpath has now come to an end. I
don’t know why the CTC directions didn’t use this lane.
There is very little difference in the distance.
Just follow the signpost to the NT in
Temple
Sowerby
and then head for the garden centre and tea shop which is indicated at the T
junction just after the NT.
In my
reading up on places of interest at last nights B&B I had noticed that there
was a Working Mill at Little Salkeld. This
was slightly off route but I thought worth a visit.
When I got there soon after 9.45 I found that it didn’t open until
10.30 and that it
had a café attached. I
carried on for another couple of miles to where a stone circle was shown on the
map – ‘Long Meg and her daughters’. This
was at the top of the hill just outside Little Salkeld.
I pottered round here for a while taking photos and stalking a rabbit.
At first I thought I was being awfully clever as I gradually crept closer
and closer to the rabbit eating grass beside one of the stones in the circle.
By the time I was within 6 feet of the rabbit it became apparent to me
that the rabbit was probably older than me and had lost a number of it’s
faculties – sight and hearing being in considerable decline.
I then returned to the mill to take pictures of the water wheel and the
flour grinding – and of course I have to sample the tea and a piece of
flapjack which turned out to be absolutely delicious.
They were selling recipes but when I asked about the flapjack the recipe
was not on offer – I was told it contained sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds plus
something else which now escapes me.
I
retraced my steps to Langwathby post office where I bought, wrote and sent
today’s postcard. I then crossed
over the River Eden and proceeded northwards again, this time passing through
Great Salkeld and on towards Lazonby. I
had decided to cut corners as the CTC route looped round
Carlisle
and if I stuck to it I would end up about 10 miles north of
Carlisle
at Longtown. Perhaps I could find
my way through
Carlisle
to Westlinton and maybe find some places of interest along the way.
My revised route followed the River Eden until Wetheral – in the same
direction as the flow of the river but you would never have known it from the
number of hills I had to climb. At
one stage I began to d
oubt if the river was in fact flowing northwards and
whether I had read the map correctly. I
got to Wetheral at
1pm
. It was only 4 miles to
Carlisle
from here – the rest of the afternoon to cycle 10 miles – easy.
I managed to find a little shop selling sandwiches and they also had a
pot of ambrosia rice pudding which looked very tempting.
I bought these and rode down the hill to the river and found a bench in
the sun to sit on. I must have
rested here for almost an hour.
In
looking at the map to find a route through
Carlisle, I noticed an RSPB reserve near
Brampton
- close to the CTC route in fact. This
was 6 miles to the east of me and in totally the wrong direction in which I
wanted to be heading. But I had all
the time in the world and this could be a better alternative to looking round
Carlisle
which was somewhat of an unknown and certainly hadn’t rung any bells in my
memory as having any superb places of interest – I may be doing it a
disservice. When I got to the area
on the map which indicated the Bird Reserve, there was no reserve to be seen.
Was I going on a wild goose chase? There
was nothing for it but to continue into the town of Brampton – fortunately
along a cycle track avoiding a busy main road – and then into the centre
itself which had a small shopping centre and a number of cafés.
I hit lucky – the café I chose was run by a retired schoolteacher who
was certainly not in the business to make a profit.
I can – now that I have completed the ride – award her the gold star
for the best café in the UK. She gave me a pot of tea for 70p.
I reckon that it held at least 6 cups – I had to give in after 4!
She also supplied me with a slice of Apple pie with cream for £1.20.
She was interested in what I was doing and explained that she was running
the shop mainly for pleasure and social contact.
From Brampton
I followed the CTC route once more towards Longtown, but deviating off before I
got there, to follow the lanes to Westlinton.
Westlinton is on theA7 which connects
Carlisle
to Longtown. When I got there just
before 5, the A7 was extremely busy. Fortunately
all I had to do was to cross it to get to the B&B..
There is no way that we are going to cycle on a road with that amount of
traffic – we will have to find some minor roads to take us to Longtown which
will mean a bit of a detour. We
could do without that as the ride tomorrow is a long one anyway.
Peter
arrived at the B&B about ½ hour after I did.
He had driven up from Coventry
in the afternoon and was going to leave his car here until his return on
Sunday. I had tried to phone ahead
for a B&B for Saturday night but so far had been unsuccessful – maybe we
can use the book a bed ahead scheme when we get a bit further north into
Scotland.
Today
was supposed to be a short ride but in the end I have clocked up 52.7 miles at
an average of 9.8 mph. My total
mileage to date is 680.7 miles.
Next Chapter Return to Tony's Home Page
had a café attached. I
carried on for another couple of miles to where a stone circle was shown on the
map – ‘Long Meg and her daughters’. This
was at the top of the hill just outside Little Salkeld.
I pottered round here for a while taking photos and stalking a rabbit.
At first I thought I was being awfully clever as I gradually crept closer
and closer to the rabbit eating grass beside one of the stones in the circle.
By the time I was within 6 feet of the rabbit it became apparent to me
that the rabbit was probably older than me and had lost a number of it’s
faculties – sight and hearing being in considerable decline.
I then returned to the mill to take pictures of the water wheel and the
flour grinding – and of course I have to sample the tea and a piece of
flapjack which turned out to be absolutely delicious.
They were selling recipes but when I asked about the flapjack the recipe
was not on offer – I was told it contained sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds plus
something else which now escapes me.