It was a cold night
but I was warm and comfy in my sleeping bag. When I woke the tent
was as hard as cardboard and was frozen solid. The outside
temperature was less than -5 degrees C. This was a concern because I
wasn't sure what state the roads were in and ice would be a problem.
I set off through the village of Walesby and unfortunately took a
wrong turn up a narrow muddy track which finished at a church on the
Hill. Although it would have been nice to look around and inside I
wanted to press on as I had a train to catch. I return down the
track and on the correct road started a very long steep climb out of
the village until I reached the B1225. I left this to head north
east still on the cycle route no 1. It was overcast, cold and slush
on some sections of road. There were no particular problems but I
had to the very wary. I cycled through the delightful village of
Beelsby and then started a descent down into Barnoldby le Beck and
on to Waltham. I was now on the outskirts of Cleethorpes so
continued until I came to a supermarket where I stopped to buy some
bread for the journey home.
Wet
and windy Cleethorpes
I continued along the
A1098 until I came to the leisure centre along the front. I joined
the promenade footpath and Cycleway and headed north west, this time
with a nice tailwind helping me along. The weather had deteriorated
and it was now raining slightly and continued breezy.
Cleethorpes promenade
34067 Tangmere
Tangmere carriages
34067 Tangmere, named after the military airfield in Sussex was
completed at Southern Railway’s Brighton works in September 1947 and
given the number 21C167. This unusual number is based on the
’continental’ system of numbering locomotives as favoured by Bulleid.
The first three indicate the wheel arrangement thus 2 leading axles
(4-6-2), 1 trailing axle (4-6-2), and six (C) driving wheels
(4-6-2). The last three digits indicate the series 1(00) ‘light
Pacifics’ of which Tangmere is 67th built, so 167. Following the
nationalisation of Britain’s railways Tangmere was renumbered 34067
in July 1949.
34067 Tangmere from
Wikipedia
I left the
promenade and wheeled the bike between shops and then came to the
railway station where I bought a single ticket from Cleethorpes to
Manchester Piccadilly. I had timed it fairly well purely by accident
as the train was due to leave in about 20 minutes. I was the only
cycle there so was able to fit the bike in without too much trouble.
The train ride to Manchester was fairly uneventful except that at
Doncaster we waited several minutes in the station and I wondered
what the delay was. I could see a lot of people waiting on the
opposite platform, obviously looking for something that would be
approaching soon. The reason became clear when a green steam engine
whizzed by heading the other way. It was the sea photo. We arrived
at Manchester Piccadilly on time but my next train to take me to
Chorley was cancelled due to lack of a member of staff. Fortunately
I only had another 20 minutes to wait for the next train.
Waiting from my Chorley connection at Manchester Piccadilly
Return to
Whittle Wanderer
