I left the house on
my touring bike shortly after 05:35am. I had an easy ride to Preston
Railway Station to catch the 06:58 Edinburgh train as far as
Carlisle. I reached the station in good time and was easily in time
for the 06:40 Glasgow train that also stops at Carlisle. I couldn't
catch that as my advance ticket was specific to the later train. It
wasn't a problem as I was in Carlisle on time around 08:10am.
On the train to Carlisle
I There was were refurbishment works going on within the station and
a huge amount of scaffolding everywhere. It was overcast but
pleasant as I wheeled my bike outsde on to the paved area across
from the castle. I set off along the roads but soon joined a cycle
trail towards Rickerby Park.
Carlisle Railway Station
Mural at Carlisle Railway Station
Memorial footbridge opened 1922
Memorial footbridge in 1922
I crossed the river by the memorial
footbridge opened by the Mayor in 1922. In the park was the
cenotaph. I followed the path along the lanes to the roundabout on
the A689. Thankfully there was a cycle track on the south side that
I was able to follow to Crosby on Eden.
Cenotaph
Saying hello to Vulcan XJ 823
I was soon back on the main road but for a while had to put up with
the traffic to the where I turned off left on to a minor road. I'd
planned my route to ride round the Carlisle Airport. The objective
was to visit the Vulcan Bomber at the Solway Aviation Museum.
Although I've visited the plane a few times before it was nice to
ride to it on my bike. I continued along the lanes to Walton where I
stopped for a while to have something to eat. It was here that I
stopped in 1977 to camp with Charlie as we walked along Hadrian's
Wall. The Centurion Inn where we spent the evening is no longer an
inn but now a private house. I continued north along the lanes which
were almost traffic free. There were many undulations of long
descents and climbs with generally a short steep climb followed by a
long less steep section. Eventually I came to the Scottish border
where I would leave the tarmac and NE along a forest track for about
10miles. There was an area of old brick structures and what looked
like old quarry workings. I'd been looking forward to leaving the
road and starting the track. I hadn't been on the track long before
changing my mind. It was loose stone which is very difficult to ride
on. I came to a concrete bridge and open gate where the track had
recently been widened by a scraper and the surface was now loose
soil over most of its width. This was even harder to ride on and
some areas were dangerous and I had to get off and push the bike. I
could see tracks of two bikes ahead and eventually came the two
cyclists resting by some seats and benches. I stopped for a short
chat and continued. They were going the same way as me and later
they caught me up. One continued and the other rode with me to chat
before continuing ahead. They were carrying much less than me and
only had 2 rear panniers. Higher up I came to a footbridge where the
cycle track became narrow but still surfaced with loose stone. One
section was so steep I could only just pull the bike up as the
gravel was too loose to get any grip with my feet. When I reached
the vehicle width forestry track again I continued over the summit
and started the descent towards Kielder Reservoir. I reached a spot
where I'd originally intended to camp but it was too early so I
continued. The long descent was difficult over the loose surface and
I was relieved to approach the main road by the reservoir. There was
an interesting curved footbridge with a cycle track over it. However
the route didn't link with the main road. I reached the road and
continued towards Kielder village. I stopped at the communally run
garage where there was a tap on the outside wall. I asked the man if
I could get some water and he said I could. We chatted for a while
while I filled the 2 empty 2lt plastic bottles then I continued on
my way.
Irode through the village and by the shop.
I continue over the bridge and up a forestry track along the NE side
of the reservoir. I was looking out for somewhere to camp but
nowhere was suitable. I left the track to follow a cycle track. It
was much better surface of fine gravel that had compacted down and
was good to ride on.
Janus chairs
I noticed a narrow path descending towards
the reservoir shore and some kind of artwork. I descended to
investigate and found some large seat shaped structures called Janus
who was the Greek god of doors. There was also a small area of flat
grass nearby which was ideal for my first camp.
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Whittle Wanderer
