There had been a lot of rain overnight and continued as I to
set off. It took longer than normal packing up due to the constant
rain. I wheeled my bike up the muddy track to the road then started
my descent to Avon Water and the bridge. I reached the lower
entrance to Alexander Hamilton Memorial Park where there is a play
area and paths running through the grass. If I had continued
yesterday this would have been an ideal place to camp but I wasn't
to know that. I cycled up the hill in the rain and crossed under the A71 Bypass Road to the centre of Stonehouse. The rain stopped as I
started my long climb up Spital Road up towards the solitary wind
turbine. The winding lane still had a lot of standing water from the
overnight rain. I reached the Carlisle Road which is the B7078 and
turn right. It was a busy road so I rode along the footpath.
Over the M74 I cycled into Blackwood and after about a mile turned left
onto the B7086 towards Lanark. There was a steep winding descent
down to Birkwood Burn and I was following the official cycle route.
The climb out of the Valley was not to sleep but uncomfortable with
lots of traffic on the Narrow Road with no cycle route or footpaths.
At Auchenheath the official cycle route carried on the busy road but
I turned off right up to Newkays Road which was a minor road with
hardly any traffic. It was a long steady climb up to the summit and
the final section was way too steep to ride so I had to get off and
push. I was lucky that the weather remained mostly clear though very
windy. Over the top I had great views all around. A long steep
descent followed and I joined a B road which took a winding route
down to the A72 and down into Kirkfieldbank. This is the main road
running by the River Clyde. I stopped briefly at one point to
photograph a memorial to the Great War and WWII.
Kirkfieldbank War memorial
Over the bridge I
started the climb up the A72 into Lanark. It was very steep and
became steeper so I joined the footpath on the right side and had to
push my bike as far as the junction with the A743. I cycled through
the town and left on the east side along the busy A73 to where it
joined the A70. I turned right to head south to the narrow Hyndford
Bridge over the River Clyde. Because of the main roads it is traffic
light controlled. I wheeled my bike along the footpath and turned
right to head south on the A75 where thankfully there was a decent
cycle path on the left side which was very handy as I was struggling
in the strong side wind.
Entering Lanark
Flooded Clyde at Thankerton
Just under a mile ahead I turned left to
follow a quiet Lane to Carmichael which was undulating and steady
climbs to the village. As the road started to climb steeply I turned
off right down a very quiet and narrow road which took me through Syde Farm and on to Lochlyoch. The road goes through the middle of
the farmyard but is still an adopted highway. I turned east and was
able to take full advantage of the strong westerly wind. The weather
was staying fine and I had great views and up to the right were the
gullies running up to Tinto summit and the north side of the
Mountain still had snow. I reached the car park for the path up to
the summit and this is a place I have visited before to climb the
mountain. I crossed the very busy A73 road and took a minor lane
into the village of Thankerton. I to the east and crossed over the
bridge and stopped briefly to look at the flooded River Clyde. I had
a steady climb up the road and several sections were flooded but not
too deep. For a time the rain returned and by the time I reached the
town of Biggar it was quite heavy. I stopped briefly by the small
stone footbridge and wheeled my bike into the town where some shops
had shelter awnings above the windows.
I stopped here briefly to shelter from the rain but thankfully it
soon stopped. It look quite attractive in the clearing weather as
the sunshine came out. I wheeled my bike along the path for a while
and a man stopped to chat about my bike. He was 81 and told me of
the early days of steel wheel rims etc. I continued through the town centre
where it must be school lunch time as many pupils were walking along
with huge pasties and trays of chips. Not a very healthy eating
system.
Biggar
B712 Not as tranquil as it looks
As I
left the town on the B7016 I made a short detour to the Puppet
Theatre. It wasn't open today but there had been a show on
yesterday. The weather was quite mixed as I rode east towards
Broughton and even though dark skies in the west the rain wasn't
particularly heavy. In nice weather this is a spectacular ride due
to the views. I crossed the A701 in Broughton and left to join a
narrow country lane heading east. The surface was breaking up badly
and several sections were partly flooded. Passing a collection of
houses at Dreva I could see up to my right the site of an ancient
fort and settlement on a hill. I rode up the climb and passed the
settlement then a steady descent down towards the River Tweed. I
could also see the line of the dismantled railway. I joined the B712
which is a fairly busy length of road I have ridden before and is
very uncomfortable due to being relatively narrow with no footpaths
and speeding cars. I put my rear flashing light on just to try and
give me the edge. It was a few uncomfortable miles to reach the A72
which I joined and turned right. Thankfully I was wasn't on it long
and turned left up a narrow lane to head up to the Meldon Hills. It
is a delightful valley to cycle through and there are large parking
areas along the road. After a couple of miles I reached my planned
campsite at a parking area with public toilets. I was hoping to get
water from the taps but the toilets have been closed and blocked off
and a sign saying they were now closed due to anti-social behaviour,
presumably the vandals had been in there. I wheeled my bike up a
steep track to a grassy area near the river where I had camped
before.
I couldn't get my bike down to the river as a new post and
wire fence had been fitted. I pitch my tent next to the fence and
climbed the style to get water from the river. It remained fine but
still very windy. This was handy as the tent soon dried after I've
pitched it. I have camped here before and as expected there was no
phone signal or data signal. However I was extremely relieved to
find good FM reception for my radio.
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Whittle Wanderer
