|
| |
Day 11
Up Holland to Milnthorpe - 67 miles
We had another day of getting lost. In the countryside we were fine, but when we passed through cities, things always went wrong. We took the wrong road out of Preston and so had to follow the busier A-road to Lancaster, rather then the back roads.
We decided to try busking for our lunch. As we had no musical instruments, or musical talent, we were forced to sing. We sang Christmas carols, as they were the only songs we both knew the words to. We boomed out Silent Night in the town square with a big cardboard sign that read ‘WE DON’T WANT MONEY. WE JUST WANT FOOD’. It all went deathly quiet in Lancaster apart from our singing, and people gave us the strangest of looks. After a couple of minutes, a lady gave us 2 packs of sandwiches and a loaf of bread. Then soon after, Toby – a BMX dude – offered us 2 donuts if we stopped signing. We obliged, and retired to some steps to eat our lunch.
A few minutes later, a group of sixth-formers arrived with a huge carrier bag filled with cookies, crisps, peanuts, sweets and drinks. Bob, the ringleader, insisted that we sing 'Take on Me’ in exchange for the goodies. These supplies kept us going between meals for the next few days, and it was worth every excruciating note of the Aha classic.
We called into a bike shop in Lancaster as The Falcon’s chain was now spending more time off the bike than on. They took one look at it and said there was no hope. We decided to seek a second opinion.
After Lancaster, we rode through pretty little villages with names like Nether Kellet, Tewitfield, Burton-in-Kendal and Piddley Widdle. The last one is made up.
It started to rain for the first time since Lands End and we got very wet, very quickly.
We arrived in Milnthorpe, on the edge of the Lake District and decided it would be nice to camp for the night. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a tent and only had one sleeping bag (kindly given to us by Harry and Caroline in Zennor on Day 1). We managed to borrow a tent from a lady that was cleaning her windows, and the barman of a pub lent us a duvet. Ian, the manager of the Crosskeys, allowed us to pitch the tent by his car park and brought us out a pizza and offered us breakfast.
|
|
|
Day 12
Milnthorpe to Carlisle - 50 miles
Kippers for breakfast, then we headed off into the Lake District. We hardly saw a car all morning, and the scenery was spectacular. We made it to Windermere in good time, and then had Kirkstone Pass ahead of us. Kirkstone Pass is 1500ft high and is the highest pass in England that is open to motor traffic. The ascent was 6miles and we cruised all the way up with only a few breaks for crisp sandwiches and water. We were very proud to reach the top, without having to walk once.
The long descent tested the Falcon’s brakes to the full, and the smell of melted rubber and burnt tyre rims polluted the clean county air.
We had a swim in Ullswater which was frickin freezing, and were given some pies by a lady called Avril at the local stores.
The road climbed up from Ullswater, and then we had a long, steady descent all the way to Carlisle.
It was dark by the time we arrived, and we had nowhere to stay. The Ibis offered us a room for £11, but this was £11 more than we were allowed to spend. We started asking random people if we could stay at their house. After several rejections, a drunk old Scottish man wearing a dodgy knitted sweater, shouted that we could stay at his. We were a bit dubious to start with, but after speaking to him, we decided to take a chance. He was an alcoholic who had been dry for 5 months, but had heard that morning that he had terminal cancer so decided to start drinking again. He felt a great sense of fulfilment being able to help us out, and insisted on buying us a beer and some food. We later fell asleep on his floor and he passed out in his chair.
|
|
|
Day 13
Carlisle to Dumfries - 39 miles
We survived the night, and were very glad we’d taken the risk. He told us some incredible stories about his past and - whether they were true or not –meeting him was certainly one of the highlights of our trip.
It was pouring with rain when we left Carlisle. We got some bin liners to use as makeshift waterproofs, and battled on.
Soon after Carlisle we met the Scottish border. This should’ve brought with it a sense of achievement, but we’d seen the map and realised that Scotland was almost as long as England. We arrived in Dumfries and George skidded into the back of a car. He was fine, but had left a nice scratch on the car so cycled off before the irate lady (whose fault it was) could catch him. We visited the house where Robert Burns was born, and it was every bit as boring as it sounds.
Pam, the local Wimpy manager, lifted our spirits with a burger, chips and milkshake. She also upgraded our bin liners to monster sized bags.
We decided not to cycle any further that day, as it was a long way to the next town and was still pouring with rain. After a bit of searching, we managed to find a guest house that kindly gave us a room, as well as dinner and breakfast. They also sorted Ben out with some new trousers, as his grey shorts were now brown. We went to see a rubbish film at the cinema (for free of course) and then had an early night.
|
|
|
Day 14
Dumfries to Nielston - 83 miles
The hotel owners were not there when we left, so we unfortunately didn't get a chance to thank them properly.
The sun was out when we set off, and we cycled through some fantastic Scottish countryside and we passed about 12 cars in 12 miles. We got to a village called Danellington for lunch and got a sausage sandwich from a café.
We then cycled 5 miles to Patna and the lady in Costcutter did a trolley dash for us and provided us with pies, beans, apples, tomatoes, pears, ham and cheese.
We realised we were pushing our luck as far as punctures were concerned, so stopped at Walkers Cycling in Kilmaurs. They get thousands of end-to-enders every year, but took great enthusiasm in our challenge and provided us with a pump, repair kit, water bottle for The Horse and energy bars. They also took the time to give the Falcon some TLC, and after leaving their shop, the chain never fell off again. We told them how the previous place had said it was beyond repair, and they replied “that’s not in the spirit.”
We arrived in the small town of Neilston, and started asking around for somewhere to stay. We called into the Travellers Rest and the locals took a keen interest in our trip and bought us plenty of drinks. After a while, an amazing guy named called Les offered us his entire house. He was in the process of moving, and had an empty house just sitting there.
David, a local landscape gardner, kindly bought us some soup and bread, and when we'd finished, Les gave us his keys and we cycled off to spend the night at his.
|
|
|
Day 15
Neilston to Crianlarich - 42 miles
We made an early start by our standards. This meant being on the road by 9am, rather than 10.30am. David, whom we’d met the night before, dropped around some razors as he thought we needed a shave and a gel seat to try and make The Falcon more comfortable.
We cycled into Paisley to try and get some breakfast, and after several rejections we were rewarded with 2 sausage baps, a custard donut and a cup if tea each from the ladies at Korner Kitchen. We crossed the Erskine Bridge and then met the Glasgow to Loch Lomond cycleway.
We arrived at Loch Lomond for yet another food fair. We took full advantage and sampled all sorts of bread, pizza and fudge.
Cycling along Loch Lomond sounds fun. It’s not. The route is very, very busy, the view of the loch is obscured, and despite being flat, the road is badly surfaced and very tiring to cycle along.
After Loch Lomond, we had a long uphill slog followed by a long downhill to Crianlarich. Everyone we asked suggested we try the Ben More Lodge, and sure enough, we were given a fantastic bunk room all to ourselves. We were also given a beer and offered breakfast.
We were given some out-dated microwave meals from Londis, and we asked Graham at the lodge if he possibly could heat them up. He brought us a huge bowl of soup and a plate of chips instead, which was far better.
|
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
