Had a great long weekend up in the far north of England and the far south of Scotland. Rode the first leg from Plymouth to Gloucester (with a full day of work in the middle) on the Thursday, and finished off the rest of the 266 miles on Friday. Then 150 miles around Allendale, over to Hawick, Langholm, Longtown and back over the Alston. History is so thick there you can cut it with a knife. The area was The Debatable Lands, rules not by the kings or queens of England or Scotland, but by the Border Reivers under the Border Law. The music I play on the bagpipes comes from the area. Famous Reiver families were The Armstrongs, Hasties, Laidlaws, Scotts, Rutherfords and Crichtons.....
Second full day there were abled over to Haggs Bank and looked in on the Beamish Trial. The bikes have to be 25+ years old to enter. The first one up was a sidevalve Norton from before WW2. Its a very hands on event, in fact that first bike were were hands on as we had to push him up a bit! The riders have a wonderful sense of humour......
Monday was just a slog 403 miles home to Plymouth. Nicest bit was a stop at Hartside just outside Penrith.....the cafe burned down a while ago but there is a burger van.
Hartside looking East
Wild country
Haggs Bank section....
Steeper than it looks....
East Germany's finest tackling Haggs Bank
Very nice - not competing just a spectator