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Beyond Carlisle
  • Steve Partington
  • Steve Partington

Beyond Carlisle

A first-time attempt at cycling and camping. Nothing planned but hoping to see a bit of the Galloway coast and stay dry. Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 6, 2024
  • Steve PartingtonBeyond CarlisleTraveler

    Kerr-coo-bree (that’s how you say it)

    August 7, 2024 in Scotland 🌬 17 °C

    I did wake up to the sound of a distant pigeon, but it was soon drowned out by the drumming of rain on the tent. That and a general sense of confusion about how to pack all my stuff away, meant I didn’t hit the road until almost 10 am. At least the rain had stopped.

    5 miles on, I’d already stopped three times. First after a mystery downhill front wheel wobble and then for a tuna sandwich (use by 23 Aug!). Then the impressive bulk of Criffell (549m high and just a mile inland) suddenly disappeared, obscured by rain . I ducked behind a wall as the rain blew over my head. Surprise, surprise - it was very windy.

    The wall saved me a drenching but the sky was grey and it was only a matter of time. 20 minutes later, I was in the heaviest windswept rain I’ve ever ridden in. It was slow going. In Dalbeattie the man who made my lunch (bacon and tomato panini with a ‘tatie scone’ chaser and two mugs of tea) agreed that it was ‘crap for August’.
    .As I left Dalbeattie, the sun briefly came out and I took my coat off! I decided to stop whinging about the wind and be grateful if it wasn’t raining
    In Tour de France parlance, ‘I didn’t have good legs’ today, and called it a day at Kirkcudbright. I’m enjoying the ‘showers and toilet’ luxury of the Silvercraigs campsite.    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonBeyond CarlisleTraveler

    Near Glen Luce (illegally).

    August 8, 2024 in Scotland ☁️ 17 °C

    When I stopped for lunch at Janets crowded tea stop just outside Gatehouse of Fleet I shared a table with John. His wellies and flexothane overtrousers were a giveaway, though he told me he’s retired. Recently enough to feel guilty for a lazy cuppa at Janet’s, and still getting up at 3 am to milk cows (‘just milking mind, not running the show’). He told me that the rain was forecast to get heavier and I was in for a rough afternoon. He was dead right, but it had started well back in Kirkcudbright.

    Yesterday, fter a relaxing evening walk around the town, I had a very quiet pint and a lovely chicken fried rice, between which I had a two minute panic when I found I was missing my wallet. A sprint back to the pub and there it was under the stool I’d been on. Phew.

    Great nights sleep and it was dryish as I left. The first hour was great. Seaside inlets and views with only a moderate wind. It rained at Bourge (11am) and didn’t stop all day. It’s still raining at 10pm. Wind was ok, so gloom but not all doom.

    The best bits of todays long ride was the start and the final 10 miles from Port William - up the eastern side of Luce Bay. The wind was in my favour and I was zipping along (relatively speaking).
    Despite a 30 minute circuit of a plantation single-track which brought me back where I’d started (bad Sustrans signage) that wasn’t the worst bit.Well ahead was a white-knuckle, slow-motion time trial along a 4 mile unavoidable section of the dreaded A75. Spray and wind-suck from articulated lorries hurtling to the Stranraer ferry is not what I was after on this trip.

    Soon I was on a B road heading for Wigton. Drenched I stopped at a ‘book cafe’. No me neither. It was magnificently posh - no menu and every customer looked as if the average garden centre cafe would be slightly below them. The lady who showed me to my seat(!) took one look at me and just said ‘cake?’.

    In an apricot flapjack sugar-rush of enthusiasm, I made a (rare) navigational error leaving Wigton which added about 8 miles to an already long day. Bad words were said.

    For the last 10 miles or so I was on the lookout for somewhere to camp. Eventually I came across an mown area of grass next to the sea, with a toilet block, fresh water and even a length of wall to provide shelter. Perfect.

    Soon the wet tent was up and I went to change into dryish clothes. The toilets were locked and there was an official sign ‘No overnight camping’. Well, I’m not moving now.

    Say it quietly, but it’s possibly going to be brighter tomorrow…    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonBeyond CarlisleTraveler

    Wigton

    August 9, 2024 ☁️ 17 °C

    Short one for now - phone is dying.
    Happy to say everything else is drying!
    Sunny day and once I turned at the Mull of Galloway, the wind was mostly at my back.
    So a good day. Although my sleeping mat has just sprung a leak. I reckon I’ll still sleep well. Great camping spot tonight - down by the harbour (though it looks like a river and there aren’t any boats). Only sound is the geese on the mudflats.
    Fingers crossed for another sunny day tomorrow.    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonBeyond CarlisleTraveler

    South of Dumfries. Near a castle.

    August 10, 2024 in Scotland ☀️ 18 °C

    Yesterday was a good day but today was better. Almost 12 hrs between leaving Wigton and stopping here in a great spot (under another oak tree) at Caern something Castle.
    Much of that time was spent eating - three meals today, and drinking (tea, beer and Fanta).
    The cycling was great. I was a bit cheesed off with myself that I was going to be retracing my outward route, but today I found B roads and cycle tracks that meant I hardly repeated any of the early roads. Mind you, the views are totally different going the other way.
    I had a great breakfast in Newton Stewart. The sausages were well done (I’m not keen on pale bangers) and along with all the usual bits were haggis and tattie scones. My phone hadn’t finished charging, so I had an extra pot of tea.
    I then had to rejoin the dreaded A75, but only for 2 miles today as I’d deciddd that a longer B road up to over the hills was preferable to dicing with death.
    After a few minutes of dodging the lorries I came across another cyclist up ahead. He was wearing a high viz waistcoat but no helmet and riding very slowly. With a gap in the traffic I was able to overtake him. A bit further on I was checking my map and he turned into the lay-by and we got chatting. He must have been pushing 80 and laughed when I said how terrifying the A75 is. ‘Oh I’m used to it. I ride on it every other day to go to town for my shopping’. He then gladly told me of an alternative cycle route ‘I don’t bother with it as there’s a fair hill on it’.
    The mountain road was wonderful. Scenic, smooth and nowhere near a steep as I expected. Quiet too - just three cars in six (very slow) miles. There were birds of prey and ravens and a mixture of open hill and forestry.
    At Kirkcudbright I had a disappointing Scotch Pie and a very welcome ‘TOO FAST’ speed sign flash! More due to a steep hill and many kilos of luggage rather than my legs.
    Stopped at a pub for a drink in Dumfries and there were two men discussing the menu posted outside as I arrived. ‘£17.95 for steak and ale pie?!’ ‘Or £20 if you want salt on your chips’. They didn’t go in.
    Last full day tomorrow. Not sure where I’ll get to - possibly Penrith.    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonBeyond CarlisleTraveler

    Penrith - Crossfell Campsite

    August 11, 2024 in England ☀️ 22 °C

    Well last last full day of cycling today and it was tough going. Not any big mileage or any proper hills just knackered! Probably over did it a bit yesterday if I’m honest. Also, it was really warm. So weatherwise only complaint today is sunburnt knees.

    Haven’t really spoken properly to anyone this week (except John on day 2) but today all that changed.

    I stopped for some breakfast at a café in Annan and outside was an old bike with some pretty non-aero luggage.
    It belonged to Fergal from Cork who was wearing a Tour de France yellow jersey and tucking into a full Scottish. He had arrived at Stranraer from Larne yesterday and ridden all the way to Annan on the dreaded A75. He agreed it was a bit ‘sketchy’, but he was in a hurry. He was starting his second day of a coast to coast - planning on reaching Whitley Bay later that day. He didn’t seem in too much of a hurry as he ordered extra toast, but needed to be back on the ferry on Wednesday.

    The 15 miles from Carlisle were really tough for me. Lots of hills. Not proper Richmond or Bray bills, just annoying little lumps that had me scrambling for the tiny gears. That and the heat meant I was on the lookout for any reason to stop. At a roadside cafe I bought two bottles of Coke (118% of my daily sugar requirements!) and sat in the shade and guzzled them both. Then the owner, Oktai, brought out a plate of orange slices with chocolate sauce (‘for extra energy’). It was such a nice gesture.

    Penrith is a lovely place - especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon. There are lots of bars and I found myself in one, enjoying a pint of local Ghyll beer. I got chatting to Dave (77) and Lin (70), widowers who had met on an Internet dating site earlier this year. Their romance may be in its infancy, they aren’t hanging around.

    As Dave said, ‘life is too short’ so having already been to Italy on holiday, they were in Penrith to introduce Lin to Dave‘s oldest friend,. She said she was nervous and Dave said ‘you’d better have another drink then’. Before they drive back to Lind house in Shropshire, they were going to Yorkshire to get Dave‘s house ready to sell. They were great fun.

    The campsite is small and quiet. When I arrived next door to my pitch was another guy on a bike. Obviously being close neighbours we got chatting.

    Mick lives in London. He is a market trader specialising in antiques and also runs a car park. For the past two weeks, he has been cycling from Lands End towards John O’Groats. He has done loads of long cycle tours but ‘can’t stand those blokes in Lycra who are only interested in their speed and don’t even look at the view’. I was In full lycra as we spoke, but he could obviously tell that I wasn’t fast. When I asked him
    how much planning goes into his big trips, he said ‘I’m lucky I’ve got such a good missus - she agrees to look after my dog otherwise I couldn’t go’. We pooled our resources for a cup of tea (he had milk, I had gas) as the sun went down.
    I had toyed with getting up early and cycling over Shap to the boat tomorrow. Craig the campsite operator tells me there is a headwind and thunderstorms forecast. So I won’t be.    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonBeyond CarlisleTraveler

    Done and dusty

    August 12, 2024 in Isle of Man ⛅ 17 °C

    The forecast thunderstorm appeared at 7 am, so the decision to get the train was definitely the right one.
    Freewheeling back down the A6 into Penrith was considerably easier the opposite climb on Sunday evening.
    By 10.30am I was at Lancaster - with 3 hours to kill before the boat.
    The north bank of the Lune takes the curious cyclist right down to Sunderland Point via a cycle path and increasingly small roads. The final mile or so is over marshland on a concrete road that, according to numerous warning signs, can be covered at high tide. I didn’t have my tide table with me (and didn’t think to use the tidal app on my phone), so took a chance.
    It was very overcast and there was a fine drizzle. To add to the mood, out of the gloom I saw four horses trotting towards me pulling a stagecoach. The driver gave me a cheery wave and they were gone.
    At the end of the roadway were a few houses and some forlorn-looking boats lying on the mud.
    I then rode back to Heysham for a look round. Not the Heysham that we all think off - where the ferry docks next to the nuclear power station. No, heading towards Morecambe, turn left at the first Co-Op, and you will find the picturesque Heysham Village. It was still raining and I opted for a cup of tea and a scone in the cafe. The place was full of elderly punters clinking teacups and buttering scones, so I ordered tea and a scone. ‘No scones left I’m afraid. Will you be sitting outside?’ Like a fool I said ‘err, yes’ and went and sat in the drizzle. To be fair I was already soaking and her inside seats were nicely upholstered, and chances are I was a bit stinky - a mix of half dried damp clothes and minimal journey showering.
    With this in mind I made sure I sat on a secluded seat on the Manxman. The crossing was calm and I slept for much of it.
    There was a following breeze for my final ride of the week back to Laxey. The Summerhill/Whitebridge prospect ensured I opted for Groudle and I arrive home as I had left - in sunshine.

    I have had a great week and coveted 430 miles. I have learnt a lot about living in a small, not fully waterproof tent. I know that a sleeping mat is not essential , but very desirable. I used virtually everything that I carried. I did not have any crashes or any sort of mechanical issues with my bike. My old Pirelli 28mm tyres stood up to terrain that they were not designed for - fantastic. I didn’t even pump the tyres up.    Read more

    Trip end
    August 12, 2024