Work restrictions have never prevented us from undertaking adventures in the past. Being unable to be granted a full days annual leave (probably due to our having already taken plenty of time off recently for our previous tours) meant we didn’t set off for Tynemouth until after lunch. The purpose of this visit was to spend a little time with Sarah’s friend Laurence and her family (Geoff, Danielle and Amber) who are briefly over from America visiting family, and staying…
Following yesterdays entry into Hadrian’s Wall Country, Hadrian’s Cycleway Day 4 enabled us to visit a further three Roman forts as we continued our journey. It was yet another lovely sunny day as we left our little cottage at Haltwhistle. Our first fort of the day was Vindolanda Roman Fort. It is an impressive place to visit. As well as the archaeological remains there is also a museum containing an impressive range of Roman artefacts and telling the story…
Hadrian’s Cycleway Day 3. Before leaving Carlisle and starting our cycling, we wanted to take some time to have a look around. Our first stop was Carlisle Cathedral. Having locked up the bikes, we had a look inside the Cathedral. From there we cycled over to Carlisle Castle, which is maintained by English Heritage. Having had a look around, it was time to set off towards Haltwhistle. The route took us through Brampton. We had decided to stop at Lanercost Priory (also…
Coast and Castles South Day 4. After yesterdays cycle to Lindisfarne today, provided us with another glorious sunny day and our first entry into Scotland. Our destination, following a slight booking mix up, would be Yetholm. Interestingly, today’s ride would prove to be as much about bridges as the coast and the castles. Leaving Beal, NCN Route 1 follows a coastal path through Lindisfarne Nature Reserve. Unfortunately Neil managed to pick up an injury due to coming off worse after picking a fight…
Following our gentle introduction to our Coast and Castles South tour, Coast and Castles South Day 2 was our first proper day of touring. Leaving the excellent York House Hotel in Whitley Bay we picked up the NCN 72 cycle coastal path towards Blyth. We passed the Blyth Battery Museum and decided to have a look round. Staffed by an enthusiastic group of volunteers it provided an interesting insight into British coastal defences during the two world wars along…
