Northumberland cycling loop: map & data
Total climbing: 830 m
Total time: 08:58:48
43 mile cycle in 9h from 10.25 to 19.25 – average 4.7 mph – very windy!
Our story: Cycling in Northumberland
We left Edinburgh at 7.30 am in our camper van and headed south. Our plan was to spend two days cycling, and one night in the van, in a semi-solitary spot near Wooler, in Northumberland.
I’d checked the weather forecast just before we left. We were going to have a perfect temperature, and beautiful sunshine. And wind, a lot of wind.
After faffing about as usual in the car park, off we went on our bikes. We’d only cycled for a few minutes when we encountered the first ford. And then the second. And a wee bridge. And an impossibly narrow path. And another ford.
Gee, it was going to be slow.
Luckily, the path soon became a tarmac road. We stopped at a cafe in Ingram, where I fooled around with my camera while Simon had a snack and studied the maps.
Re-studied the maps, I mean. Which is great, because that way I could fool around without restrain.
As I’d hoped, the roads were mostly quiet, just like that time when we cycled not too far from here.
Cycling in Northumberland: a summer adventure
Along the way, we encountered a white goose, a swarm of feisty flies, a handful of baby hares, some beautiful horses, two intriguing sheep, and a pair of positively weird geese.
But the most memorable thing about this ride was the wind. Defiant, incessant wind. And just like that day at Billerwell Farm, when we cycled against the wind at 1mph, I loved it.
Lunch was among whistling trees and gorgeous thistles. Then we visited a pretty village called Whittingham, and immortalised its fountain and our creepy shadows.
In Eglingham (population 385), we basked in the sun, walked among the tombstones, and promised ourselves a winter stay at the Tankerville Arms inn.
We arrived at the van triumphant, exhausted, and with this heap of memories:
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Camera used: all the photos in this post were taken with my iPhone 13 Pro.