Day Two Allonby To Haltwhistle
Had a rough night’s sleep the weather took a turn for the worse with strong winds and heavy rain most of the night. With tired heads and tired muscles we still got up early and packed up wet gear in the rain and donned full wet weather gear to head out en route to Haltwhistle.
The first 10 miles was wet, but pretty smooth roads albeit full of puddles until we reached Silloth were we hit the mother of all puddles so deep it hid the kerb and nearly had us off the bikes. Stopped at Silloth to regroup… thankfully the rain had eased off quite a bit.
Heading on we skirted around the Solway Firth.
(The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway.)
Passing large Ariel masts and open land the wind had picked up and was making the going tough… didn’t help that we needed something to eat at this stage but couldn’t find anywhere to shelter from the wind.
We kept plodding on with hopes of somewhere to eat at Bowness-on-Solway… as luck would have it we spotted a tiny coffee shop Hunters Leisure Cafe just off the high street, however when we asked about food the owner directed us to his bistro next door and we managed to get a full English and coffee there… bonus.
The breakfast was a fair old size and the coffee was spot on so we relaxed to enjoy it with the place all to ourselves and as an added bonus the sun even made an appearance 😀.
Next stop Carlisle where we managed to lose the route a little bit before finally following the signs for the castle and getting back on track.
(Carlisle Castle is situated in Carlisle, in the English county of Cumbria, near the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall. The castle is over 900 years old and has been the scene of many historical episodes in British history.)
Stopped on the castle grounds and took advantage of the weather to dry out our tents and charge up batteries… lay down on the grass enjoying the rest, but then didn’t want to get back up again however Haltwhistle was still a ways away so no rest for the wicked. After a good half hour we packed up our things and headed off again following the route through the park outside the castle and over Spenny Bridge Rickerby Park.
After Carlisle the next main point was Brampton… nothing exceptional to see so we carried on, by now the hills had kicked in nothing we couldn’t handle just a shock after so much flat riding so far.
As we made our way East we noticed a landmark en route… Lanercost Priory so decided to stop to check it out and take some phots.
(Lanercost Priory was founded by Robert de Vaux between 1165 and 1174, the most likely date being 1169, to house Augustinian canons. The priory is situated at the village of Lanercost, Cumbria, England, within sight of Naworth Castle, with which it had close connections.)
Further along the route some 100 miles into it we finally caught our first glimpse of Hadrian’s Wall (Banks East Turret).
(Banks East in Cumbria is the best preserved turret or observation tower in the western sector of Hadrian’s Wall, where the Wall, instigated on the orders of the emperor Hadrian in AD 122, was originally made from turf. Originally there were two such turrets to every Roman mile along Hadrian’s Wall, each manned by a few soldiers watching over the frontier. Banks East Turret remained in use until late in the 4th century AD.)
By now we had cycled some 60+ miles and began the routine of searching for somewhere to camp for the night looking at the map showed us a couple of sites just off route so we headed along the military road to Herding Hill, however our luck wasn’t in and they didn’t have any pitches available, so onwards towards the next spot Hadrian’s Wall Campsite which seemed busy but had spaces available. The pitches cost us £11 each, but the site was clean and nicely kitted out with showers, toilets and sinks for cleaning they also had a small hut on the tent pitch site for cooking out of the wind 👍
All setup then time to get a hot shower and some food then tucked up around 22:00 ready for the final day tomorrow.
Hadrian’s Wall Campsite gets a thumbs up for hot showers, good pitches and friendly staff 👍
End of day 2.
For details check out the ride on komoot.
Thoughts on Two Wheels 