Ashington to Scotswood Road

 

I've twice riddden the Coast and Castles route northwards between the Tyne and the Wansbeck. But I've never ridden southwards on this section. So last Thursday I took the bike to Ashington, parked at the new station and rode NCN155 to connect with NCN1.

It was a good day for a ride. The air was cold at first, but soon warmed up and heading southwards a gentle headwind was never much of a problem. Even on a normal wekday the sunny weather had brought out a few other cyclists, and a decent number of pedestrians.

Although I was heading in a different direction this was mostly a route I recognised. The least familiar section was around  Bedlington. I'm not sure whether this is because the marked route west of Blyth has been improved, or just because I've discovered a better alternative. Either way, this part of my journey was a more pleasant ride through parkland and riverside. A great improvement over my memories of two previous rides around here, when I was heading in the other direction, alongside busy roads.

I clearly need to improve my route finding, after drifting off the intended route on the edge of Blyth, then again around Willington Dene. But otherwise all went (more or less) to plan.

There are several railway and metro stations close to the route so there were plenty of options if I had wanted to cut things short.  However, I was keen to clock up a decent mileage. So after following NCN1 to Tynemouth I used Hadrian's Cycleway (NCN72) through North Tyneside to Newcastle. Then I continued along the Tyne, and out along Scotswood Road. Once I'd had enough I returned to Newcastle Central Station and took the train back to Ashington. 

Nobody would claim that this is the prettiest part of Northumberland. However, a combination of a the new Northumberland Line and an established Natonal Cycle Network have opened up a lot of differetn route options, and a variety of interest. There's much more to explore. 

Hauxley

 

I reached Hauxley again today, but this time I started from Alnwick and used the cycle path along the Aln Valley Railay to connect with NCN1 at Hipsburn. Parts of this route were on main roads. but traffic on a Sunday was fairly light, so didn't cause much of a problem.

 

Along the coast there was a bit of a tailwind on the way out, and a headwind on the way back. Otherwise it was calm, dry, and mostly sunny. There were several walkers and cyclists enjoying the weather, and Amble was busy with the Sunday market on the quayside. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

  

We regularly walk the path along the Aln Valley Railway, but it's a long time since I've cycled it, so that was a bit of novelty. To reach the railway on the return journey I had to climb the gradient from Hipsburn, past Alnmouth Station to Bilton. I anticipated that this would be too difficult for me to ride up. and expected a walk. But in the event I managed it. So that was a pleasant surprise. Also, hedges have now burst into life but they've been trimming them on the road to Warkworth Beach. As a result a wartime pillbox has been exposed. I've passed this numerous times, without noticing it. There are surprises even on familiar parts of a route.

 

Seahouses, Spindelstone, Lucker, Ellingham, Beadnell

 

My book of suggested rides rates today's loop as "Easy". 

The Easter weekend is coming up and there was quite a bit of traffic near the coast, but almost all of the ride was on very quiet back roads. Indeed one section is hardly a road at all - more of a farm track. I thought I must have had drifted off my intended route, and double checked. I don't think I had made a mistake though.

As far as gradients go, it was mostly gently rolling countryside. Rolling enough to give the impression that I was practicing some gentle climbs without becoming much of a challenge. The only exception was between Ellingham and Chathill. Near Preston there's a drop to cross Long Nanny, then a climb back up again. But that was just a quirk. 

At Spindlestone the bridge across Waren Burn is currently closed to traffic. For a moment I thought I'd made a mistake when I ignored the Diversion signs. But there's a temporary footbridge, so it wasn't a problem on a bike. 

It would be perverse not to mention that the route passes Bamburgh Castle. But a series of less famous landmarks also deserve a mention. It's worth looking out for Spindlestone Ducket (pictured), St Hilda's Church at Lucker, St John the Baptist at Ellingham and the Corrugated Iron building at Chatton (which I think was a Reading Room). I deviated from the recommended route for a coffee stop at Beadnell. So I can also include St Ebba's Church and the old AA box on the B1340. There's probably more.

The day was dry and sunny. The wind was cold, and quite strong near the coast, but inland it was never much of a problem. 

"Easy" really doesn't do justice to this route. I'd be doing it again. And I don't object to paying for a Car Park. But the charges for a few hours at Seahouses are pretty steep. Next  time I will try to find an alternative starting point.

 

 

Hipsburn to Druridge Bay and back

 

The NCN1 cycle path along the Northumberland coast is fairly level. I'm not keen on hills, so for me that's part of the appeal. But the off-road section between Lesbury and Warkworth is 30m or so above sea level. That means a short climb from the River Aln at Lesbury. Then at Warkworth the route drops to cross the River Coquet, rises to pass the Castle, then drops again to river level on the way to Amble.

This is a regular route for me, and on a return jouney, that means there are four climbs to negotiate. These days I expect to manage the climb at Hipsburn without getting off and pushing. But until today I've never managed all three at Warkworth. So it was a highlight on today's ride to manage all four climbs on this route without getting off and pushing. That's the first time I've done it.

There was a noticeable wind today, but it was blowing mostly from the west, and quite gusty. So not a great problem in practice. 

At the end of March I've reached my highest monthly mileage this year. Neither my frequency of rides, nor my average speed is quite where I hoped, but both have increased. As well as the successful climbs, today's ride has bumped up my Eddington Number. The sun shone, and the air was warmer than it has been recently. So a very pleasant day.

Hipsburn to Dunstan and back

It's seventeen years since I rode National Cycle Route 1 from Newcastle to Edinburgh. This year I'm gradually revisiting the Northumberland section. Last time I covered this in one go, in one direction, over a few days. Now I'm now riding it in both directions, in short sections, over several months. 

Bit by bit I've already covered quite a lot of the section between the Tyne and Seahouses. Some of it I've ridden in both directions, and some of it several times. However, there are also some parts that I have yet to revisit. Today I was able to plug one of the local gaps by riding from Hipsburn to Dunstan and back.

It was a bit of a grey day. A cold wind was blowing off-shore, but that only had a noticeable effect on progress when the route departed from the coast. I expected the climb out of Alnmouth to be a bit of a challenge. In the event I was pleased (and quite surprised) to manage it without having to get off and push. The rest of today's route is fairly flat. So this was a relatively speedy ride (by my standards).

Between Boulmer an Howick there's a choice between an on-road and an off-road option. I've ridden parts of the off-road option in the past, and walk it quite often. I cleaned the bike yesterday and at this time of year I'd expect the off-road option to be quite wet and clarty. Also, at this time of year, on the roads, the volume of visitor traffic is only just starting to build up. So today I decided to stick with the on-road option in both directions.

I didn't have anything that resembled a plan, but there were several alternatives for a refreshment break when I felt like one. The Arch Cafe just outside Craster is more-or-less at today's half-way point. So that seemed a sensible choice. It turned out to be a good one.

In sumamry, a very pleasant ride. But lacking in anything that I need to bring to the attention of the world. Except for this UFO Monitoring Station just outside Alnmouth.

 

 

Millfield, Ford, Crookham, Branxton, Mindrum

 

Maelmin Henge is just outside Millfield. It's a reconstruction of the nearby Milfield North Henge: one of several henge monuments in the Till Valley that date from the Later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

Today's ride started in Millfield, then passed through a series of small settlements: Ford, Crookham, Branxton and Mindrum.

Apart from Maelmin Henge I took in the site of the Battle of Flodden, which was fought outside Branxton in 1513. The Church of St Michael and All Angels at Ford dates from the 13th Century, and was heavily restored by John Dobson in 1853. There has been a mill at Heatherslaw since 1291. The current one was restored and re-opened in 1975, but was closed today.  For more local history I could have made a brief diversion via the 14th Century Etal Castle. But enough is enough.

Part of my route followed NCN68 - the Pennine Cycle Way. The two sections on the A697 were both very brief and traffic wasn't a problem. The rest of the ride was on quiet country lanes. 

Once again I chose a route that is more hilly than I'm used to. On my personal scale of difficulty I couldn't rate this as an "Easy" ride. Others describe it as "Moderate", but I'd have to rate it as more difficult than that. "Challenging"  would be putting it too strongly. I'd like to rate it as "Satisfying", but for now, I think I'll settle on "Demanding".

Around Warkworth

 

Yesterday I came across a  book of Cycle Routes in Northumberland and Tyneside. It's given me ideas. Some of them are routes that are new to me. Some are variations on routes that are already familiar. 

Today I tried a variation on my regular route between Hipsburn and Warkworth. Normally I follow NCN1 there and back, but this variation takes me further inland. 

One of the highlights is this ford west of Warkworth. I've ridden through this before. But that was some years ago and at the time the river was much lower. I wasn't going to attempt it today. For a while I thought I would have to turn back, but then I realised that there's a footbridge a hundred yards or so downstream. So I used that and continued on. 

My plan would then have taken me through Guyzance and Shilbottle. However, it was turning out to be quite a bit more hilly than I'm used to. So I decided to take a shortcut through Sturton Grange.

Despite the shortcut, this looks like a route that's worth another visit. It crosses an area that I don't know well. It's an area that's worth exploring. It won't do me any harm to get more practice across landscape that is less than flat. And it's an attractive route along quiet country roads.