Oh hi!
Bonnie
Scotland!

Stop. Look. Listen. Sounds like a Motown song, but is just a warning sign of a train crossing. I find them stressful, as they‘re always gated. When I was a kid, my neighbour was killed by a train. First stop at Shrewsbury. Super cute little town! Came across a carrot cake swissroll, which should be available everywhere! Super cute ranchy campsite in the evening, ride pretty uneventful.

A terrible day! Planned a longish ride, not a lot ascend. But man! So bad! Terrible roads, small canal roads and worst of all. A lot, and I mean A LOT of absolutely ridiculous gates! So much money spent for absolute nonsense. Whoever planned these should burn in hell. Campsite had ponies though directly at my pitch. It had a little river to cross. On the way in it worked out well… leaving was not so good...

Eventful! First one. I fell into the little river I crossed before successfully. The evening I was so tired that I just went through. In the morning I tried to be smart. Navigating around a little hole. But I was not smart. It was filled with algae and very slippery. So I fell in. Nothing happened. Only the mudguard got lose. But I wish I had a video. Then I got so hungry that I got to eat! Something proper, not just #hobnobs. Got my first Sunday roast and my first Yorkshire pudding. Delicious! Booked a campsite that sounded so great and fun! But I was the only one there and it was actually a giant park. Really, a tad scary. But overall, good day!

Getting into the Yorkshire Dales. One of my favourite days so far. Lots of long ascends, beautiful landscapes and a lot of sheep. Got to meet some local bikers as well and enjoyed a perfect view of the three peaks, forgot how they were called. Thought I would stop at Ingleton, but had to to another climb into the national park. Beautiful, but too many cars on this one. I camped basically inbetween two peaks which was absolutely stunning.

Crazy beautiful! With a lot of hills and the clear reminder that it’s always worth to go up the hill. For the views! Started with a super nice road. Down through mountains, no cars! Landed in Ingleton and they had, to my surprise, a great outdoor shop where I could buy. New sleeping mat. Lots of cave explorers here. Continued through empty uphill streets, met a bicyclists who celebrated his birthday on the road. The day started cloudy but turned into a sunny one. At the end of the day I found a little pub which hands down the best pie I ever had!

Beautiful views at the beginning of the day. Always hard to capture, but looked unreal. Nice and easy ride, until I got in an unpacked stretch where I passed a castle and herds of cows and sheep. I need to look more into the history of public foot paths and bridleways in England. For me right now, not so great. But being on foot, great. Landed in Carlisle. Big disappointment. I went to do some laundry, but nada. No single laundromat. The biggest attraction for me was the McVitie‘s factory. They produce my biggest source of energy. Hobnobs!

I made it to Scotland! A big milestone! Landscape was beautiful, but the road was more of a bike highway. Just a strip on a rather busy street. Great to get some miles done! But a bit scary when big wood lorries rush by. Ended on a campsite with the most beautiful view, and tons of bunnies. Looking forward to the weeks to come!