So I had an early enough start to the day, that I avoided alcohol the previous night… not claiming to be on the same ethanol intake as, say for instance @Sandi T, but it does show that I still have some will power… Climbing aboard my packhorse, Yellow Peril, I set off into the gentle mizzle around 6am. I wanted to cover the 130 odd miles to the Solway coast before too many others had considered it a clever idea themselves! By the time I had reached Tebay (and their award winning motorway services), the wind rush was irritating me due to a particularly noisy dome… being a sufferer of tinnitus, I normally wear ear plugs. But, no doubt because of the early start, I had omitted them from my essential kit! The Tebay services are normally a point of gushing praise due to the quality of their produce, but I was doomed to a fruitless search… amid charcuterie of the highest order, and local produce (that to the discerning eye) maybe tilted towards twee Cumbrian caricatures and tourist targeted marketing, rather than the skilful products that the Cumbrians, who old enough to remember before there was such a county, might actually like in their own homes! Err… back to the point, there were no organic Herdwick lambs wool ear plugs anywhere to be found! An omission, in my humble opinion, that some eager philanthropist should consider tapping! Back to the drudgery of the Northbound M6, not bad for views, as a rising sun cresting the horizon tries to glimmer through the fish scale sky on my far right, and the mizzle continues to Gretna… where for a short period of “well fuck you then!” Rain, the weather decided to leave me alone… and I turned off onto the A75 towards Dumfries… Whilst the weather might be brightening… the A75 is a little tedious at legal limits (I presume! ) and I was glad of the distraction of the cloud formation, plus a wonderful temperature inversion over the Solway firth itself! Getting past Dumfries is worthwhile though, the roads are less obsessed with being straight over the flatlands, and start to casually slink about the hillocks that pepper the landscape now. And with the sun climbing into an altitude of useful warmth, the miles to Dalbeattie and then Palnackie skip by in a flash. This is my turn off, a small lane scurrying off to the left would be easy to miss, but due to the navigational prowess of an eel, I’m on track! Orchardton tower is glimpsed to the right of this lane… built to its current appearance in the 1880’s by William Douglas Robinson-Douglas, a name so Scottish, his family just had to come from Liverpool! (Go on, Google the wee castle, it’s interesting) And then I’m there, end of the road for ol’ yella! I change out of the bike gear and into my lightweight walking rig, I stuff it all into the luggage, lock the wheel to the frame and just hope no fecker messes with it!. I walk along a closed road, full of hedgerow fruit and game birds and by the time I reach Almorness house, I’m a bit warm and removing layers! I think this lumpy hill is called Bengairn… So heading South through the dappled deciduous woodland, I finally strike the oft-hinted shoreline at Horse Isle Bay. Whilst pretty… I decided the north-east direction is not to my liking, plus it’s facing the opposite shore of the Solway, so it didn’t feel like the sea… to be continued…
So continuing Southwards along the peninsula, you come to a delightful beach (White port), all sand and crushed shell, bordered by rough granite lumps. The tide was just about in and through meticulous planning, I had plenty time to enjoy a swim. Through slightly less meticulous planning, I had forgotten my trunks! Had I known this back at Tebay, I probably could have got some speedos knitted out of wild Kendal Mint cake (the rarest type… foraged, not farmed). My normal recourse here would be just to strip off naked and plunge in anyway… however, I had noticed at the very far end of the beach, a big fellow, sat smoking and enjoying the view. He was more your forestry worker having a fag break type, and looked more likely to mock the afflicted than be a cool Jude Law/talented Mr Ripley “I can see, but I’m not looking!” chap! How I deduced that from that distance, I can’t be sure, but I was convinced! I also deduced that I would not really be too exposed in my undies, he’d probably figure they were trunks at that range… so out in the cool sea I went, not for too long but it felt great! After enjoying the salty splash, it was brew and butty time, and time to kick back in the sun whilst the world goes by doing its thing! There was always someone about in the beach as well as me, but it was so peaceful and quiet! But all too soon, it was time to head home. Back through the woods to my yellow peril. To be continued…
Once on the bike and moving, I chose the costal road between Dalbeattie and Dumfries (Queen of the South) I cannot recommend this road enough, a real pleasure at National speed limits, with great views of the Firth and beautiful little villages, like New Abbey… hell, they’ve been building this for ages, they named the village after it!!! And then from Dumfries to Gretna Green, it was Wally-dodging on the A75. Rejoining the southbound m6, I noticed a change in the bikers I saw… around the smaller Dumfriesshire roads, all the bikers waved, on the m6 northbound… all the GS1250s were too busy and self important going to ride the great Glen and the north west 500 to be bothered with an idiot on a yellow tdm! A bit fed up of the motorway by Penrith, I thought I’d tootle past one of our “big” lakes (shurrup America) Ullswater. Though the sun was becoming a bit shy, it’s still a nice lake! The narrow roads were congealing clots of camper vans, caravans, cyclists and knobheads with less patience and motive skill than a pissed-up Sharon on her second bottle of Prosecco! I waited for them to dissolve and was rewarded with a clear drop down “the struggle“ off Kirkstone pass, through Ambleside, Grizedale, Greenodd and then home! hope you enjoyed the waffle!
I like the idea of bringing rolls/cobs/batch (etc) and a little stove too. Brilliant. As for the dip? madness..... Thanks for sharing!
Amazing - a mini-adventure all in a day. Love the idea of making your own breakfast in situ enjoying the peace and quiet with a great view. Gotta be better than squeezing in at some greasy spoon biker cafe with the riffraff. Brilliant. Where are you going next week? I’m already looking forward to the write up and more stunning photos. Cheers, CB
DC, Thanks for the excellent write up and brilliant pictures All in my neck of the woods too! You did really well to find that wee turn off for Orcharton Tower.... my old mate I am pretty sure I gave you a wave as you came up to Dalbeattie traffic lights heading away from Palnackie (White Thruxton with a cockpit fairing) Cheers RetTh'Ed
What a delightful ride report about your days adventures, DCS! I liked it so much I read it twice. Spectacular photos, too. I definitely "enjoyed the waffle". Thanks for sharing your day with us.
Knockout! Waffle on, Sunbeam. Very interestingly written and photographed. Makes the reading a lot more interesting than hearing a Clive (sorry to all Clives) telling us blandly that he'd gone on the B6241and turned left on the B1426, blah, blah, blah . . .
