Two Days Up North

Less than three hours from Euston and we were stepping off the train at Oxenholme, conveniently positioned at the southern gateway to the Lake District. The plan was to ride to Edinburgh in two days, through the heart of the Lakes and then north through the Borders. We 'Komooted' the route and included some so-called gravel. Three of us riding: Stephen, an Olympic rower with outsize lung capacity; Chris, a deliberately under-prepared every day cyclist with a new gravel bike & no cleats; and me, with my Pearson Objects in Motion & some new 4 Season tyres (I’m sure Guy Pearson called them unpuncturable).

We had booked to stay at the Wheatsheaf on the first night. Turns out there are two Wheatsheafs near Oxenholme and we merrily set off to the wrong one. Route corrected, rain & darkness coming down and we arrived at the right one, in Brigsteer, 7-8km due west of the station. Our keys were left out, our rooms were nice, but the pub - and our dinner venue - was otherwise closed. Back into Kendal by taxi and some tramping of empty streets eventually landed us at a decent Thai restaurant.

Our first day took us north through the Lakes to another hotel on the north shore of the Solway Firth. The forecast could not have been worse. 95% chance of torrential rain and 30mph wind. We tried to convince ourselves that we’d be in the 5% area of no rain - we never found it. Our route was great: first west over undulating green-ness to the Windermere Ferry. Then north up the lake-shore path (sometimes actually in the lake) and on small roads to Skelwith. Komoot is great but it does sometimes take you on artificial detours to keep you off the true road - in this case we got a pleasant tour of a static caravan park before arriving at Skelwith. From Skelwith there is the brutal 25% well-named Foulstep climb - I have to admit our party only had a 33% success rate on it - two of us succumbing to the gradient & wet leaf combination. Next stop was Grasmere for cake & coffee, with the rain now upgrading from persistent to near torrential, and a pathetic 40km done.

From Grasmere, a few nice lanes before the grind over Dunmail Raise - only 2km or so, but not much fun with big trucks and a lot of spray - and then down to the fantastic car-free western shore of Thirlmere. Over the Victorian dam at the north end and then north to Threkeld, skirting the lower slopes of Blencathra. In any normal weather, these would have been superb roads. With no cars and only sheep for company the road is taped over the moors and fields, remote and spectacular. As it was, we were cold & very wet and really wondering how we had only completed half the 130km planned. A puncture in my indestructible tyres was at least an excuse to stop and put on the last of our clothes and eat something before pressing on north.

Via some proper muddy farm tracks and fields we were finally Into Carlisle and Komoot took us on a suburban cycleway. Much better than it sounds and, at last, the rain seemed to be abating. Carlisle being bereft of soft southern deli cafes, we settled for Subway and dried out under their toilet hand-dryers. Spirits now marginally higher we pushed on, over the border, and then turned left and west for the last 15km to Powfoot, on the shores of the Solway Firth.