Sunday 18th July 2021
Last year, a few of us had planned a cycling holiday in Italy in the summer. It soon became obvious that it wasn’t going to happen, but what was to replace it? As it turned out, the next best option is a cottage near Durham in July. Which is why we’re here in County Durham at the start of a week of cycling in the hills. To be fair, the weather is comparable to Northern Italy, with sun and 25°C.
On the way here, five of us went for a ride out from Barnard Castle (insert own eyesight testing joke here) before checking in to a lovely cottage, miles from civilisation (as we know it). The route was one I wanted to take since when I was last here in September, my Garmin had a ‘funny do’ and failed to record all of the trip. And as we know, if it ain’t on Strava, it didn’t happen. So now, I have an official record of my visit and I can sleep peacefully once more.
We have more rides planned than we have days available, so tomorrow’s ride is at present unknown. But it’ll be hilly. And hot. Like Italy, I suppose.
Monday 19th July 2021
Another splendid cycling day with very varied scenery. Starting from our accommodation two miles South of Lanchester, County Durham, we headed North with the intention of crossing the River Tyne West of Newcastle. As with all good plans, this one failed at the first contact with the enemy, the enemy in this instance being a 10″ slice of sharp metal on the road whose sharp edge neatly lacerated an expensive tubeless tyre. We were unsure of our ability to stem the rapid egress of air, but thankfully, we were quite close to a chap who had recently established a bicycle repair shop in his garden shed. He was adjacent to the coast-to-coast cycle route and was getting plenty of custom. Half an hour later we were back on the road again and making our way North once more.
Crossing the Tyne here was uninspiring, but the cycle track on the North bank was great: tarmacked, shady, flat and traffic-free and it lasted all the way through Newcastle. The foot-traffic increased the closer we got to the city centre, but on a lovely sunny day, this mattered not a bit. We just moseyed along with the crowds, stopping for photos and having a shot on the massive see-saws which hooted as you used them. (You had to be there!)
I admit to loving Newcastle and Gateshead, even though I haven’t spent very much time there. The bridges and terrific buildings are spectacular and the people are so friendly.
One of the highlights of the trip was anticipated to be a ride through the Tyne cycle tunnel, and it proved to be so. The first purpose-built cycling tunnel was opened 70 years ago and reopened 2 years ago after a major refurbishment. We had to descend by lift, and still had to wear a mask which was fair enough. Spectacle-wearers will be able to empathise with me when I explained how I accidentally pressed the emergency call button. I was trying to hold the doors open for a fellow cyclist, but my glasses were so misted up that I pressed the wrong button and then spent the duration of the upward journey explaining that there really was no emergency. To add insult to injury, the chap I was trying to hold the doors for was a total stranger who politely declined the offer. But even after these travails, I still enjoyed the experience.
Reappearing in Jarrow, we then followed the river on the South bank. I had decided to follow the coast round to South Shields, which turned out not to be my best navigating decision. I now appreciate that South Shields is not really a quaint fishing village. It’s environs are reminiscent of a decaying industrial town and the 500 metre-long centre is a Blackpool clone, rife with chippies and amusement arcades.
Wisely, I was outvoted when I called for a lunch stop (even though it was about 2pm) and so we continued a another few miles before finding a fish restaurant right on the beach. We did consider that maybe we were not precisely the clientele they were trying to attract since the restaurant was a top end seafood establishment. We had to descend 30 metres in a tiny lift (the bikes had to go in vertically) before popping out in the bar which was hewn from the cliff face. We asked a woman who looked like a waitress whether we’d be welcome with bikes. She shrugged and said ‘yes’ before hurrying into the lift. Turns out, she didn’t work there and was just a customer. Anyway, we were welcomed and enjoyed an excellent meal, although we had to wait probably 45 minutes from placing the order. I had ‘naked fish’ which was a huge piece of steamed cod served over new potatoes and samphire with what I would describe as a deconstructed tartare sauce. All the ingredients were included, but just not formed into a sauce. Delicious, but not too heavy. It was enlightening to realise that we spent more on that single meal than we did in Aldi where we shopped sufficient for five breakfasts and snacks and three meals.
The last 30 miles were the hilliest of the day, punctuated by a short diversion to see the Angel of the North.
Because of the trip to the bike shop and the lunch more reminiscent of that experienced by a 1970s Fleet Street newspaper editor, we only arrived ‘home’ at 18.30. Great day.
Tuesday 20th July 2021
We couldn’t have asked for better weather for this trip, and it’s also becoming clear that in Durham and Northumberland the cycling opportunities are spectacular, if you like hills and empty roads. (We do.)
Today’s excursion headed Northwest to Derwent Reservoir, passing some great place names: Muggleswick was my favourite. After skirting round the top of the reservoir, we began the serious climbing of the day, heading over the North Pennine moors to Weardale. The climbs were hard, but the descents made it worth it. Smooth tarmac (generally) and barely any cars.
In the middle of the moors I was interested to read a sign by a cattle grid warning us to beware of adders beyond. Who knew adders couldn’t negotiate cattle grids? Or sheep netting.
Coffee was enjoyed in Blanchland (a beautiful old village with a car to match) and we had cake at Chatterbox café in St. John’s Chapel. We spent longer than we intended at the cake shop since the staff offered to top up our teapot free of charge. So after a pint of tea each, we left to tackle the final 25 miles.
The final climb was unexpectedly hard, especially since it was unexpected. We were only 3 miles from the cottage and we thought the worst was over when the road gently began to rise. And then rise and rise!
Home cooking again tonight. Vegetarian chilli for eight, and there’re only six of us. Result.
Wednesday 21st July 2021
Another day of sunshine, bikes, hills, empty roads and good friends. Again.
Our recommended café for lunch in Middleton-in-Teesdale was shut on Wednesdays, unfortunately, but the second best choice provided us with a classic anecdote. Assorted sandwiches were ordered and then Jim asked if he could have a bowl of chips and some bread so he could make a chip butty (he’s from Warrington). “Yeah, I think so”, said the waitress. A moment later, she’s back announcing that they do sell chip butties, but would Jim like a curry splash instead? “What’s a curry splash?”. “I’ve no idea, but I’ve been told to ask you”.
Jim enjoyed his chip butty but we never found out what a curry splash was. Even Google doesn’t know. I enjoyed my tuna mayo panini, although it didn’t come with crisps. Crisps are only served with cold sandwiches, apparently, and my panini was warm. Well, if them’s the rules, what can we do?
Today’s ride included nearly 6,400 feet of climbing in the 65 miles and mostly were on almost totally empty moorland roads. Empty, that is, apart from road kill, of which there were hundreds of examples, mainly rabbits. There was very nearly a sheep after one dashed out just in front of me. Thankfully I was climbing (slowly), so no harm was done to either of us. (I spent probably 3/4 of my time climbing slowly today!)
The only bit of non-climbing was when we cycled along a terrific road along Weardale. It was virtually traffic-free, but not fully without incident. No sheep, but peafowl this time. The peacocks gave us audible warning, but they did cause a slight traffic hazard. At the same farm, we spotted an ostrich (or perhaps it may have been a rhea, but I wasn’t getting close enough to check), but thankfully, it was behind a fence.
We enjoyed ice creams after the ride, but afterwards the third person in the shower found that it would no longer switch off, so the rest of us took it in turns to use it in relay before we turned off the water at the main stopcock.
(We called it a shower, but in reality it was simply a warm, vertical fire hose. Once in the cubicle, it was like being a hostage; I found myself trapped in one corner being afraid to stand beneath the force. Turning down the water volume increased the temperature, so there was no respite.)
After reporting the problem, we gingerly turned on the water again and found that the shower had stopped by itself. Odd, but it did mean that we could run the washing machine.
What will tomorrow hold? Bring it on.
Thursday 22nd July 2021
We set off about 9am today and headed South over more undulating roads, but fewer moorlands. Arriving in Barnard Castle at coffee time meant that several flat whites were ordered, but since we were feeling a bit peckish, we also ordered a couple of bowls of chips. I’m sure Mary Berry would raise her eyebrows at the combination (and Jamie Oliver too), but they really hit the spot.
We noticed the large queue outside the country’s most famous Specsavers, but didn’t stop for a photo.
Today’s route was my indulgence. I can show on a map a continuous line of roads I’ve cycled on up to Barnard Castle but not beyond to the Northeast. After this week, there are now several more roads around Durham, but they were not linked to the rest of the country. Thanks to today’s ride, now they are. Sad, I know, but we all need reasons to motivate us.
The weather was in the mid- to late-twenties again today, so we really felt the heat whilst climbing. This afforded me the opportunity to conduct an experiment concerning flies. All week they have bothered me on the climbs since they are able to keep us with my slow road speed. I’ve heard it said that midges can only fly at 4mph but after much experimentation, I can now conclude that standard flies can fly alongside up to 8mph but no faster. So I now know that that’s the minimum speed to climb a 20% incline in hot weather. Don’t mention it; it’s all part of the service.
The ride we’d planned for today did not initially include Durham, but I couldn’t go so close and not pay a visit, so we diverted round to call in for lunch. The city was very busy with tourists and many oddly dressed people. And that’s coming from me who was walking round in strange shoes with black shorts and an outrageously colourful top and padded fingerless gloves. But I considered that a chap wearing a tweed jacket, no shirt, jeans and flip-flops was rather eccentric.
Lunch was taken at an Italian restaurant in the city centre where we were met by a genuine cameriere italiano. He greeted us from afar offering coffee and when he realised there were five of us looking for lunch, he rudely told another single customer to move tables while he dragged two tables together so we could sit down. He was so surly, it was funny. And at the end when Laurence politely asked him if he could fill his water bottle, he jerked his thumb back to a sink behind the bar where Loz had to help himself! He only later realised that he should really have filled it from the Peroni pump.
All this week, we have been chasing ‘climbs’ from Simon Warren’s series of books (cyclists will understand). This area must have one of the most concentrated group of climbs in the country and since I’ve never cycled in this region before, I managed to bag a couple every day. The first this morning was out of Wolsingham which happened to have some temporary traffic lights at the start of the climb. So if I’m a few seconds off the leading time, that’s my excuse already baked in.
The second was a bonus, since it just happened to be on our (very convoluted) route out of Durham. It was up a very narrow and steep (obviously) lane leading out from the busy centre and we only realised we’d done it when it appeared on Strava.
Just after leaving Durham, the route directed us through the grounds of Ushaw College, a former Catholic seminary. Sadly, the route appeared to point beyond a padlocked gate. We all hoisted the bikes over only to notice much too late an opening in the fence a few yards away. I’m sure we’d have been forgiven, especially if we explained the length of the queue at Specsavers.
The shower went wrong again tonight, so we had relays again. We could leave the water off all evening since we ate out at a local hostelry, it being our last night.
Tomorrow, some of the group are heading straight home, but three of us are aiming to climb a further 2,500 feet so we can claim an Everest’s worth of climbing in six days. The things we do for data!
Friday 23rd July 2021
We’re all safely back home now after a tremendous week in the sunshine and hills. Was it as good as Italy? For me, it was certainly no worse. The roads were all new, the weather gorgeous, the company excellent, so by those standards, yes, just as good.
Three of us started the final day from a lay-by about 20 miles South of our accommodation so we could try some more roads as yet uncycled by us. Well, by me, anyway. We headed in an anticlockwise loop from Stanhope and in just 40 miles managed to ride over one mile vertically. Nowhere on that ride was it flat, but it meant that I could meet my desire of cycling more than the height of Everest in six days. The total distance was just over 340 miles with 26 hours in the saddle.
We revisited Midleton-in-Teesdale for coffee and cake and this time, the recommended café was open and we indulged in their finest products (it was a very good recommendation, thanks, Karen!)
I’m looking forward to my next trip now, which is a solo cycle tour from Nottingham to Chelmsford. I’ll explain why then.
