Our Holland Adventure......Part Two

Fired up by tales of other intrepid cycle tourers, who were making their way round Europe, or even round the world, our original plan was to do a grand tour of Holland in two weeks. The distances involved suggested this would be perfectly feasible, and finding accommodation along the way wouldn't be difficult, so how hard could it be? Once reality kicked in however, we soon realised that, in order to do this we would have to cycle roughly 50 miles per day ( as the crow flies ), and do this every day for two weeks, leaving us no time to actually enjoy the places we were passing through. This was no race, and we had nothing booked, so deciding to have a holiday rather than killing ourselves simply trying to cover an impressive mileage we set off south from Ijmuiden towards Haarlem for our first night.

Instantly on car free cycle paths, we were soon relishing the pleasure that is cycling in Holland. Although very densely populated, there are a fantastic number of wooded places, and thankfully the cycle network takes you on a meandering route through some of the nicest scenery on offer. Huge beech woods, with trees only just thinking about autumn, led us onto green pasture where this part of Holland seemed to enjoy everything equestrian, and a coffee and cake stop, the first of many.

I must admit I had had a bit of a nervous start in Ijmuiden, with a fully laden bike that I wasn't quite used to yet. Strangely though, after a couple of hours you seemed to forget that you were so heavy, and we seemed to be flying along! Our route followed LF1, the North Sea Route, and took us through the northern fringes of the Zuid Kennermerland National Park. Characterised by sand dunes and sparse forest, this park stretches from Haarlem down the coast for around 15 miles and is a haven for wildlife. Heading for one of several campsites indicated on the map, we eventually settled on one which looked basic but tidy, about 5km along the coast road out of Haarlem. 

Unfortunately there were no Nature Campsites in this area, so we had no choice but to go for one of the more touristy ones, catering primarily for caravans. The first shocker was the price - 14 Euros per night, not including your showers for which you had to pay a Euro a pop. So 18 Euros down, we set off in search of the tent area to pitch up. If the campsite had been dirt cheap then I wouldn't have minded the fact that the grass was not really grass, but bumpy scrubby ground not really ideal for pitching a tent on ( well actually that's a lie as decent grass to pitch on is to my mind a minimum in any campsite, but more about grass later ), but we only intended to stay one night so it was bearable enough. 

Our arrival at the campsite was pretty early, having only covered about 21 miles, so we set off for Haarlem with lightened loads for some food and a search for a supermarket. Despite the fairly dismal forecast, the sun was shining and we spent a lovely afternoon wandering round the small and compact city after leaving our bikes somewhat nervously in the market square. I say this as our bikes stand out like sore thumbs in Holland. Nearly everyone rides 'sit up and beg' Dutch style big bikes with satchel type panniers or baskets on handlebars, so our mountain bike and hybrid looked very odd locked up next to all of these. We worked on the premise that everyone owns a bike so no one would steal ours, although we had heard that risking this in Amsterdam or Rotterdam could result in a nicked bike within about ten minutes! Being our mode of transport this would be a real disaster.

Haarlem is a beautiful city, the capital of the province of Noord Holland and known also as 'Bloemenstad' due to it's importance as the main hub or centre of the tulip bulb growing industry. A long and rich history, dating back to pre-medieval times, is reflected in the architecture, with the city shaped by siege, the Black Death, fire, trade and war amongst other events. We found a lovely little pub (Proeflokaal In den Uiver) and sampled a couple of the local Jopen beers, eventually ending up eating chips and sauce outside a tiny little frite shop on one of the narrow pedestrianised streets.

So a really healthy start to our holiday!

A quick trip to the tourist information began to confirm what we thought we knew already, that maps were prohibitively expensive (particularly given the rotten Sterling exchange rate), and that the Rough Guide that we had was actually quite good. As usual they were about to close, and so we left to search for Albert Hein on our bikes before heading back to the campsite. Albert Hein - or Calvin Klein as it became known - is a fairly 'up market' supermarket found in certain parts of the country. The great thing about food shopping in Holland as a camper is that everything from meat to cheese to ready made salads is conveniently packed in handy portion sizes. Perfect for us, as we'd probably have to do shopping most days to avoid carrying more weight. We also discovered, after paying up to 4 Euros in the bar for a small beer, that they sell for about a third of that price in the supermarket, and the range is pretty good. So several bottles of beer were duly added to the basket and we set off back to camp.

Blessed with a lovely evening we ate outside the tent and enjoyed a stroll before turning in. One of the slightly disappointing things about camping in Holland is that, no matter where you are, you are never far from a road which is so different from camping in Scotland where the silence at night is deafening. That said we slept like logs and woke ready to really set off on the adventure.

Now don't ask me, or even Al for that matter, why we decided to continue our cycle south down the coast into an oncoming wind threatening to gust to 60mph. Neither of us can remember agreeing to this madness, when common sense would tell you that going north would be the sensible idea! We had spent time in Friesland to the north previously, so perhaps wanting to explore new pastures was the reason, but neither of us will admit suggesting this.​

We continued our route out to the coast road, where we were met with pretty ferocious winds as we turned south. Luckily it was dry, but there really was no escape from the wind, and we averaged about 6kmph for a good few hours. The first stretch of coastline is populated by pretty soul-less modern holiday resorts, which offered few sheltered places to stop for coffee, so we continued down the straight wind battered road towards Zandvoort before the path headed off once more into the sand dunes. These offered a bit of respite from the wind in places but it was heavy going. Elegant elderly ladies, on their way to do their shopping sailed past us in the northerly direction and we cursed ourselves for being this crazy. The route was fairly quiet, with everyone being sensible enough to stay in that day, however the cyclists we did pass were always going with great ease in the opposite direction.

Eventually, having crossed into Zuid Holland,  we reached a little beachside oasis where we filled our tummies with soup, sandwiches and coffee and rested tired legs. Thankfully after this point the path headed inland, so we got a little break from the wind, and we found ourselves cycling through endless bulb fields as we headed for Leiden. Unfortunately most of these were no longer in bloom, but it must be a spectacular sight to see in high summer as the ones which were still flowering were vivid and packed with rows and rows of flower heads. 

​It turned out to be a lovely site - with lovely grass! - and cheaper than the first one. The owner showed us to a specially selected pitch out of the wind, and slightly elevated in case it rained again, and apart from a couple of caravans were the only people there, perfect. We were offered  the use of a table and chairs, so felt really set up, and after a quick trip back to Calvin Klein managed to have our dinner and a couple of beers in the evening sun before turning in. Bedtime for the majority of our trip was once it got dark, roughly 9.30pm at a push. One of the downsides of camping in the autumn.

Rather than staying in Leiden itself, we had located a small village called Warmond to the north next to a lake which seemed to offer plenty of campsite options. We had encountered a pretty heavy shower on the way, which meant the first chance to test out the waterproofs, and were keen to get somewhere to stay as soon as possible. Again no Nature Campsites were on offer so we went against all of Al's principles and asked the nice lady at the VVV if she could find us somewhere. She immediately called her friend and announced after a short conversation that her friend would be expecting us! We had no idea at this point as to whether this would be the kind of place right for us, or how expensive it was going to be, but felt it impolite not to turn up so off we went in search of the site about a mile and a half out of town.

The weather didn't really improve that evening, and the rain looked pretty set. Once we got back to the campsite it was fairly obvious that tea outdoors was out of the question. The only dry place we could cook was in the ladies shower block, which was also the dishwashing area ( a bit sexist if you ask me having this in the ladies! ), so we prepared our dinner and made the mad dash back to the tent with pots in hand. Our tent (a Macpac Minaret) is high enough to sit up in, so we arranged our Thermarest chairs - great inventions - and had our tea in relative comfort whilst listening to the rain on the tent outside. After wrestling into our sleeping bags, which nicely warms you up for the night, sleep came easily once again...................

The forecast for the next day was pretty rough, so we decided on staying another night and taking the chance to explore the nearby University town of Leiden. The birthplace of Rembrandt, Leiden again has a long history stretching back to Roman times. Packed full of museums and intersting architecture, it was a good place to spend a pretty awful rainy day. We dodged showers in between climbing to the castle, searching out windmills and walking along canals absorbing the traditional buildings. What surprised, or occurred to us as we people watched from a cafe, is how the Dutch take the weather in their stride much more than we do. They don't seem to mind the rain, and simply get on the waterproofs, stick their hoods up, and keep cycling. You don't see crowds of people running from the rain or sheltering in doorways, and their attitude seems to be 'Hey it's only water!'

Day 1 - Ijmuiden to Haarlem (21 miles)

Day 2 - Haarlem to Worden (26.5 miles)

Day 3 - Around Leiden (9.8 miles)

Our Holland Adventure - Part One......

We planned our first two week cycle tour to Holland for a number of reasons. Firstly, in two weeks you can only travel so far, and we wanted to have a holiday as well as testing out whether we could actually do this, or would actually enjoy it. Secondly, making arrangements to travel from Glasgow, we needed to cross the North Sea simply to get to our starting point, a journey which would knock off at least three days of our holiday before we’d even started. Finally and perhaps most importantly, both of us had cycled in Holland before and knew that the infrastructure for cyclists in the Netherlands was virtually perfect for our needs. Was there a need to look any further for our first trip? We thought not, so Holland it was!

With the North Sea crossing from Rosyth outside Edinburgh unfortunately no longer operating      ( hopefully someone will get this up and running again in the future ) our best option seemed to sail overnight with DFDS from Newcastle to Ijmuiden. We caught the train from Glasgow on the Saturday morning, and had already established that there was a dedicated cycle route from Newcastle Central to the ferry terminal about ten miles away. All bikes have to be booked onto the train to ensure you will get them on and luckily we managed to get tickets for ours at relatively short notice. There were more tickets for the bikes than for us and we were thankful that we had done this in advance as the cycle facilities on Virgin trains are mot great to say the least, Whoever designed the cycle racks on these trains obviously didn’t design them for our bikes as it was a struggle to get them into the woefully small area available. All panniers and attachments taken off we managed, just, but anyone else turning up to use the last remaining space would have had no chance of fitting their bike in!

Arriving in Newcastle we had plenty of time to head down to the waterfront, grab a relaxed lunch, and find the cycle route we needed. A fairly relaxed cycle of about 90 minutes got us safely to the ferry terminal on pretty good paths and we arrived with loads of time to spare. Queuing up behind the other cyclists and motorbikes we had plenty of time to compare gear and check out everyone else’s kit while we waited to get on the boat. There was a group of young German cyclists in front of us travelling with quite a lot of kit on rear panniers, and we wondered how they had got on in the UK with our not so cycle friendly roads. Thankfully it was dry as there was no where to wait under cover, as we waited for a good hour before going through passport control etc. Eventually, after loading quite a lot of cars and caravans, we were ushered onto the ferry’s upper deck, where we had to strap our bikes to a railing – quite difficult with a heavy bike on a sloping platform! – and eventually lugged all our panniers upstairs to our cabin.

After a good night’s sleep and a fantastic buffet feed, we arrived in windy but dry Ijmuiden at 9am the next morning. Doing the whole process in reverse we made it safely off the boat and, after remembering to cycle on the right, made our way out of the ferry terminal where we found our reassuring first cycle signs pretty quickly.

Being in Holland as a cyclist is pretty blissful on the whole. You can travel almost anywhere you like on dedicated separate cycle routes with their own signs and even traffic lights. All cars in Holland give way to bikes, which takes a bit of getting used to as it feels scary simply to cross the road and hope they’ll let you pass at first! During our whole trip we only found ourselves on the roads a couple of times, twice when we weren’t meant to be there and had cars flashing their lights at us an hitting their horns ( generally we hadn’t followed the signs and had missed the path and these were 60km/h roads where bikes are strictly NOT allowed! ). Everyone in Holland cycles, and I mean everyone, so there are bikes everywhere which also means you have to look out for them as well and not get in the way with your big tank of a touring bike! I personally found this a bit daunting for the first day or so, before I settled into the way of things, and being on car free routes meant we could really relax and enjoy the scenery around us.

Before we had set off, the weather forecast hadn’t looked too great, so we had prepared ourselves for staying in a mix of campsites, hostels and B&Bs along the way. Our research had thrown up three main options –

Nature Campsites (http://www.natuurkampeerterreinen.nl )

We aren’t into big sites with loads of facilities and ‘entertainment’, preferring to stick to more basic quieter sites. We had discovered a network of 140 small basic 'nature camping' sites, ( not to be confused with naturist sites, of which there are quite a few in the Netherlands! )offering the chance to get away from the more organised kind, in rural areas out of town. They were generally a lot cheaper then the more formal advertised ones, and seemed to be just what we were looking for. Ideal for cyclists, most are situated on or near cycle routes, and are generally in areas of natural beauty away from the main towns. To stay in these sites you need to pay a fee of 15 Euros for a card and ( v small  and compact) guide book, which you can easily buy at your first stop. Charges are per tent/caravan and then per person, and we generally found ourselves paying in the region of 11-15 Euros a night which was pretty reasonable given that we also got free hot showers when the larger more formal sites charge for these or require you to buy tokens.

Hostels ( http://stayokay.com )

Holland’s answer to the Youth Hostel, Stay Okay operates 28 hostels throughout the country, offering dorm or group accommodation. A bit more pricey than UK hostels ( anything up to 28 Euros pp per night ), the other downside is that they don’t offer facilities for cooking your own food, but we though this was an option if things got too bad weather wise, or if we just fancied a night in a proper bed!

B&B ( http://vriedenopdefeits.nl )  

The “Vrienden op de Fiets" guide for 2011 contains nearly four thousand addresses throughout Holland and Belgium. These addresses provide bed and breakfast for cyclist and hikers only, with the nightly cost not exceeding 19 Euros per person. We had sent off for the book online before we left the UK. Once again an option for us if the weather go too wet.

Holland is conveniently covered by a vast network of cycle routes, with a wide variety to choose from. To be honest you could land in the country without any map and pretty easily find your way around using the local ‘red signage’, routes that point you in the direction of a nearby town. These are easy to follow and we used them several times on our rest days to navigate about. Alternatively there are long distance routes, or those taking you on specific routes of natural or historical interest in specific areas. Lastly there are the ‘nodes’, a vast network of numbered signs, linking up in a huge web across the whole country, allowing you to plan your route more accurately, and this seemed perfect for us although locals don’t seem to use these at all. Maps showing all the nodes are readily available on line or at book stores or Tourist Information shops ( VVV ), however, like Ordinance Survey maps in the UK, you require quite a number at 8Euros a time to cover the whole country. We had downloaded an Android App for our phones called ‘Bikenode’ before we left, which shows you all the nodes on a google map, and distances between each node, so we thought we rely on this to plan our routes as we went along.  Bikenode shows all the available routes, long distance, local and the node network, and also allows you handy views of each node point in Google Earth which is handy is you get lost and want to check where you should be.

( https://market.android.com/details?id=nl.rulex.bikenode&hl=en )

Generally it worked very well. At the start of each day we’d check the map and plan our route, writing down the list of numbers or nodes we’d have to follow to get to our destination. At pretty much every second node there is a map where you can check that you’re on the right track, and for the most part the nodes are quite easily spotted once your eye is trained to look out for the small but regular green and white signs.

‘Bikenode’ served us well, although we did miss out on a couple of nodes every now and then, and learned to check the maps at the nodes pretty regularly in case we took a wrong turn. The nodes are pretty easy to spot and follow when in the countryside, but less so in towns, where we got lost a couple of times. Generally however the only times we got well and truly lost was where there were roadworks or diversions, however a bit of common sense ( and a compass ) soon put us on the right track again.  Friendly locals were quick to stop and try to help us out, but seemed a bit flummoxed with the nodes as they don't really use them much to get about. Asking them ‘Can you tell us which way to get to number 47?’  didn’t get us far most of the time, but we managed fairly well for the most part.

To be fair some people like having a map in front of them, and if you haven’t got a phone able to download ‘Bikenode’ or similar, you would certainly need one, but we opted for the free version and didn’t get lost all that often….but hey isn’t getting lost on holiday meant to be half the fun?

More to Holland than cheese, clogs and windmills..........

In less than 12 hours, we'll be safely on the train to Newcastle, bound for the ferry to Ijmuiden in Holland for the start of our first proper bike tour. For the next two weeks we plan to cycle round the Netherlands, anticlockwise, or clockwise depending on which way the the wind's blowing!


We have no fixed plans, but hope to head for Haarlem on our first day. Overnight stops will be at small campsites, Stay-OK hostels or, if we're feeling really in need of a comfy bed, 'Vrienden op de Fiets' B&Bs, where nice people put up cyclists for the night! 


As we're not carrying a small laptop like real pro cycle tourers, You'll have to wait till we get back for a proper blog, unless we can find an internet cafe to spend a bit of time in along the way. If anyone is interested in keeping tabs on where we are or what we're up to, I've added a Twitter-feed to the right of this page, and I'll try and keep this up to date, more to remind myself of what to write about when we get home! You can also follow me @busterskins.......


Al's just asked me who thought up this crazy idea in the first place?


Bon Voyage!! ( I think it's meant to be you that says that! ) ...............

Orkney escapes......2

Realising that this blog is meant to be all about cycling, and not simply as a travel guide, let’s get back to talking about bikes!

Our trip to Orkney was planned with more or less military precision for one good reason….the ferry timetables. We originally had the rather romantic idea that you could spend a week or a fortnight hopping from one island to another, but a more in depth look at the inter-island timetables quickly put paid to this idea. Most of Orkney’s ferries, whilst handy for tourists, are really there to serve the islanders who live there year round, and most of them want to travel to and from Kirkwall for monthly stocking up on shopping etc. Whilst there are ferries between the smaller islands, these only run very occasionally ( once a month! ) unless there’s an agricultural fair or annual event on, so you really have no choice but to travel between your island of choice and Kirkwall, unless you have unlimited time to spend on the islands or can plan your trip specifically around these dates.

To the north of the Orkney mainland there are several ‘large’ islands, using the term loosely as the permanent populations can be in the low hundreds outside the tourist season. After a bit of research as to which ones would be the best to visit for a couple of days each, we settled on Westray to the north west, and Sanday to the north east of Kirkwall. As taking the car could prove expensive for these short trips, we intended to bike it with the tent, and had chosen these islands for several reasons, but also because there were campsites available on both.

Taking the ferry proved really easy and hassle free. We headed for Westray first, taking the ferry from Kirkwall harbour, and as more or less a foot passenger, there was no need to book ahead but simply turn up at the allotted time and cycle on. All the northern isles ferries leave from the same harbour, and are well signed to make sure you don’t get on the wrong one, and paying fares on the ferry was easy so again no need to get tickets in advance. The ferries are pretty basic, with some having a small coffee kiosk selling hot and cold drinks and snacks, and some with simply a vending machine, so if you need anything more exotic you’ll need to take it with you. Our journey to Westray took about 90 minutes, and cost £7.50 single for each of us plus £1.50 for each bike so hardly breaking the bank in that respect. Bikes were tied up on the car deck and we settled down upstairs to watch the islands go by.

The vast majority of Orkney’s islands are pretty flat, with the exception of Hoy and Rousay, but that’s not to say there aren’t hills to climb as we found out. Our campsite for these two days on Westray was approximately seven miles from the ferry terminal, which involved a couple of long drags up and down rolling hills to get the legs going. The roads were generally quite good, and there’s little traffic to worry about, with everyone being considerate and giving us plenty of room as they passed. An hour or so later we arrived at ‘The Barn Hostel and campsite’ (http://www.thebarnwestray.co.uk )and got settled in. All in all it was a good wee site with a camper’s kitchen which is handy if you’re in a tiny wee tent like ours and it’s cold and windy. The site has a nice grassed pitching area with a good mix of tents, campervans and caravans, and is located on the edge of Pierowall just as you enter the town.

Over the next couple of days we explored the island on the bikes, managing to cover most of it and visit all the main places of any interest. Westray is a good place to see puffins at this time of year, and we managed to see some at the ‘Castle o’Burrian’ at the south of the island. They were there in pretty decent numbers and we spent a while watching them fly to and from their nests, however like us they weren’t happy to hang around outside much….seems like puffins don’t like the cold much either! Noup Head is good for bird watching, with plenty of gannets, fulmars, kittiwakes and razorbills if you like that kind of thing, and some spectacular cliff walks. It’s worthwhile taking a decent detailed OS map with you if you can for these island trips as there are plenty of small farm and minor roads which don’t show up on larger scale versions. You can’t really get lost but having a good map avoids the hassle of going down a one way track, and can also show up footpaths, many of which are suitable for bikes.

So what about the practicalities? We had stocked up on food etc in Kirkwall for at least a day, but found a couple of good grocers shops in Pierowall selling more than enough to make a good camping meal. The only place you can buy beer or wine however, on the whole island, is in the Pierowall Hotel as neither grocer is licenced, and when we popped in there for a drink the barmaid was doing a roaring off-licence service for locals - so don’t be afraid to ask! The camper’s kitchen on the site has sink, cookers, kettle and a toaster, but you’d be better not to rely on the dishes or pans etc and just use your own if you can. Washing and drying facilities are provided, including washing machine and free showers, and there is a good green for hanging out wet clothes. A treat, if you’re there on the right day ( Wednesday and Saturday 5-9pm http://www.pierowall-fish.co.uk ), is to get fish and chips from Jack’s Chippy on the harbour front ( Look out for the big blue building), and as well as a large take out choice, including monkfish and scallops, they also sell fresh fish and shellfish if you fancy cooking something a little more exciting.

Westray isn’t the best place for archaeological sites but the few that there are are easily accessible and free! There are some norse settlement ruins and we didn’t have time to go into the heritage centre in Pierowall which looked worthwhile if you have time. Again had we had more time, and if we ever go back, we would have taken the ferry or flown to Papa Westray, the islands smaller sister to the north east. The flight takes two minutes and is the shortest scheduled flight in the world….maybe next time!



Orkney escape.....1

Setting off for Orkney early on the Saturday morning, it was raining. All holidays in Scotland have the potential to be marred or even ruined by bad weather, and many of us who have spent a miserable wet week in a caravan can testify to this! We had been watching the forecast for the week before we left, happy that it was bad, as surely it had to clear up just as we left on holiday. Clearing up before this would have been just our bad luck.

As we approached and passed Stirling, then Perth, then Inverness, the skies gradually lightened until we reached the A9 north of the Black Isle when we found ourselves in sunshine, at last. At the risk of going on too much about the weather, we were very lucky for our two weeks. It was bright but quite cold ( about 12 degrees ) the first week, rising to a balmier 14 degrees on the second. You can't escape the wind in the northern isles, so adding a north easterly wind chill factor to this meant that this was never going to be a 'shorts and t-shirts ' kind of holiday, but nevertheless we both returned looking wind blown and weather-beaten, if only in the face!

Our first stop was Wick, where we spent Saturday night. The first outing for the tent was a lovely campsite just on the outskirts of town, a short walk along the river path to the town centre. Wick, despite a fairly interesting past as a Norse settlement and then major 19th century herring port, doesn't seem to have a huge amount to offer today's tourists but is pretty enough, especially along the river path, and has a couple of decent pubs. It also has the claim to fame that it holds the Guinness World Record for the shortest street in the world. Nothing would satisfy Al till we'd found it, but I was a bit disappointed as it was really just a street corner with one number on it. 

The campsite was basic but well run and just as we like it, and there were plenty of bikers and cyclists overnighting when we were there (http://www.wickcaravansite.co.uk/)  Wick is a natural  stop off point for those going north or south on the Land's End - John O'Groats and there were a couple of lads there on their last leg, literally, before getting to the end of their journey - the weather hadn't been kind to them and their tent looked like it was destined to end its life in a bin somewhere near John O'Groats. 

We were genuinely surprised at how lovely the drive was between Inverness and Gill's Bay where we were to get the ferry the next day. Completely different to the more barren and unpopulated north-west coast, in contrast it was lush and green with steeply rolling hills and pretty villages dotted all along its length. Some of the hills however were monsters and we really pitied the end-to-enders we saw peching their way up them with heavily panniered bikes.



Wheems Organic Farm - South Ronaldsay



Our rough plan was to spend the first week exploring the islands by bike, using the car as little as possible, if at all. There are 70 islands which make up the Orkney Islands, 20 of which are inhabited, so we knew we couldn't see them all, but had a rough plan to spend a couple of nights on a few islands to get a feel for the place. We arrived at St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay after our short one hour crossing of the Pentland Firth, and went in search of our first campsite which I had seen on-line. Wheems Organic Farm is run by a very nice gentleman who is, shall we say, very organic! Produce grown on the farm can be bought, and everything is recycled where possible. Thankfully showers were provided, and there was even a small area where we could cook if it got a bit cold or windy which it did. We spent two nights there, and it was pretty cheap, and the only criticism I would have is that they could have done with cutting the grass in the field which was basically a free' pitch where you like' kind of affair. That said, we did enjoy it and it was a good base from which to explore the island. 

( http://www.wheemsorganic.co.uk/) 



 South Ronaldsay and the neighbouring smaller northern isles are joined to the mainland via a series of man made causeways constructed during the Second World War. Known as the Churchill Barriers, these were built by Italian POWs to prevent German U-boats from entering the protected bay at Scapa Flow and sinking the allied fleet based there, after the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak. The Orkney Isles have a long history as a military/naval base even pre WW1, and when looking at the map it's easy to see why, the sheltered bay at Scapa Flow providing a fantastic natural harbour. Dotted with look out posts, and gun emplacements, the more remote islands bear testament to the suffering of the young naval staff posted here during the war who had to endure a great deal of boredom and hardship for months on end. If you want a taste of this Google a poem called 'Bloody Orkney' which says it all and is very funny to read. 

The Churchill Barriers



Hoxa Head























The clouds threatening on our first full day, we wimped out and took the car down to the south of the island to see the 'Tomb of the Eagles' our first prehistoric site of the many we would visit. Sited on private land and privately run you paid a fair amount to get in, but the talk was informative and we got to see plenty of artifacts removed from the tomb and on display. Like many of these sites the Tomb, so called because of the plethora of eagles talons found there, was discovered accidentally by a farmer, and carefully excavated over many years. The inhabitants of the nearby settlement are though to have used 'sky burials' similar to those still used in Tibet, where the dead were left out for the birds before the cleaned bones were ceremoniously entombed. A short walk took us up to the tomb itself, where you climbed in via a very low and narrow entrance tunnel. We finished our afternoon with lunch at a small bistro serving lovely seafood, and explored some of the coastline on foot.



Tomb of the Eagles entrance - complete with 'Granny Trolley!






















In the evening, and desperate to get out on the bikes, we cycled down the 10 miles or so to Hoxa Head, where you could walk out and see some of the WW2 structures up close. A lot smaller than they looked from the ferry on the way in ( we thought they looked like you could have refurbished them in a modern style as holiday lets! ) they were in a bit of a sorry state but still standing nonetheless. it was interesting to imagine the guys stationed there and what life must have been like for them, especially through the dark winter months. Back via St Margaret's Hope we stopped for a couple of beers at the local hotel. This small village is pretty, and has a pretty good restaurant ( The Creel ), a couple of shops, two hotels and a backpacker's hostel. 

Not a bad place to spend a few days but it was time to move on and get island hopping!

Dumfries and Galloway cycle trip June 2011- Day 3

Monday 6th June - Newton Stewart to Stranraer ( 45 miles )

Foregoing the porridge, partly due to the threat of rain, we carbed up on pancakes and yoghurt washed down with a mug of tea, and repacked ready for the last push to Stranraer. Our first leg took us south towards Wigtown, on a cycle route we had discovered by chance while looking at a map in town the evening before. Eventually this rejoined the road, and not long after we again veered off onto a lovely quiet coast road where we could just enjoy cycling with minimum numbers of cars to pass us. We reached Wigtown pretty early and decided to stop for coffee. Unfortunately it seems that no one drinks coffee here before noon so we had no choice but to push on.

Bike takes a rest outside the Cock Inn

Once again the B7005 road across the peninsula was quiet and enjoyable cycling through rolling farmland. On reaching the western coastline we had to rejoin a busier road for a couple of miles until we spotted the Cock Inn and decided to investigate for a lunch stop.

It turned out it was shut on a Monday, and to be honest it didn't look that great anyway so perhaps it was for the best.

A short rest stop, some juice and some macaroon bar later ( yum! ), we finally pushed on till we reached the small village of Glenluce. To be honest my behind was getting sore by this time, for the first time in three days, so I was glad of the rest. We found a small hotel which served lunch. I wouldn't have stayed there to be honest as it seemed a bit run down, but the food was pretty OK and hit the spot.

On the way back out of town we headed on a slight detour up towards Glenluce Abbey about two miles up the valley. There wasn't much left of what seemed to have been a pretty substantial building, but even the history didn't want to make us pay the £4.50 entrance fee to get in to see the ruin. We admired from outside the fence and joked that we'd come back and do all of these sites when we retire! Across the river and back down the valley took us unavoidably straight onto the A74, luckily however for less than a mile. Turning off again onto the quieter roads we wended our way gently towards Stranraer.

We had found out that the trains back to Glasgow were at 2.15pm and then 7.45pm, so hardly a regular service. Most of the trains are timed to meet the ferries, and since actually finding the station is so difficult, it's doubtful that they get many like us turning up every day. Without our map we wouldn't have found the station as there's not a single sign for it anywhere in town. thankfully we realised that the way in was through the somewhat chaotic ferry terminal and arrived to collect our tickets.

Faced with nearly a three hour wait till the train arrived we headed back into town to grab a well deserved pint and a bite to eat. I may be doing Stranraer a bit of a disservice as we didn't really explore the whole town but it feels like a town with nothing much to offer. Most people who come here are simply doing so to catch a ferry to go somewhere else. The rumour that some of the ferry companies may stop sailing from here in favour of Cairnryan further up the west coast would be pretty devastating for the town which would have to find another purpose as it's not really a tourist attraction. Finding ourselves a welcome chain pub we settled down to a couple of pints of Guinness and waited for the train journey home.

Our first weekend had been a success! The weather gods had smiled on us yet again ( although they could have made it a wee bit warmer! ). All of our kit worked well and I had managed to negotiate my clips for three days without incident which was my biggest achievement. Granted we need to make a few tweaks here and there, but we weren't lacking anything, and still have plenty of room left over if we need to take any more kit with us.

Orkney here we come!!!

Dumfries and Galloway cycle trip June 2011 - Day 2

Sunday 5th June - Ross to Newton Stewart ( 31 miles )

We awoke on Sunday morning to overcast skies but, yet again, ones that didn't seem to promise rain. Luckily it had been dry overnight, but yet again we struggled a bit getting porridge cooked on the stove in the stiff breeze. We'll need to remember to rustle up a suitable windshield for the next trip!

Next came the challenge of repacking the panniers for the first time since the comfort of home, but this was pretty easy, even if things went in slightly differently to the way they came out. I'm sure that with a bit of practice we'll get used to this, and also remember what pannier things are in when we need them along the way ( the 50-50 lottery never goes our way! ).

Hope we can remember where everything goes!

The first section this day took us back north towards Kirkudbright for about 5 miles then swung west over the peninsula towards Gatehouse of Fleet through scenery and rolling hills similar to those experienced the day before. By noon we had reached Gatehouse of Fleet, pretty quiet on a Sunday morning, but luckily a local pub had just opened ( presumably to catch folk just as they left church! ) so we stopped for a coffee.

Not feeling like hanging about for lunch, we pushed on towards our next town, Newton Stewart. To reach there, we knew that there was a fairly long climb up round the back of a hill, via a minor road and I wasn't looking forward to it. The A74 which runs all the way from Dumfries to Stranraer is notoriously busy with freight traffic going for or coming from the Northern Irish ferries, and is best avoided wherever possible.

The A74 runs round the coast so we had no choice but to take the high road! As it turned out it was a fantastic cycle. The road leads you out of Gatehouse of Fleet and up the lush green valley, rising all the while at a fairly comfortable gradient. With hardly a car on the road, it really was a relaxing ride, although our legs were a little tired once we reached the top it has to be said. Once again our reward was a fantastic freewheel down the steeper descent towards Creetown, and for the first time we were grateful we hadn't chosen to go in the opposite direction.

A steady hill - I like these!

Although by the time we reached Creetown we hadn't had lunch, neither of us felt like eating and we decided to push onwards. Just outside town we joined a disused railway track for several miles which did involve me getting off and pushing up the hill to the level as the gradient was really steep.

A couple of good miles cycling, broken only by farm gates every so often finally saw the cycle route veer off into nearby forest where I was eventually faced with a hill I really couldn't handle. Perhaps if you were on a mountain bike with no panniers this might have been OK, but the fact that it was part of the 7 Stanes Kirroughtree route said it all really. Way too steep for a National Cycle Route guys! Al made it to the top and relished the opportunity to take some flattering photos of me as I finally managed to push my bike up to meet him.

This might not look steep but believe me it was!

Our original plan had been to revisit a campsite we had stayed in a couple of years ago south of Wigtown, however this had been a pretty long day. We knew we had to stop to get food in Newton Stewart, so decided to check out the campsite in town while we were there. Just on the left on the way into town, thankfully the owner was friendly and made us feel pretty welcome. Charges for this night were only £11 but we got what we paid for as it was pretty basic and no frills. We were one of only two tents on the site, with the majority taken up by static caravans that had seen better days. The chap did however give us a lovely private pitch for our tent, complete with picnic table, and the facilities were spotlessly clean. Tokens had to be purchased for the shower ( which the nice man gave us for free ). All in all a pretty down at heel site, but quiet, clean and cheap so it was just fine for a night.

The owner had recommended the hotel over the road for a drink later, so we headed into town to see what the other options were. He sold the hotel to us by saying it had entertainment every night, and that he himself would be going there later. It didn't sound too enticing to be fair. A wander round Newton Stewart confirmed that, other than a chinese or a curry, there really wasn't any other option, and not feeling like cooking we headed for the hotel to check it out.

Well it was lovely! We had a drink and polished off a three course meal ( this is one of the joys of cycling for me - really enjoying my food and feeling like I've worked for it! ) before heading back to the campsite. Newton Stewart doesn't really have a huge amount to offer, but if you find yourself there, then the Creebridge Hotel is worth a visit.

Our home for two nights

So, back to the tent. Luckily for us, having spent quite a bit on other gear, Alistair already had a suitable lightweight tent which he had used regularly for hillwalking trips. A two man Macpac Minaret, it weighs only 2.5 kilos in total. As with most things, the smaller and lighter they get , the more expensive they become, and this tent cost about £350 quite a few years ago. As the inner and outer sheets are semi permanently fixed together ( they can be pitched separately if needed...but this is Scotland! ), once you've inserted the two poles it's simply a case of pulling upright and guying out, all of which can be completed in a few minutes. With plenty of pockets inside, and all you need in terms of vents and insect mesh, it pretty much ticks all the boxes, particularly as it's high enough for two to sit up in inside. Put it this way, I wouldn't want to be stuck in it for days on end in the rain ( that's what hotels and hostels are for! ) but for our purposes it was a comfortable home for two nights and hopefully will be for many more. To read another review see http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/product-reviews/macpac-minaret-tested/1668.html

To be honest the biggest hassle for me with a small tent such as this is having to store all our gear in the relatively small porch space. Ideally our panniers could be stored outside as they are waterproof, but we probably still feel a little precious about them to do this yet. Generally we feel totally OK with leaving stuff outside our tent on smaller more remote sites, so maybe it was something to do with this one being in the middle of town. Who knows, it may all be a throwback to getting robbed on our first day in Namibia a few years ago, but I'm sure that as we do more of this I'll get a little more relaxed about it all. We've never had any issues anywhere else, so I think it's slight paranoia about having all your stuff close to hand! It had rained quite heavily overnight but we woke up dry and warm in the tent. I had been surprised just how warm it was, so much so that on the second night we opened the ventilation still further, and I was pleased that my new sleeping bag seemed to have passed the test. I am generally quite a cold sleeper, but had felt pretty good on both nights. The deer which the campsite owner had said often come down in the middle of the night, including an albino one apparently, had failed to materialise - either that or we slept so soundly we missed them.