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.