PENNINES AND LAKELANDS

Last Saturday, East Coast Trains whisked my friend, Jaana and myself to Newcastle where we hoped to discover what it is like to cycle across the Pennines and the hills of Cumbria. We expected a challenging ride and variable weather. The cycle maps showed many off road trails, some suitable only for mountain bikes

It was not long before we found out that this is one of the World's premier cycle routes. High up in the Pennines, sheep and cyclists vied with one another on the trail. Grouse watched from the side as if interested spectators. Birds of all varieties swooped and glided around us. We had a headwind of 20mph which meant that cyclists going the other way hit phenominal speeds going downhill while we chugged uphill at a very modest pace. The scenery was open moorland, wild and remote.

We took a detour north to visit Hadrian's Wall, still remarkably intact in places. A museum near Haltwhistle gave us a story how it took just 6 years to build. It provided lots of information about the Romans and I left pondering how people could be so warlike on the one hand, yet incredibly civilised on the other. Some grit jammed itself into my front gear such that I had to partially dismantle it to release the mechanism. The ride south from the wall to Penrith was exhilerating. The wind blew from the Cumbrian hills and the rain came down, yet somehow it felt right to be out in these elements.

The Lake District beckoned once we had left Penrith. Jaana lives in London and cannot find a suitable outdoors shop there so when we arrived in Keswick, it must have felt like heaven for her to see so many outdoor shops. She wanted a particular type of trousers and it did not take her long to find a pair.

Our next stop and final one together was Cockermouth. The cycle route out of Keswick meandered initially along the foothills of some high peaks, then abruptly turned left and went straight up one. Moreover, it was a rough muddy trail. This was impossible to cycle so we puffed our way up. Behind us we looked down on Bassethwaite Water. When we reached the top, a breathetaking vista opened in front of us with wild flower meadows, forests and fells showing themselves in a glistening shimmering sunlight. It was awesome.

At Cockermouth, Jaana left to cycle on to Workington for a train home while I turned round and went back to Keswick. My destination tonight was Staverley, near Kendal. Unfortunately there are no byeways going south to Windermere so I had to wrestle with traffic on the main road. I did mean however that I cycled fast but I still time to appreciate the countryside

I cycled 180 miles on this trip. I continue to be amazed at what this country has to offer.

My next ride starts on 4 June when Jaana and I cycle what is becoming known as "The Atlantic Coast Ride". It starts at Santander in Spain and finishes at Roscoff in Brittany

SMILES FOR MILES

If miles can be measured with smiles, 50 cyclists of all ages and abilities generated 600 smiles when they followed a 12 mile route around Plymouth today. It was organised by volunteers from Sustrans and was attended by children, oldies, enthusiasts and casual cyclists

I wore my Wildlife Trust teeshirt to remind myself and others that an important part of the health of the nation can be measured by how well our wildlife is thriving. Plymouth is a trendy city. We cycled along the Hoe, through the historic Barbican and past the National Marine Aquarium before heading inland to see avenues of houses built in the 19th century to the north of the city centre. Central Park and Devonport were revelations. A huge sports complex is under construction and Devonport is being tastefully redeveloped where Architects have designed new buildings that sit comfortably alongside the best of local historic buildings. We finished at Royal William Yard, one of Plymouth's jewels.
Plymouth is a city transforming its life and soul and is playing its role in a vibrant West Country. This was a day for plenty of smiles.

CYCLING IN PLYMOUTH

I have taken a fresh look at Plymouth from a cyclist's perspective. It is my nearest city. The journey by bike into the city is a delight especially if you are a touring cyclist. Here are my suggestions for the best access:
a) From Cornwall, take the coast route to Cawsand and catch a water taxi into the historic Barbican
b) From East Devon, go through Yealmpton to the coast at Staddiscombe, take the water taxi from Mountbatten into the Barbican
c) From North Devon, take Sustrans Cycle Route 27 down the Plym Valley, passing the ancient oak tree at Meavy on route where Libby is taking a break

All these routes offer the most scenic journeys and make cycling into the heart of Plymouth a pleasure.

Plymouth's Fresh Air Miles Cycle Ride is 10 miles long on Sunday, 1 May. Meet at Cafe Roma beside the Civic Centre at 10.30. It is organised by Sustrans, the national cycle charity

SPRING'S WILDLIFE CYCLES

Without doubt, Spring is an exciting time of year. Wildlife at our home is exploding. We have a wildlife pond and babies of all types are appearing. There are tadpoles everywhere. A mother duck appeared with 13 baby ducklings last week. They scatter across the pond in joyjul play that knows no boundaries. Ten canada geese have appeared and are squabbling with one another as to whose territory it is. Meanwhile Mother Goose sits quietly on her one egg at our neighbour's pond next door while father goose tries to fight off the others saying our pond belongs to him

While this is happening, a moorhen looks out from her nest in the reeds waiting for her eggs to hatch. Two weeks ago at about the time when the first bluebells appeared, we watched a male wren courting a female. He was fluffing up his feathers and dancing to show his preferred partner the best place to nest in the overgrown bank.
The relationship between the moorhen and goose is fascinating. It is real David and Goliath story where an angry moorhen easily chases off any canada goose that invades its territory. Mostly they live in harmony.

I think that we are living in a time that is crucially important to us where we must work with the grain of nature. There are so many pressures in modern life and it is easy to think that nature is always there. Actually, nature needs to be savoured and nurtured. It is good for our soul and our children will thank us if we look after it.
I love to be out in the wild and a bicycle is my way to keep me fit and my mind uncluttered. Here is a picture of the Erme estuary in Devon at low tide waiting for me to peddle across it. It is as picturesque as anywhere in the whole World. I am hoping that cycling charity, Sustrans, will put it on their cycling map for their new route from Plymouth to Salcombe

For those who are dubious about cycling for wildlife, here are two cyclists whose exploits I intensely admire.

John Grimshaw was one the founders of Sustrans back in the 1970s. With single minded dedication, he has opened up cycling in Britain from no cycle routes to where we now have over 12,000 miles of superb journeys dedicated to cycling touring. These routes range from the remote hills of Sutherland to the mountains of Snowdonia, the moors of Cornwall and the glades of East Anglia. In my rides on these trails, I have seen peregrin falcons, ospreys, huge numbers of wading birds, a white deer, many other deer and much, much more.

Alastair Humphreys is a man who cycled the World, a mammoth journey and he wrote about his experiences. His two books tell not just his tale but that of the World we live. There are so many rich experiences that he has brought to life but he has also created an awareness in me of the dangers if we do not care for and cherish our wild places and wildlife.

I will be cycling two new adventures in May and June. My first journey will be the very first C2C from Sunderland to Whitehaven, a distance of 140 miles across the Pennines and through the Lake District. My second is from Santander in Spain to Roscoff in Brittany, 750 miles alongside the Atlantic coast.

Next year, I have an embryo of an idea for a journey. I want to cycle to the Arctic Circle. I have not fully decided this yet. The embryo starts at Malmo in Sweden or possibly Copenhagen. The journey that really appeals is to cycle north through Sweden to the Norwegian frontier. I want to experience how midsummer is celebrated in the far north of Sweden as part of this journey

JUMPING FOR JOY

Last weekend, Libby and I loaded our panniers for our recce ride of the Devon C2C. Our adrenalin kicked the moment we started on Plymouth's historic Barbican. When Libby found out that we were to cycle past Putsborough, her favourite surfing beach in North Devon, there was no containing her. We were fired up for a great ride!

We left Plymouth seeing Drakes Island, The Eddystone Light and Mountbatten, one time home of RAF Airsea Rescue where Lawrence of Arabia once served. Our journey took us up the valley of the River Plym, partly tarmac and later gravel onto the moors where a steep hill into Clearbrook awaited us. This was heavily wooded and home to a breeding pair of peregrin falcons. The western edge of Dartmoor arrived quickly

Our journey now took us into some challenging hills, some of which we knicknamed "Evils". Our first Evil was at Walkhampton and we both ate humble pie by walking. On route, we encountered a field, more stony tracks and a fantastic pub at Horndon where we stopped and tucked into lunch. We had seen only tiny hamlets since leaving Plymouth and we had covered 24 miles. Amazingly, the temperature climbed to 17C.

It felt remote when we left roads altogether to cycle across Mary Tavy Moor but when we rejoined a road on the other side, it was to find an old castle that used to mint coins.

At Okehampton, we were surrounded by a pack of hounds but these animals were impeccably behaved. The last stretch into Okehampton was an easy ride on former railway track and it was here that we encountered one of many old railways on our journey, another castle and our first shops.

This was a recce ride so it was taking much longer than normal. We left Okehampton to cycle 12 miles to Sheepwash in the dusk. It was totally dark for the last 5 miles and as we dropped down into the valley of the River Torridge, we encountered two Evils. Owls hooted in the trees nearby. The thought of the Half Moon Inn kept us going

We were greeted by Adam who has kept the bar going at the Half Moon for possibly all his life. There was no need to give our names. He knew who we were and we were given two great bedrooms with baths. There is nothing to beat a wallow in a bath after a long day's cycling. Adam kept a table beside the log fire for us and the meal here was a satisfying way to end the day.

We knew that the second day would be easier but also we knew that there would be an Evil, possibly two Evils at the end. There were some gentle hills leaving the Half Moon where Dartmoor could be seen to the south and the Torridge valley wound its way north. After 4 miles we joined the Tarka Trail. We were now in a beautiful river valley, home to wild salmon, otters, buzzards and rich with wild flower meadows and woodland. Bill Oddy, the naturist was once filming live on BBC Springwatch at the pool in the picture below when an otter came out in front of him. His excitement was intense and infectious

There was a huge estuary at the confluence where the Rivers Torridge and Taw met the sea. Libby and I saw vast numbers of birds everywhere. Oystercatchers, redshanks, shell ducks and curlews all came close. This used to be home to a great naturalist, Henry Williamson, who wrote two terrific books, Tarka the Otter and Salar the Salmon. He used to call the heron, Old Nog, a name which I think suits a heron perfectly. We passed Bideford and Barnstaple and slowed down to overtake a girl walking a dog.

I was level with the girl who said "I want to race you". She ran ahead with the dog at a gallop. I caught up and said to her she was running at 12mph whereupon the dog stopped and the girl didn't,... except she did. Just for a moment the girl was 60cms in the air with legs out in front and completely horizontal. She landed ok and the dog had a headache.

At Braunton, Libby was a bit twitchy. On the one hand, she was excited that Putsborough beckoned and, on the other, she was convinced that some Evils were not far away.
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Libby was right! At the end of the journey, all we found were hills with two Evils. However, the scenery was majestic. Woolacombe Beach of which Putsborough is at one end was dreamy. Lundy Isle and later South Wales shimmered on the horizon. Woolacombe looked a fun place. especially if you are a surfer. We struggled up the final Evil out of Woolacombe that seemed to go on forever. When we reached the top, we realised that the temperature had plummited to 5C but that a long downhill trail would take us into Ilfracombe, the end of our journey. It was too dark at the harbour to take photographs. Libby was happy to see her partner, Scott who came over to meet her and I found a local hotel for the night. I also found another pub for a final pint and a meal.
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CYCLING IN SOUTH DEVON? TAKE A TIDE TIMETABLE

There is such a cool ride in Devon that I have just found out about. It starts in Plymouth and ends at Salcombe. There are no main roads, just an unspoilt coastline, stunning countryside, plenty of pubs and cream teas. You must take flip flops and a tide timetable

Start at Plymouth's historic Barbican by catching a water taxi to Mountbatten and cycle along the coast before being stopped in your tracks by the River Yealm. There are superb views along the coast. Behind you Dartmoor looks over as if to say come here next. Wind back inland to the villages of Brixton and Yealmpton where pasties and pints of your choice await

Peddle back to rejoin the coast going past the thatched cottages of Holbeton to the estuary of the River Erme at Mothecombe. It is here that a tide timetable and flip flops are needed as this most beautiful of all estuaries can only be crossed at low tide. When I cycled across the enormous stretch of sand earlier today to reach the river crossing, I realised that the only thing I could see that was less than 200 years old was my bicycle. On my left, a horse rider galloped up the estuary disappearing into the distance. Straight ahead was an ancient ramp surrounded by woodland and this was my destination. The fast flowing river was between me and the ramp. To my right, the sun was beaming down over the ocean. It was cold and the water was freezing but this was special. This was no ordinary river crossing.
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It is not possible to cycle anywhere in Devon without finding a Green Lane. Today was no different. This one was in good shape with hedges cut and I was on firm ground. There are times when Green Lanes offer cyclists special challenges. In the winter the drainage sometimes stop working and they fill up with water. One lane near me is often up to 60cm deep and my challenge is to cycle through it without putting my feet down. More often, it will be horse riders who share the Green Lanes with you.

A tidal road took me into Aveton Gifford and it is here that wading birds such as the egret allow you to get close. Today, I came within 5 metres of an egret that carried on fishing while I cycled by. Egrets have made a surprise return to Devon having disappeared about 100 years ago as a result of excessive shooting. My photo above is Mother Hubbards Cottage in Yealmpton of nursery rhyme fame.

The River Avon is crossed and the cycle route now takes a winding route back to the coast where cream teas await. If Salcombe can be reached in one day without stopping at all the distractions on route, this will be as a result of much will power.

DEVON'S C2C: 102 MILES: JOIN US FOR A GREAT CYCLE CHALLENGE

Meet Libby, a marine ecologist, dedicated like me to sport and raising the importance of wildlife to our daily lives.

Come and join us on Devon's C2C, 102 miles of the finest trails across Dartmoor and North Devon starting on Plymouth Hoe and cycling to Ilfracombe. We have arranged a 2 day ride on 21/22 May staying at a great pub overnight or go for the big one, 102 miles in a day on 2 July. If interested, go to http://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/cycle-devon-coast-to-coast-2011/