Northern England - The Lakes, Dales, and Moors.

After an interesting, but slightly underwhelming and frustrating tour of Spain, Northern England didn't disappoint, despite the bitter cold towards the end of the week.  Whereas plans changed continuously in Spain, this tour went almost exactly by the book.

Aira Force (waterfalls in the North are called 'force').

I started out from Colchester early in the morning on the train to London Liverpool Street.  From there I had about an 8Km cycle to London Euston station where I caught the train towards Carlisle.  I was slightly concerned about this leg of the journey, but I needn't have been as everything went very smoothly.

The only slight change was where I disembarked from on the bike.  I noticed that the train stopped at Penrith before Carlisle, a much smaller town and slightly closer to the Lake District.

Almost immediately, I was quite struck by how beautiful the Lake District was.  The mountains there are not huge, but they are quite craggy and scenic amidst the lakes, with even a little snow left at the tops of the higher peaks.

My first little target was Aira Force waterfall for a bit of a walk and a spot of lunch.  I took the scenic route along the banks of Ullswater lake.

Almost immediately I was quite taken with how many people were in the more popular areas of the Lake District.  Aira Force car park was extremely busy and each time I stopped in a town it was bustling with activity.  As I went down some of the smaller roads, however, I soon lost the crowds.

The 3-wheeler tour through the Lakes.  They were very nice people actually with cool little cars.

After passing through Keswick, I took the road less travelled to Buttermere which was also incredibly steep at times.  I was followed by a team of 3-wheel cars that were obviously on a Top Gear-like tour of the Lake District and they seemed to suit the surroundings quite nicely.

The standard one photo of me on the tour.

After Buttermere, I psyched myself up for the Honnister Pass.  It is one of the most beautiful roads in the whole of Britain, but again, very steep.  Towards the end of the climb the incline hits 25%.  Not a chance of riding up that on a fully-loaded touring bike, so I had to get off and push.  Pushing the bike up that incline is a challenge in itself, but it was worth the effort as the top of the pass was very grand and impressive.

My first camping area of the tour was just down the other side of the pass at a farm located at the beginning of the trail up to Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England.  Everything was pretty basic, but it left me the option of hiking up to the top of the mountain in the morning.  Unfortunately, the cloud was very low, so I didn't see much up there and I couldn't wait around for very long.

Ridiculous inclines.  I had to push, but not for that long as you get to the top pretty quickly.  This is very common in the UK, short, steep, punchy climbs.

First campsite on the tour, very quiet and comfortable in beautiful surroundings.

The cloud finally cleared in the afternoon and by then I had made my way towards Windemere, possibly the most famous of the Lakes.  Not my favourite, though, as it was quite busy and the highest of the mountains had gone by then.

Black sheep on a cloudy, misty morning.

I was quite amazed by the variety of trails through the Lake District, which really made me want to go back there one day and hike around for a week or so.  With hundreds of miles of trails through stunning countryside and wilderness, it is definitely something I'd come back for.  I think the Lake District is the most beautiful part of the whole of the UK from what I have seen so far, rivaling the Scottish Highlands, which are also wonderful.

I was quite surprised just how stunning the Lake District was; as you can see I took some great photos, some of the best I have ever taken on my travels.  As I headed out of the Lakes, I had no plan of where to camp overnight, but eventually found a public footpath to get me off the road and thought I'd take a chance on where it went.  It led to a locked gate, but with stones placed next to it so walkers could access the path which was ongoing.

Day 2 campsite was a bit exposed, but I had little choice.

It seemed liked a route that was rarely used, and there was some ground to pitch a tent further on, so I unloaded the bike and lifted it over and then camped about 100 metres away on the other side.  A bit exposed to the wind, but I was sure no one would disturb me up there and there really was no other options around.

The wind had picked up overnight and in the morning it was colder also.  The wind was blowing from the North East - basically where I was going - and by mid-morning it was creating quite a problem on the bike, pushing me around everywhere.

The river running through the town of Kendal, home to the famous Kendal mint cake.  Supplying hikers and climbers with energy for almost 150 years.

I passed through a number of small towns and villages on the outskirts of the Yorkshire Dales before stopping at some nice church gardens which also sat at the top of a hill with great views over the river and into the dales.

As I headed into the Dales the wind picked up and the higher I got, the worse it got.  High in the Yorkshire Dales is probably one of the worst places in the UK to be confronted by high winds as there is absolutely no tree cover and no steep mountains to shield you from the wind, just open, high hillsides.  I was buffeted by a full-on headwind as I climbed up to the highest section.  The decent incline and high winds brought me to a standstill.

The Ribblehead viaduct high up in the Yorkshire Dales.

I was again experiencing those moments of despair that only a relentless headwind can give you, but fortunately I had a nice target to push me through the latter part of the day.

I camped every night on the trip, bar one, which was this night.  The YHA at Hawes was in the perfect place and with the cold winds knocking the stuffing out of me, I just had to stop for the night and get some welcome shelter from the elements.

The YHA couldn't come soon enough, despite the pleasant scenery of the Dales.  Shortly after arriving I was joined by fellow cyclist, traveling a little lighter, who had come up from Leeds and was planning a trip into the Lake District for a few days also.  He was a really nice chap, actually, and we had some good chats about our travels, as he was as well-travelled as I am.  He also gave me some useful tips on good routes to take and ones to avoid as he had ridden this way many times.

I was so exhausted that the thought of battling into the cold wind the next day was something I wasn't willing to entertain, so I tricked myself into thinking I'd have an easy day and start late.  Obviously I didn't, just setting-off a little later than normal at 8am.

I had mentally prepared myself for a slow-going day, however, and this helped initially, but then I started to struggle again.  I decided to pick my way through 10-15km at a time and eventually I made it to a reservoir and forested area, which was the only place around I had a chance to pitch a tent.

Campsite 3 in the woods near the Yorkshire Moors.

It was a tricky one, however, because the tiny villages a few miles down the road seemed to empty into this park where everyone was walking their dogs or walking with the family.  I managed to find a quiet spot in the trees and settled down for a cold night.

The temperature was down to -2 degrees when I woke up in the morning.  I didn't feel overly cold in the tent as I think the bed of pine needles underneath the tent insulated me quite well, but getting going in the morning was difficult and once on the bike the cold wind was blowing once more.  I was freezing and utterly exhausted from the previous 2 days of battling the wind.

These pots of tea powered me through fatigue and the cold on this trip.

My legs simply were not working and I was struggling big time.  I managed to make it to the Buck Inn at Chop Gate and despite it not technically being open, the lovely lady who owned it let me in for a pot of tea, which warmed me up and together with the rest gave me a bit of energy again.

I purposely didn't go to my uncle's place via Rosedale because I knew I would be going there anyway, and it was a less direct route.  It was also higher and more open and I was not only struggling a bit physically, but I had become bone-chillingly cold.  I just could not get warm the whole day and this continued into the next day as you can probably see from the picture I had taken with my mum below.

Perhaps you can see in this picture how cold I stayed, even a day after finishing on the bike.

I finally arrived at my uncle's cottage, just south of the Yorkshire Moors, very cold and weather beaten.  The North Easterly winds took chunks out of me in the previous 3 days, so I was glad to finish.  Although these winds were against me and were icy cold, the benefit of the weather coming from the East is that it was at least dry for the whole trip, not a drop of rain.

Despite the physical hardship, I really enjoyed this tour and along the with tour through Wales and Southern England I did almost 2 years ago, I feel like I have explored my own country quite well now.  The UK is actually a really good place to tour on the bike; lots of small roads and pretty landscapes punctuated by, in my opinion, the prettiest towns and villages in the whole world.  What my country lacks in spectacular landscapes it makes up for in culture and architecture.

The top of the Rosedale Chimney, the steepest road in the UK at 33%.

Anyway the last couple of days were spent with my aunt and uncle who were extremely friendly and hospitable, even though I hadn't seen them in years.  I especially loved the homemade rhubarb crumble made with rhubarb straight from the garden.

Their little cottage was lovely and I stayed in the swanky little room above their garage.  On the first day with them they showed us around the Moors and we took all the dogs for a walk.  I was extremely impressed with their collie Tanzie (my aunt is an incredibly good trainer of dogs; agility training, flyball, and sheep herding) who was very obedient and did everything first time on command.  I was freezing for every second when I was outside and I only warmed-up on the second day after sitting in their front room with the fire blaring out.  I must have been seriously cold.

But apart from the cold it was a great tour and then a lovely finish with my relatives; the bike then fit into my mum's car easily for the trip back home.  Basically a perfectly planned and executed week away.

Lakes, Dales, and Moors - The Northern England Short Tour

Well, I was going to have a bit of a break from cycle touring after Spain, but I have never been to the far North of my own country, and with 3 supposedly stunning national parks in this region, I couldn't resist.

I plan to take the train to London from my hometown in Colchester, then head up to Carlisle, where I will disembark on the bike.  Carlisle is one of the most northerly cities in England, just 10 miles south of Scotland.  From there it is a relatively short ride into the Lake District National Park.

Famed as one of the most picturesque locations in the UK, it is also one of the wettest (these two factors almost always come together), so it is a big fingers-crossed for the weather on this trip, especially as April isn't exactly the driest time of year.

The weather isn't the only challenge, my route takes me through the Lake District, then the Yorkshire Dales, and finally the Yorkshire Moors, where I will rendez-vous with my aunt and uncle for a day or so before going back home to Colchester with my mum.  This route takes me up and down some serious climbs.

I don't know how I do it to myself, every time I go somewhere new, I seem to be setting myself another horrendous physical challenge.  This time it is not distance, it shouldn't be the wind - as I should be travelling with the prevailing wind for most of the ride, although it looks like the winds are shifting just for me (as usual) - and it certainly won't be heat and lack of water as in Australia.  This time it will be the sheer steepness of the climbs.

After doing a bit of research, I have noticed that I will certainly hit some sections of road where the incline will exceed 25%!  There are also roads where climbs can reach as high a gradient as 33%!  I will be cycling backwards!  In New Zealand, the steepest section of road I encountered was about 16% up to Arthur's Pass, and that was brutal.  I will be packed a lot lighter for this tour, but I can't imagine I will be able to cycle the whole way up such roads, not to mention ride down them - it is recommended that cyclists dismount going down some of these roads.

I have about 5-6 days to complete this ride, which works out at about 60Km a day, which should be manageable, but I would like a day in hand in case of bad weather, and with these hills, well, I might need that extra day.

The weather is really my major concern.  A few days away now, and if I can trust the long range weather forecast, it looks like it will be cold, but not wet, which is just fine by me.  If I have some good weather, the scenery should be absolutely beautiful.

With some flexibility built-in to the tour, if the weather is good, I may hike up to England's highest mountain, Scarfell Pike, which is not a big detour off my route through the Lake District.  It is always good to get off the bike and do some hiking as well.

Looking forward to this short, punchy, and potentially very picturesque tour of the North.  Hopefully the bike and the gear holds out, as much of it is on its last legs; the panniers are being held together with pegs with a few holes appearing, the bike is starting to develop the odd minor problem or two (understandably after all the hard work she's done), and my racks are bent and being held together with cable ties after a breakage or two in Australia and New Zealand.  She just has to get me through this one last tour, and I'll make her a commuter bike, but what a job she has done over the past 3 years.  Let's see how this one goes.