Vaguely interesting roadsigns of the trip 5

Not as common a street name as it should be, probably. And it reminded me that Don had eaten all the pies...

Songs of the day - Monday 29th August

I know there's a huge amount of great music inspired by Essex, but we've both gone for the river crossing...

Don

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Martin

Sweet Thames, Flow Softly

Songs of the day - Sunday 28th August

Playing catch up here. There's lots of time to think of suitable songs while we're pedalling along, but we've only just started noting them down, and then finding them on youtube.

Anyway, here's last Sunday's exciting instalment, inspired by the not-so-flat-as-you-might-think county of Kent.

Don

The Nutting Girl

Martin

Beeswing

Vaguely interesting roadsigns of the trip 4

Now I can see why a road might be known as Blind Lane, but I'd love to know the circumstances under which someone deemed Donkey Lane to be a good replacement name...suggestions on a postcard?

Saturday 3rd September Saddleworth to Malham

After a light breakfast we said our goodbyes and set off up the valley to Upper Mill in search of a bike shop (I lost my jacket somewhere in Kent and it might get cold soon!). The shop was closed so we pressed on through the mill towns, stopping for coffee at the picturesque town of Todmorden. It was also a chance to get a paper and catch up with news in the outside world. It's difficult to keep up with events when you're cycling all day and socialising in the evenings.

Needless to say there are lots of hills in that part of the world, as evidenced by this mountain goat I spotted,


and the road to Burnley was no exception. The railway kept diving in and out of tunnels.


There followed a long stint through suburbia, by which time it had started to rain, and we didn't get back out into the countryside until Earby, where we stopped for a late lunch with Don's sister Alison and her husband Ivan. By this time the rain was getting heavier, but we had done most of the miles for the day, and it was a relief to find that it was only 13 miles to go till Malham.

After crossing the Leeds Liverpool Canal,


we eventually rolled up at the hostel about 6.30, and spent a relaxing evening in the local pub (well both pubs actually) inflicting 60's, 70's and 80's tunes from the jukebox on the long suffering clientele. No one can resist joining in with American Pie after a couple of drinks, and anyone who denies it is a liar. Malham is full of hikers, bikers and day trippers. Reminded me of Wasdalehead. My clothes were all wet, but Don has waterproof panniers and proper mudguards and is insufferably smug.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Songs of the day - Saturday 27th August

Don:
Pinball Wizard


Martin:
Rave on, John Donne




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cultural highlights part 3 (reader, I tarried here)

Here then is the very place where Jane Eyre found gainful employment and Mrs Rochester met a grisly end. I have to say they've done a very good job renovating it, what with the fire and everything...



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Thornfield Hall, Hathersage

Thursday 1 September - Nottingham to Hathersage

The day started sunny and continued so.  We managed to get out of the city using mainly designated cycle paths - well done to the local council for their provision for cyclists.  Then on into Derbyshire via Eastwood - HILLS!!

A post wasp sting drink

Onward to Matlock Bath, "Derbyshire's Blackpool", for a pleasant lunchtime outside the Princess Victoria pub, during which I was viciously attacked by a wasp, but soon recovered due to Martin's first aid which entailed pouring sachets of vinegar down my neck.





  Matlock Bath    

Chatsworth

On to Matlock to try and update the blog.  Having done so, headed off towards Hathersage via Chatsworth.  I think it's a bit disrespectful of the Duke of Devonshire to have half the place surrounded by scaffolding and we therefore didn't honour him with our presence.  To add to Martin's literary theme I spotted that we had passed a place called Candleford and a house called Harper Lees.

Cultural highlights part 2

We couldn't pass Eastwood without calling in at the DH Lawrence visitor centre. It seems he has now been rehabilitated by the locals, and there's quite an interesting exhibition, mainly for kids, with reconstructions of life in mining communities, and lots of Lawrence memorabilia.


There's also a corner dedicated to the Chatterly trial, including a version of the novel annotated by the prosecution, with all the supposedly obscene bits underlined in red ink. Hard to believe it was only 50 years ago...

Vaguely interesting road signs of the trip 3

Surely the original was not in Derbyshire...

Who ate all the pies?

Sunrise at Hathersage

Another fine day!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Small World 3

In Melton Mowbray I was able to gain a bit of ground with 5 real ales in the Anne of Cleves pub. A very interesting building, owned by Thomas Cromwell and given to Anne of Cleves by Henry VIII.

 Then off to find the obligatory pork pie shop.

On asking directions from a man in the street it turned out that he was Matthew O'Callaghan,the chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, AND has given advice on protected status for Stornoway Black Puddings, and he knows everyone at Charlie Barley's!!





Martin, Matthew & Don

Wednesday 31 August - Oundle to Nottingham

As the pub we stayed at didn't do breakfast it was an early start with stops to eat Mars bars and biscuits.

Weather was again dry but cloudy - ideal cycling conditions, and we arrived at Rutland Water late morning for much needed coffee and sandwiches - Martin clocked up a further batch of birds. Then off to Oakham to buy necessaries from mobile phone shop and on to Melton Mowbray (see separate post).

That night we stayed near Nottingham with an old school friend of mine, Dave Humphreys, his wife Elaine, and their Jack Russell with the unusual name of, guess what, Jack!  Martin and Dave share a passion for Dylan and Richard Thompson, etc, about which they talked interminably.





Dave, Elaine & Jack

Tuesday 30th August Arrington to Oundle

After the exertions of Monday, Tuesday was a fairly quiet day. Having had a great breakfast, updated the blog & checked our emails, we didn't get away from the B&B till after 11.00. [I soon discovered the error of having a curry while cycling - Don].  We then meandered our way over to St Neots, and stopped off for some refreshments (!) and bike maintenance. I was chuffed when the bike repair man told me he liked my handlebars. I'm easily pleased. Don bought a new inner tube and had his tyres pumped up to hitherto untested pressures. He then promptly suffered a flat tyre after 5 minutes on the bike. Half an hour later, with some supervision and unhelpful advice from the local roadsweeper, we were on our way again, stopping briefly at Grafham Water, where we had a bite to eat overlooking the reservoir. I clocked up a few new birds, but nothing spectacular. Later, however, there was a fantastic view of a Red Kite over the village of Barnwell. Then more meandering to Oundle, where we stayed in the Ship Inn. As luck would have it, Tuesday is Pie and Quiz night in the Ship Inn. I like quizzes, and Don likes pies. My sister Cathy and her partner Andy drove over from Leicester and treated us to a meal in the pub, and an interesting anecdote about burning underpants, which we may relate in full in a separate post.

Martin receiving some sisterly therapy!

Martin,Cathy & Andy

We formed a temporary alliance as the Beery Bikers and entered the quiz night. It was not our finest hour. However, I don't think anyone over 40 can be expected to recognise a caricature of Anastasia...

No Vodafone signal in the town apparently, and no wifi except in the bar, so I retired early & caught up on 2 episodes of The Archers I'd downloaded earlier. It surely couldn't be far now till the Borsetshire boundary...