Super day of cycling alongside Trossachs lochs: Venachar, Drunkie, Ard, Chon, Katrine, Arklet, Lomond. Lots of cyclists at the Pier Cafe, Stronachlachar, passionately debating which loch is the best. Not quite as passionately as they debated which Trossachs cafe does the best cakes, though. (Answer: Liz MacGregor’s in Aberfoyle, obvs.)
Author: Rob Ainsley
Loch Tay 2: Glen Lyon
Cycled up gorgeous Glen Lyon, Perthshire, and over the remote back mountain road (closed to cars, open to bikes) from Pubil to Killin. Definitely Scotland’s longest, arguably Scotland’s loveliest, and possibly Scotland’s rainiest glen. I’m now dripping dry with a pint in the Killin Hotel.
Loch Tay 1: Dull, twinned with Boring
A few days researching routes around lovely Loch Tay up in Perthshire.
Llangollen 3: Into the hills
More fab cycling in the mountains of east Wales. The indie hostel here in Llangollen is great – except for the group of raucous, cackling people playing loud music and dominating the common room and kitchen. Yes, U3A are here on a group outing.
Llangollen 2: Horseshoe Pass
More very enjoyable exploration of the hills round Llangollen and the Dee valley.
Llangollen 1: Pontcysyllte and Chirk aqueducts
More cycle route research, in Llangollen and around the Dee valley.
Hessay: Journey to the Centre of the Earth
We all know Yorkshire is the centre of the world, but where’s the centre of Yorkshire? In other words, if the historic county was made of plywood instead of rocks, where would you be able to balance it on the point of a pencil stronger than the one in my WH Smith Pocket Diary? There…
W 3: Slaidburn to Dunsop Bridge
Day 3 of the seventh of my Yorkshire Compass Rides involved the westernmost limit of historic Yorkshire, Little Copenhagen, a surprising notice about cats, and the very centre point of Great Britain. Reeking of kerosene, and fearful of any encounters with cigarette smokers, I set off the few miles from Slaidburn youth hostel to Dunsop…
W 2: Harrogate to Slaidburn
Day 2 of the seventh of my Yorkshire Compass Rides involved some worm-themed naive art, a pervasive smell of kerosene, and rain. Lots. The weather forecast could be summed up in one four-letter word, though ‘rain’ is probably a politer one. I set off early to make the most of the dry morning, heading up…
W 1: York to Harrogate
The seventh of my Yorkshire Compass Rides was a three-day trip to the westernmost reaches of historic Yorkshire in the Forest of Bowland. Day 1 involved some railway curios, Britain’s most surprising gorge, and the Greatest Living Yorkshireman. I headed out of York on the cycle track alongside the A64 to Tadcaster, which I passed…