Romans, Reivers and Castles
Day 4: Corbridge to Tyneside
Today was special. We caught a glimpse of something rare and unusual. It was amazing.
Yes... it was the Sun!
We left Corbridge in sunshine but a chilly wind. Ten minutes into the ride we were warm and, needless to say, very happy. The forecast was mixed, predicting showers during the day and heavy rain in Tynemouth at 4.00pm so we wanted to get a move on to avoid the worst of it. For the entire day we had fabulous tail winds and the predicted showers lasted only a few minutes. It was one of the best days cycling we have had.
The song in my head all day has been "Fog on the Tyne" by Lindisfarne..:"Fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine.. etc
The route took us along Hadrian's Way for many miles. This was a dedicated walking/cycling track following the River Tyne all the way to Newcastle and beyond, with good surfaces all the way. Beautiful glimpses of the river would give way to a bridge allowing full frontal river scenes. It was magical. I said to Bob, "Those Romans sure knew how to build cycleways!!" but he did not quite get the joke.
The cycle way went all the way to Newcastle, and it was flat!!! It was a joy to ride. You will see that our average speed today was only 9.9 mph which is much slower than usual. That was because many people were stopping us to enquire about our Ebikes. They had all been thinking about buying one but wanted to know what they are like to ride, how many miles can the batteries do, and one lovely man wanted one but was afraid he was too large for the bikes to cope. (So, a message to our lovely friend John Camm, we did use you as an example of what the bikes could carry!! )
Our message to anyone who enjoys cycling but who struggles with hills and head winds is ...just get one. The bikes have transformed our lives.
Cycling along the quayside at Newcastle we were astounded at the millenium bridge which had been raised to let shipping through. What a feat of engineering it is.
At lunchtime we stopped at The Hub, the headquarters of Saddle Skeddadle. It is a busy and exciting hub with a cafe that serves simple, delicious and freshly cooked food. There is a bike hire hub and workshop, a shop and seating overlookig the river. It was a pleasure to meet Alison, our lovely organiser who is the face of Skedaddle to us. It was good to be able to put a face to her name. She has been excellent. So, after a brief rest and a lovely lunch we made our way to Tynemouth.
This last part of the ride was again a delight and we cycled right along the seaside cycleway from North Shields to the centre of the town and had a splendid view of the ruins of Tynemouth Castle and The Abbey.
We arrived at our Guest house about ten minutes before the heavens opened. Victory indeed!
Fond wishes to you all.
Annette & Bob