Coast and Castles to Edinburgh

The ride out of York took me through North York Moors National Park, an area of rolling mountains covered in purple heather, grazing sheep, and lots of wind. The lack of trees made for good visibility and very picturesque panoramas, but the open mountains also opened up some very turbulent winds. Some were definitely 30+ as the wind funneled up the mountain valleys. The side winds made for some very wobbly ridding across the driving lane as I tried to compensate for the gusts. I did not clip in to my petals, and I fully stopped for cars to pass. This is one of the areas I really focused on safety. It was over one mountain, through a ford, over a cattle grid, and back up another mountain with grades up to 25% and heights of about 1000 feet each.

This was an amazing but exhausting day, but my lack of planning put me at the cheap hotel in Middlesburg. It was worn out, decorated with high school football memorabilia from the 1960's which was sentiment of the owner more then a sense of style. Middlesburg was not much for tourism, but had a fairly extensive industrial areas of power plants and ship builders. I even passed what looked like a dry docked oil platform.

I was able to make it to Newcastle the next day and found a good hostel. I only toured Newcastle for about half a day, seeing the Millennium bridge, Black Gate, shopping center, and other highlights. I really felt like I needed rest off my feet. Most of the live shows were on summer holiday, and I opted out of the animated movies, so took an anti-social day and and rested at the hostel. I did find a cheep market and bought things to make a lamb stew, and a few snacks for the road.

 

I was going to head north again, but after some research I decided to take a slightly longer route along the bike route 1, the “Coast and Castles” route, which had more sites and amenities along the way. The route did not disappoint, and after buying the annual Heritage Membership for access, I saw no less then five castles, cathedrals, or fortified estates along the coast, all strung together by well marked coastal paths that ran along beach dunes and high sea cliffs. These were another string of epic riding days. Holy Island was a bit of an experience, where I had to plan my ride by the tidal roads that were only passable during low tide. Even so, the flat marsh land was wind swept and sea water lapped over the edge of the road. The wind forcibly swept streaks in the puddles of water on the road.

I did not pack much distance in the course of these days, but stopped frequently to see things along the way, which included a night over in bed and breakfast, a night camping opposite a really nice beach where I had dinner on the sand, and again at traditional youth hostel. The windy was really the story weather wise. The forecast called 25-35mph winds with gusts up to 50mph, which I believed as I tried to ride against them. I found I was in the wind's eddy when climbing hills, but nearly stopped with headwinds when going down hill. My progress slowed, and I once again used low gears on flat ground to keep moving at 5-7 mph. This brought back feeling of Denmark, but this was more intense. My face was staring to turn red with windburn. My progress slowed and I took another day at a bed an breakfast in Haddington to get to Edinburgh the next day.

I heard there was some sort of festival going on in Edinburgh, but didn't know what it was all about. It turned out to be a very huge arts festival focused on live performances. The 400 page program was packed with thousands of performances that go most of the month, and run the full range from cabaret, opera, spoken word, play, dance, music, and especially a lot of comedy, improve shows, and standup. You could spend a lot of time watching the back to back street performances. Most of the shows cost about $15. I've seen one and have a ticket for another show tonight. I've also seen a couple of free standup shows that take place in taverns. One downside, I've been overwhelmed with options, and annoyed at the disorganization, including venue mapping, unclear pricing and scheduling. You'd be surprised how hard it is to get a ticket for a show the next day. Still, the town has a fun, party atmosphere and the bars are open late to accommodate the crowds that I've heard tipple the town's population. Many people are promoting acts, with wild makeup and costume somewhat normal on the streets and at the supermarket. Talk to people and they may ask what show you are with.

Aside from the festival, Edinburgh is a cool little town. The Scottish kilts are for sale everywhere, but I've only seen a few actually worn. Whiskey is also hot seller, and I tried a little at late guitar show. I saw Edinburgh castle, which was quite impressive. Like many of the others, it has late origins in the 12^th century, and subsequently expanded, but never captured by force. I bought a new jacket as its colder then I expected for August, as well as replacement water bottles, and a tune up for my bike as an excuse to store it safely at a local bike store. Gelato is no longer for sale, but “jacket” (baked) potatoes are quite popular. Things seem to be fairly dense in the city, with tiny cramped shops that I'd expect for larger cities. Buildings are not tall and basements are used frequently. Scottish accents are starting to get thicker, which I really get a kick out of, thought I had a hard time describing the haircut I wanted.