Blown Away

Whitley Bay to Amble

I felt as though today was the first proper day. It was a glorious sunny morning but, the wind was howling, I think it was blowing about force five when I left Whitley Bay just after nine o'clock. My bike provides a nice solid area for the wind to blow against, it was really hard work. The wind aside, the cycle route runs close to the coast and is really exhilarating to ride along, at least it was not uphill. The beaches were thinly populated, mainly by people walking their dogs, it reminded me of Muizenburg, it looked great, I would like a dog again one day.

The next town of any import was Blyth, not very inspiring but it provided an Asda with clean loo. The cycle route through Blyth zig zags through housing estates and allotments and at one point crosses a grubby stream with a footbridge, the approach to the bridge has steps and steel barriers, on a cycle path! I managed to negotiate it but my bike is heavy and fat. I have put a photo on picasa.

North of Blyth the cycle route is back in wilder countryside. I stopped by a memorial to a sunken coal mine, I imagine the sea just overwhelmed it. I also chatted to a man walking his two elderly dogs, his accent was so thick I really struggled to understand him, but he did point out the local pub which is owned by either Bobby or Jackie Charlton's son. I was tempted to stop & sample their brew but decided to carry on pedalling, particularly as the wind was now blowing even harder.

The next stretch of the route was functional but ran alongside a busy main road, but north of Newbiggin it returned to the country lanes. The weather was a bit wet along this stretch and I thought I was going to get soaked, thankfully the rain blew over. Not altogether surprising considering the strength of the wind. I stopped in a tiny village called Cresswell and had a very good ice cream.

The final leg of my trip today took me along behind the sand dunes of Druridge Bay and country park. This area is obviously a birders paradise, lots of men in green with huge camera lenses and monoscopes. I saw lots of birdlife but was not able to really look because the moment I stop concentrating I' m quite likely to fall off my bike. The heath land behind the dunes was full of wildflowers too, I particularly noticed the Cowslips. Whilst navigating this stretch I took an unsigned detour and circumnavigated a huge lake full of wildfowl.

I finished my day's ride in Amble and sought out a B&B to rest my weary bones. I had a nice seafood pasta for supper and a walk along the harbour to round off the day. I've managed to write this without losing it this evening but cannot upload it as the Internet is very slow. Perhaps tomorrow it will be straightforward.

This ride was about thirty miles, I forgot to look at the computer.