England

My search for Akito Desert Adventure Pants was finally successful with Dave Milling Motorcycles in Whitehaven being able to provide me a pair in short leg length ….my hero! Dave is a retired nuclear power plant operator, TT race winner and all round good guy (although he can be cheeky when it comes to ladies sizes and where to change LOL). Kitted out in my pristine new dacks …Vince was intent on making sure they got dirty as soon as possible! Our original plan for the day was to tackle the Honister Pass and the Winlatter Pass (which we ran out of time for the day before). However, Dave suggested we try a local route which took us down the coast along some nice twisty roads and then inland to Newby Bridge where we stopped off at the Lakeland Motor Museum which features Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell’s Blue Bird. We then went through the Lake District and Fells to Little Longdale and Greater Longdale. It was scary with some of the hills being 30% gradients. To try to solve the problem of my controller for my electric vest unplugging Vince suggested I use his as it had a longer lead. I was uncertain if it would work as it was a different brand…but he insisted it would. So we set off and he asked if it was heating up…which it wasn’t so we pulled over to check only to discover it too had unplugged but had also whipped along the ground breaking the controller and wrapping it around the foot peg. I had then plugged in my original controller only to to discover with all the ups and downs of the fells it was missing completely!!!! I dismount and Vince road off looking for it…..he wasn’t happy…..I wondered if he would ever come back…..but he did having found it….it is now cable tied within an inch of its life and going nowhere!!!! Our rudimentary printed map and GPS didn’t get us onto the track that Dave had described….which is probably quite fortunate…..as we may still be stuck out there now. As it was Vince had a bit of difficulty negotiating some very steep inclines with tight switchbacks and deciding that discretion is the better part of valour, I chose to walk up a short, steep section of the fell to lighten the load. I am now officially a Fell Walker….minus the poles and in hindsight I could have taken off the helmet and jacket which made the climb a lot more difficult! It was getting dark, so again we forewent the Passes to take a direct route back to Cockermouth via Keswick.

ps – Vince has inserted a short video of riding through the Lakes District on the A595 at the bottom of this page – <a href=”https://upadventures.com/images/video”>https://upadventures.com/images/video</a> 🙂

We set off West through the magnificent Yorkshire Dales passing by the mosaic of stone walls, shaggy sheep and home of the Land Rover Defender…. It was wet and cold and unfortunately most of my photos are covered in water drops and smears to the lens. It was a mission and a half at times, going up and down the narrow roads like a rollercoaster, and we had a few additional difficulties, such as my heated vest constantly becoming unplugged from the bike and somehow loosing my lens hood from my SLR. The scariest part was when we pulled over to admire the view and take some photos but we were in a puddle and when we tried to take off we hit a stone and shot suddenly sideways…I  thought the bike was going down for the first time….but luckily Vince was able to use the “momentum is your friend” rule and ignored the fact that the back wheel was sliding out from under us and just soldiered on pointing the front where we wanted to go….I’m so lucky he is such a good rider! We arrived late in Cockermouth to discover that the GPS was taking us down a closed off road. We turned around and went back into the village and had a meal at the Kingfisher as we were wet, cold and starving! The soup, roast with Yorkshire pudding and sticky toffee pudding was FANTASTIC! Liz who ran the place took pity on us and really looked after us. We ended up at the Broughton Craggs hotel at Broughton just a few km out of Cockermouth itself, around 8.00pm where we had to trudge all of our great up two flights of stairs…..absolutely exhausted!

The Transporter Bridge is about 103 years old and to celebrate they have released a stamp with it on. We thought it might be nice to get a picture of our ANIMAL next to the Bridge. Whilst we were taking photos we met some people who worked there and who were interested in our bike, Steve and Wayne, who wished us well on our travels.

When we arrived in Middlesbrough to visit Vince’s relatives accommodation was a problem….everywhere was booked out….but the offer of the use of the camper van in their front yard eventually solved the problem….all part of the adventure!

Enroute to Middlesbrough we stopped into Whitby to visit the Abby and take on the challenge of the 199 steps….both up and down (so really 398 steps). Whilst there I found out that JET is really petrified wood from the Monkey Puzzle Tree and they make expensive jewelry out of it. We also saw a local chocolate maker who makes Dracula Coffins!!! The legend goes that his ship was wrecked in Whitby and they hold a Goth festival there each year.

After leaving Shotly Gate the plan was to go directly to Thirsk then to Whitby and Middlesbrough. Unfortunately, we were caught in a hail and thunder storm and the visibility and conditions were so bad we simply got off at the nearest exit and booked into a hotel for the night. Although wet, the weather was better the next day so we were able to continue on to Thirsk as planned.

Growing up with the surname HERRIOTT I wish I had a dollar for every time I was asked….any relation to James?  Well actually my dad’s name really is James! Of course the author was actually using a pseudonym from a Scottish Footballer (James Herriot – with one T). I have read all of the books and even have the TV series on DVD, so could not pass up the opportunity to stop off and have a look at where the real action took place. It was as if we were stepping back in time…..Vince and I stopped for lunch in a nearby Tea Room and it was simply delicious.

 

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After visiting the local Churchyard to pay respects to Vince’s Uncle we began our ride North headed for Thrisk and Middlesbrough. It provided a good shake down ride with us practicing getting on and off the bike fully loaded (something my quads and biceps need to get used to!) as well as  riding in a variety of road conditions – from busy London Streets to unpaved country lanes. It was cold, and sometimes wet but when we rode into a hail and thunderstorm we thought it best to pull off early for the day, so around 4.3oish we exited to Wetherby for the night….adaptability is part of the adventure and we are easing our way into it.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA     

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Our first day fully loaded saw us basically run a shake down ride out to one of Vince’s relatives at Shotly Gate. Enroute we called into our friends at BMW Vines Guildford where young Ben saved the day solving a problem for us to have some electric vests hardwired into the bike, fitting me was a bit of a drama as the best fit was the BMW small vest, but it plugs into a socket not a hardwire …but Ben was creative and we found out that the two systems can intertwine. With help from Andrew, Aaron, Brian and Keith in just a couple of hours we were on our way all toasty warm!

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It was everything we could have hoped for….and more…..other than my idol Lois Pryce not making it….but so many other inspirational people in our journey were there in the flesh to share their wisdom and encouragement. Sam Manicom (I now have signed copies of all his books to post home) met us with his camera at the ready to document us…..OMG he knows about us…..how cool in that? I just about went to pieces when I met Austin Vince (husband of my idol Lois) and got him to sign my adventure jacket… along with Chris Scott – yes THE Chris Scott (Chris actually took the photo of us with Austin). I gave Austin a couple of our stickers and he shared some of his invaluable advice on getting visas for Iran. Sam introduced me to Elsbeth Beard – another legend and idol…..unbelievable!  Everyone was pleased to see us and most encouraging about our plans. I also met the editor of Overlandmag (Paddy) who encouraged us to keep in touch – asking if Vince takes photos and I write!  Who know what lies ahead……….We had an amazing day and a great send off from the Ace for the start of our big adventure……bring it on……stay tuned!

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As we had a day to kill before the Ace Cafe event, we took up the opportunity to visit the WB Studio Tour for Harry Potter – lots of fun! The weather in London has been freezing and I have tried over a few days now to find some adventure pants with a short leg length – no luck so far. After a very cold ride out to Leavesden we decided we need to widen the search to included a heated vest! Can’t imagine how we will cope camping in the Scottish Highlands! BRRRRRR …..and they call this SPRING!