July BAM

Despite having done two bivvies last week, I figured on another trip for my official July BAM. I was wanting to get away for 3 days or so, so packed accordingly and went with the Deschutes and mesh inner to avoid any chance of the fannying around I've had with the flat tarp in recent weeks. The route was a usual one - west to Callander via various back roads, cycleways and the odd trail, all in the blazing heat of the sun - 30 degrees! (again)

Missed selfie on the cycleway north of Strathyre

A gnawed down tree - yes the beavers have arrived on NCN7 just past Balquidder Station. They (as in SNH/ Nature Scot) seem to be trying to keep this quiet but its bloody obvious what is going on. The burn has been dammed which was flooding the path at one point but someone (the beaver?) has shoved a bit of pipe in to keep the level below the path.

Killin Co-op has moved and is now much bigger, which gave me a shock when I first arrived and found the familiar building closed up. That said it looked like a plague of locusts had descended on it as there was slim pickings on the deli / sandwich / salad aisle. I grabbed what I could and sat outside in the breeze to eat. Then it was off up Glen Lochay and what is now a familiar climb up the pubil road and down through the monster potholes to Loch Lyon Dam. So far it had been breezy which kept things very cool, even on the bigger climbs. But as is usual in the evening, the wind was dropping. I did eye up a few spots over the pass for another exposed spot but having been nearly blown away twice now doing this I was after somewhere a bit more sheltered. It was now nearly 9 so I nosed along the track alongside Loch Lyon as I suspected there would be a good spot to bivvy by an old boat shed, which I'd noted when passing through last year. There was a nice level grassy area but being sheltered, inevitably the midges were about. I kept on as the loch showed signs of a reasonable breeze still. Soon enough I came upon a spot right by the track which was indeed breezy. Up with the tarp and in sharpish as some cunning midges were sheltering under it from the wind.

I read for a while until darkness fell and then turned in. Annoyingly, despite all being peace and tranquility and the heat of the day receded to a cool 15 degrees I could not get to sleep. I don't know what's the matter with me this year as I've really struggled to get a decent sleep, even when the wind and rain hasn't been threatening to blow me away. Partly I think it was down to being somewhat sticky thanks to much sweat and suntan cream. I could have taken a dip in the loch but I'd have been savaged by the midges. Oddly a rain shower came through necessitating shutting the doors which didn't help with either the cooling breeze or my body odour....

I dropped off eventually but was woken at 7.30 by the sun. I packed up sharpish as the midges were still around, despite the breeze. Then off down the long road to Bridge of Balgie and the cafe.

Cheeky sparrow after my breakfast

I was also entertained by the resident swallows flying in and out of the covered seating area. 

Now I was feeling a bit sick which I was blaming on my first breakfast as I'd scoffed a couple of mini pork pies I'd carried with me the previous day. I figured they contained enough salt to keep them fresh but I suspect this was not the case. This and the building heat made a traverse of the Lairig Gallabaich and the old road to the isles a somewhat dubious prospect. My poor nights sleep didn't help and for once my motivation for another day and night out flowed away. So off down the glen and pick up NCN 7/77 to Dunkeld. It's still a nice route to be honest and I was happy enough twiddling along in the sun. Looking behind showed some monster black clouds and they caught up with me just by Strathtay - not quite the deluge I was fearing but some big drops falling on and off over half an hour. You could almost hear the hiss as the rain hit the tarmac! This cooled me somewhat but the heat was building as I dropped height. Dunkeld Co-op supplied more drink and some food (as well as the loo.) I felt better after that but the heat really started to get to me on the last 40 miles and up the last climb up the now familiar Dunning Glen road so by the time I got home I was beat.

Phew - so much for heat warnings but it had required some attention to deal with it. At one point I'd stopped in some woods for a pee and the heat in them was oppressive. This caused sweat to appear from every pore but when I set off again, the breeze of my passage (so to speak) cooled the sweat instantly and cooled me considerably. So I took to doing this a few times along the way. Today the weather is still lovely and a chunk cooler so it's a pity I didn't crack on. Having ID'd the potential of the route north via the Gallabaich and the Old Road to the isles a few years ago, long before it became part of numerous bikepacking routes, I've yet to do it in one go. I thought it would be this time but sadly not. No doubt the rain and wind will be my challenge on the next attempt and this mini heat wave will soon be forgotten. Next holiday is likely to be in September so that will be my next chance! 

Yorkshire Dales Holiday

Well finally a period of decent weather looked like it was going to coincide with one of my holidays. South looked better than north and I figured that the Yorkshire Dales would be a fine place to spend some time. After hammering the YD300 last year I'd vowed to return to do some normal riding and maybe an easy bivvy trip. So I decided to do both. First up would be a tour over three days to ride the bits of the YD300 I've only done in the dark, in the daylight; and to re-visit some other nice trails; then I'd find a campsite for a few days for some walking, maybe a day ride or two and a few beers.

I called in at the folks place and did think of starting from there (near Darlington) to save car parking hassles. In the event I drove to Reeth and abandoned the heap on the village green, studiously ignoring the sign requesting a (voluntary) donation cum parking charge. This sign has been there since I first visited in 1980 something and I (or my parents) have made enough donations over the years. As forecast, it was sunny! And quite hot, to the point that I'd given some thought to dealing with the heat. So obviously starting the day with a humongous climb was a really good idea.... I'd had a pre ride meal of cake from the Dales bike centre so pushed most of the fearsome hill up to Fremington Edge (as per YD300) noting a stiff breeze which would make the next 36 hours most pleasant. A dude on an e-bike pulled along side out of Hurst and chatted for a bit about (my) bike. He seemed a decent sort but I wanted to ask him - "Why are you on that when you are younger than me!" Oh well, it get's people out I suppose but there are an awful lot of these round here now.

On the descent to Langthwaite I indulged myself somewhat as normally I'm starting to feel the distance (on the YD300 that is) so tend to take it canny whereas today, under the circumstances, I gave it some stick! Then more climbing on dust dry grassy trails and the steady pull to Level House.

Old Gang Lead mines and smelter - a huge industry in it's day. Note weather....

I eschewed the precipitous descent down the hush that the YD route follows, in favour of the bridleway up to the top of Gunnerside Gill -

Shades of Glen Tilt and some pretty tricky bits, including a dodgy step across a small burn and ravine. A stream out of an old level provided the bottles first fill up. Keep drinking buddy! Then more fun grassy bridleway followed.

Gunnerside presented a cafe which looked open and a pub. The cafe was empty and the outside seating in the shade so this won. I was determined to use as many eating and drinking establishments as I could on this trip. I'd no stove with me as I knew there would be plenty of choice for food. Sat in the warm afternoon eating soup and drinking tea was most pleasant.

The Buttertubs pass seemed a bit much for a hot day - it had been consistently 30 degrees all day so far. Instead I opted for the slightly lower and more engaging climb up past Oxnop Scar. It's tarmac, just, but after an initial steep pull is fairly steady to the top. I saw a Red Kite circling around me but sadly it didn't get close enough for a good pic. I'm seeing a lot more of these fab birds though which is very nice. Silly speeds were approached on the descent, followed by a pint in the sun in Askrigg. Then another. 

Now what. I did have a notional route plan and a bivvy spot in mind but it was a bit early to be blazing up Cam fell just yet. The Crown wasn't serving food for an hour so I figured on Hawes as it's chippy is ace. A leisurely cruise along the back road followed and then a fine fish tea sat in the sun.

This is a nice thing - a Triumph 500 lump shoe-horned into a Greeves roadster rolling chassis (not a Scottish for the aficionados!) Black marks for oil tightness though. Some bloke wandered up to the owner and started banging on about 'patina' which is a word I hate when applied to a motorised vehicle (and one that is seeming to be applied a lot recently) as it belongs to a piece of furniture not something with an engine. 'Rat', 'Nail', 'f*****d' are fine or even just 'well used.' 

Anyway another huge climb beckoned. There are four ways up to Cam fell from Hawes so obviously I chose the easiest one. Along the road to Burtersett and up the wee road over to Semer Water until it crosses the Roman road, then up this, much hated on the YD as it's an 8 mile grind. For me it was a four mile grind into a stiff headwind which was a blessing to be honest. In fact I made a few route choices based on doing the climbs into the wind, in order to keep cool.

Bivvy locus reached but too early so I sat on a small hill and watched the sun steadily sink to the horizon whilst reading and sipping whisky. Then I went back aways and.... rolled out my bivvy bag. No faffing looking for a spot or worrying about shelter, just roll out the bag on a level piece of grassy hillside! Yes! Finally I was bivvying without a tent, tarp or shed!

Sunset over the lakeland hills

Oh look, it's sunny again!

This had all worked out well, I would ride down the roman road and Pennine Way to Horton in Ribblesdale, have a huge breakfast in the Pennygent cafe and then proceed east then south, back west then north. Easy, and with a great length of trail, last tackled in the early hours of the morning on last years YD. Except I was horrified to discover that said cafe was shut. In fact shut down by the looks! What's that all about then as it was a goldmine. And Horton had precisely Hee Haw in terms of other shops or eating establishments. Hells bells, now what. And why didn't I bring my stove! There was no way I was dong 7 miles of road riding to Settle so I figured on heading to Clapham. This threw my route plans into disarray but eating food was my priority. But how to get there. I wasn't going to go the direct route as that would be dull. I wanted to do the lovely trail from Selside to Clapham past Moughton Scar so up the road (back north) we go, the first of many bits of back tracking, route repeating and random wandering I would do, all thanks to a closed cafe!

Moughton Scar limestone paving

I do like this area and smooth grassy trails are fab. The fast run down to Clapham was ped free so taken at high(ish) speed. The cafe was shut but the excellent shop is actually a better bet as they sell a range of pies and sandwiches, coffee, cake and ice cream. I grabbed an armload and retired to their seating area and sat and ate for some considerable period of time. But where now! I'd effectively lopped a huge loop off my planned route but didn't want to miss out the trails I'd cut. So for starters, east along the fine network of lanes and trails that the various YD200's/300 have used.

Fab clapper bridge.

Back roads took me to Settle and I decided that I should probably stop again and eat more food sat in the sun, this time courtesy of the 3 Peaks bike shop. There were loads of bikes around but no bikepackers, oddly. I felt a bit out of place as it's roadie central round here. One turned up and I couldn't help noticing her quads which were big enough to have made Chris Hoy run away crying. I guess it's the many hills hereabouts - if you do any distance you are going to grow a set of impressive climbing legs, and probably why so many pro roadies have come from Yorkshire and it's environs. Anyway enough of that, lets get up another mega climb, wishing my quads were that big.... 

Not that I needed them as I was single speed, therefore pushing....

The lovely moorland traverse of Gorbeck followed then more route rumination. Mastiles lane was the obvious choice but I've done it a few times in recent years and it would lead into the southern section of the YD300 route - all fine stuff but I got a view of Embsay Moor (last climb on the YD) and thought "there is no way I'm climbing that!" so instead took the byway / bridleway to Littondale. This is a fair old traverse with a few ups and downs but its another lovely trail with another high speed descent. As expected the clouds were starting to build, the slow beginning of yet another weather system entirely at odds with the forecast. At least I would no longer have to worry about sunburn. At Kettlewell I had to stop to eat a large amount of food and drink more beer. The menu indicated 'Sausage and onion roll' which I figured would be a good mid-afternoon snack to take me to Sedburgh where I would get a bigger meal. It turned out to be a large plateful of sausages, onion rings, and monster chips. Food and drink are cheap round here. Less than four quid a pint and this plateful was £9. Scotland is a rip off! There I've said it, but it's true. Eating this lot took a long time and removed any possibility of me doing the hideous climb up to Cam Head and a possible trail to Scar House Reservoir I'd not done before. 

Instead I twiddled up the road, ignored a couple of other huge climbs, and along to Cam (there are a lot of Cams hereabouts - he was a Roman) woodland and more route reversal back up the roman road, past my bivvy spot and down the Pennine Bridleway to Dent head. I checked out the wee hut, me, Bob and two others had kipped in in 2016 on the YD300. It had looked a bit dilapidated when I passed in the dark last year and sure enough, the roof is partially gone and its covered in sheep shit.... I screamed down the Dent road, no traffic at this hour, Sedburgh my destination. Which was a major disappointment. There was no Spar, Co-op or anything open apart from a posh hotel and one pub which looked busy. No chippy, no nowt! Bloody hell, now what. I had some food left (and actually quite a lot in my belly) so I just cracked on. 

Next up was a fine trail....

Up by the Howgill Fells. Plan A was the route right over them but I couldn't be arsed with another monster climb. So this trail was plan B but it's a beaut and very reminiscent of some of my local trails. Time was rolling on however and I was starting to feel a bit weary. Where the route crosses the burn coming out of Cautley Spout looked good for a pitch up but the wind was dropping and I was paranoid about having a midge fest. No I needed some height and a breeze. Oh what an idiot I am.

This came in the form of the Pennine Bridleway from it's end point and up the flanks of wild Boar Fell. This is in the middle of nowhere which is somewhat odd. In fact the whole of this route seems like a colossal white elephant. True it's opened up some great new trails but calling it a long distance route was a strange move given this end point at an A road well away from any civilisation. They threw a huge amount of money at it but it's clearly received no maintenance since the trails were done up back in 2006-8. By the fancy stress laminated arch bridge over the Ribble I'd crossed earlier, the trail was quite overgrown and clearly gets little use. A lot of it is now on the Great North Trail / GB Divide so bikepackers are using it but several sections are a bit obscure unless you are following your own route, like me! 

I figured there would be some good spots up the trail, well away from the farms at the bottom so hopefully no chance of an early morning visit by an irate farmer, given I would be breaking the law! And such a spot did appear - just below a bit of a limestone escarpment and so sheltered but hopefully drafty enough to keep insects at bay. It had properly clouded in so I figured I'd deploy my new DCF tarp. Up in jig time and into my bag, a few midges around. No whisky tonight but I'd been out for 14 hours so after reading a bit I turned in, eyelids drooping.

*Sigh*... I had actually nodded off when a large gust of wind made the tarp flap. DCF is like a crisp packet so it's a bit noisy. I got up to tighten guys and settled back in. But the wind got stronger and stronger (I was actually able to view a forecast as I had a signal - 8-9mph all night...) and the tarp flapped and cracked louder and louder. Sometimes it would press down against me as the wind dropped over the adjacent scarp, sometimes it looked like the tarp was about to take flight. It was now dark so getting going was not an option as I didn't have lights. I was cursing as I'd expected to have two really warm, still and dry nights out. I couldn't even drop the tarp as there was a bit of rain now in the forecast for first light. At 3am I gave up. It was starting to get light but I couldn't stand it any longer and I was worried I'd be about to lose my new and expensive tarp and pole on it's first outing. Then I had a sleep deprivation induced bad idea....

The worst tarp pitch in the world. Basically I pegged out all four corners at the tie points, pulled the two mid panel guys out to the bikes handlebars for a bit of lift, and used a large rock to lift the middle edge (i.e where I usually have the pole) then wriggled under it and back into the bag. The tarp was touching the bag but there was still enough breeze around me to hopefully minimise condensation. The best news was that the noise was much less and I dropped off soon after. 

That said, at 5.30 am I woke to even more wind and thought "To hell with this lets go" It was light so I packed up in jig time (all dry so actually this was a good idea and a top tip for you flat tarpists if the wind gets up), ate the last of my food (crisps and two snickers) and plodded up the last of the climb. Of course at the top was a large wall with a nice sheltered bit in it's lea. And on the fun descent a number of other sheltered spots presented themselves. This is becoming a habit....

Funky sculpture at the top of the big climb up Lady Anne Clifford's Highway.

This is a great trail and despite the spots of rain and cloud, my general feeling of wabbit-ness and annoyance at not using one of the many good bivvy spots I passed, I enjoyed the smooth grassy trail. But lo, what is this? A barn at the side of the trail. It's full of sheep. And sheep shit. But the wee shed next door isn't and has a stone floor. Out came the bivvy bag, off with shoes and in. Bang, out like a light for an hour and a half. I could have stayed longer but I didn't want the farmer to appear as it was now after eight. Off again and down the fast and little used descent to the road. Hawes again and it's spar shop but first, breakfast in the posh cafe at the bottom of the High Street. I'd have preferred the pennygarth cafe that all the bikers use as it's cheap. But, in keeping with the trip so far, it was shut. Still, I ate lots of fried things and a very large scone so that was alright. Spar provided a couple of snickers and a bottle of coke for the last few miles and climbs. 

Back along the road to Askrigg, with a strong tailwind, and then the YD300 route on the fine byway above the dale, the climb out of Bolton Castle and then the big tracks through Apedale and round into Swalwdale and a final precipitous blast down to Gunnerside and Reeth. As I was cruising along to Castle Bolton a chinook flew past and then 10 minutes later flew back, right over head. I wonder if they had forgotten something. The phrase "sitting duck" sprung to mind as these things are huge, and slow. I pity the poor buggers who have to fly in these monstrosities in this day of military hi-techery. Funnily enough one of those American things with the two big rotors on its wings which can pivot flew past the following day - it might as well as had "shoot me" and a target painted on it... You see a lot of this as Catterick Garrison is just up the road and various branches of the military (and the yanks by invitation) use it as a training area. Looking down at low flying harriers and getting waved at by the pilot, as you stood on a hillside, was a key feature of my childhood.

Anyway I was done. 275k and more climbing than I care to recall, some fab weather and some normal weather but bone dry trails and lots of good food and beer.

A nice TLS loadout given the climbing. It's kind of essential to keep the weight down, given the hills hereabouts. Touring on singlespeed might seem a bit arduous (two people made comments along these lines) but actually is was fine. I did push a lot and a couple of climbs I've previously treated as climbing challenges had to be walked but given the heat I was actually quite happy with that. 

So now what? Well a campsite first up. The place my parents had the caravan at had gone 'up market' and was full of bloody glamping pods and chalets but the dales has quite a number of low key farm run campsites which are cheap and cheerful. I had a leisurely drive up the dale and over the Buttertubs Road to Hardraw and hopefully a fine site. And it was - one largeish field, a basic but clean toilet / shower block and only £10 a night. Best of all, the Green Dragon Inn was practically next door! So up went the hexpeak (first trial outing) in the now blazing sun and I crashed out for a couple of hours before eating lots of food and heading next door for some fine ale.

Wednesday dawned cloudy but bright with sun in the offing. I was walking today on a route I'd first done with Dad many years before - up the Pennine Way to Great Shunner Fell then cut across to the buttertubs pass and up to Lovely Seat before descending back down via Stags fell. The path up to Great Shunner used to be horrendous with large peat hags and various attempts to sort it with rolls of chespale fencing laid over the marsh. I actually rode my bike over here, in the days when nobody really minded you cycling on a footpath, and it was hard work. Today it was a breeze as it's all stone flags over the swampy bits. There were people on the climb and summit so I marched past them, took in the fabulous views for a bit and then carried on.

The next bit was fine until I missed a turn along the boundary fence and ended up in a large area of bog and a substantial valley. Not what I remembered from the last time and hard going until I rejoined a good path. So much for my nav skills! Anyway the climb up to Lovely Seat was easy and I sat in the sun eating food for a long time watching the views.

View south and no-one else in evidence. The Dales are fairly benign landscape-wise, compared to, say, the Lakes but it's all very pleasant and makes for some fine walking. I descended to Staggs fell and the escarpments overlooking Hawes and sat in the sun again reminiscing on the many, many times we'd walked up here as a family and looked at this view. My Dad is probably past this walk now and Mum would struggle so we won't be up here as a family again. But it's why I'll keep returning to the Dales as they hold so many fine memories. And provide some great bike riding of course!

Speaking of which, that's what I did on Thursday. The forecast was a bit damp looking but in the event I set out under a cloudy but rain free sky with hints of sun around. My route was a slight variation on my classic dales circuit, done loads of times over the years. Pennine Way to Horton (again!) Foxup road to Littondale, over the big climb to upper Wharfdale and then more climbing up to Stake Moss and down to Semer Water, finishing with one more huge climb back up to the Cam road and then a fast descent to Burtesett. 

A fair bit of pushing took me to Cam fell but on the descent I took a turn off signed as a new Bridleway through Cam and Outershaw woodlands which looked like it would link up with the trail I'd passed the other day. It did and a fair few other bridleways were signed, all new.

Horton was blazed straight through and it was off up the long, long climb to the foot of Pennygent, much loved by 3 peaks CX riders. The plan had been to lunch at Hull Pot but a large gang of school kids were running around the place so I kept on the Foxup Road in search of a more tranquil spot. This trail has had a checkered history as it used to have vehicle rights. It was fine for many years until trail riding became mega popular in the '90's. then it rapidly turned into a horrible boggy, rutted mess. The NP did up one section in the early '00's and it lost it's vehicular rights in 2005. Since then it's recovered to a lovely grassy BW once more with some fun sections. At a suitable spot I stopped to eat lunch and laze around once more in the sun.

The descent was a hoot and the next climb not. Still, despite the cloud coming and going and a few spots of rain here and there it remained dry and the trails were bone dry....

I diverted to Buckden for fizzy drinks and ice cream before monster climb number 4 to Stake Moss. Down again at high speed, though Stalling Busk and across a river come track to Marsett. Spraying water over my feet was most pleasant!

Then one final road then BW climb back once again to the cam road and finishing a great day out down the stony track to Burtesett. After a pint in the sun in Hawes I returned to the campsite to find a bunch of DoE youths just arrived so dived into the shower quick, followed by food and many pints in the pub. 75k done and 2000m of climbing! 

The next day it was wet but I was homeward bound so for once I'd scored a week of good weather overall. Right, I'm off again tomorrow, this time north!