Monday 29 June 2009: Innerleithen to Bellingham

Up at 5:00 and set off at 5:32. I continued down the Tweed valley towards Selkirk. Generally downhill with occasional forays up the side of the valley. It was uphill into, during and after Selkirk. I didn't bother with the town centre as it was too early, although it did look an interesting place to stop. I had breakfast at about 6:30 at a picnic table in a forest. Made cheese and tomato sandwiches from bread bought last night (not ideal but hit the spot) plus the rest of the chocolate cake and coffee.

The road from Selkirk to Hawick cut across several valleys with long ups and long downs. It was the A7 but not very busy especially in my direction. I stopped in Hawick for a coffee just after nine. Came across "Bean Scene" which was connected with the theatre next door. Superb. Modern decor in an old building; photos on the wall, good music, excellent coffee and chocolate croissant (I could have had apple, sultana and cinnamon porridge, too, but didn’t spot it soon enough).

I looked at the map over coffee; I wasn't sure which way to go but decided the route over Kielder Forest beside Kielder Water looked more interesting than the A68. I guessed it would be a biggish hill though I couldn't tell from the map. Thinking I'd be at Kielder by lunchtime and it was remote I bought some food, including an interesting looking, 'prize winning', Steak Bridie from a butcher's.

I set off on the road to Jedburgh and turned right on to the A6088. First an undulating uphill, then an undulating plateau followed by a nice downhill into Bonchester Bridge. Then it was the B6357 another steep and very quiet road. Went pretty high in the forest with another nice downhill. Then took the unclassified road to Kielder. I expected this to be uphill; it was a bit but nothing in comparison to some of the earlier hills. Nice road with very few cars but there were quite a few logging trucks coming down the hill, which travelled at a fair lick and gave no quarter to cyclists. I left Scotland at about 13:30.

Once I got up to Kielder Water I started looking for a picnic table so I turned down a track towards the reservoir. Met a bunch of mountain bikers and asked if they'd seen one. They hadn't but one remembered a wall which he thought might be ok. Turned out to be excellent.

Ever since Hawick I'd been thinking about how to warm up the Bridie because the previous one had been so disappointing. Thought about frying it but then hit upon making a Bain Marie with my two saucepans. I tried it and it worked a treat. As I was cooking the hazy cloud disappeared from in front of the sun and it became very hot probably the hottest since Land’s End.


The Bridie was superb, piping hot all the way through. That with the banana, apple, yoghurt, baguette, cheese, orange juice and coffee left me completely stuffed. Not surprisingly I went through a postprandial dip and it was a bit of a struggle. I was sluggish to say the least. It seemed to take ages to go the length of the reservoir.

I was originally aiming for Hexham but decided to stop at Bellingham. Asked at the newsagents about a campsite; she asked if I was after something basic and when I said yes she said there was one 75 yards away on the farm. A field for tents and a reasonable shower block. My sort of campsite.

Put up the tent then washed clothes, which would dry as the sun was still shining strongly. I went into the village, where there were several drinking places. The first one looked good, board outside said "fine ales and lagers". But the best they could offer was John Smith's Smooth so I had another Guinness.

As I'd pigged out at lunch and it wasn't long ago I thought I'd just have a pudding. I had a banana cake and I made banana custard. Then I went back out to the village to try another pub in my search for a decent beer. I found one. Nel's Best from High House Brewery, Northumberland. Very drinkable. First decent pint since Kirkby Stephen.

Another cracking days cycling in excellent countryside.

Campsite: Demesne Farm Campsite & Bunkhouse, Demesne Farm , Bellingham, Northumberland. £ 5.00+50p shower. Basic, but very reasonable facilities. Nice and quiet.


Statistics
Distance 113.13 km (70.3 miles)
Time 7 hours: 33 minutes: 51 seconds
Average Speed 14.9 km/hour
Maximum Speed 51.7 km/hour
Distance from Lands End 2243.3 km