Day 9 - Nairn to Kielder Forest

Sunday 30/05/2021

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Had a brilliant sleep in Nairn after BBQ food and beers. We watched the boring Champions League final (Chelsea won so Konrad was happy) and then crashed out for the night.

Very misty morning so things didn't look too promising. We had a porridge breakfast, packed and headed-off through the Cairngorms and onto the ski road that goes past Balmoral and Braemar. What a nice surprise. Fantastic biking road - 100's of bikers out. The weather cleared fast as we went through pine forests, snow-capped peaks and fast flowing rivers. Can't believe we just took at A9 through all of this last time when today's road matched the best we had done up until now.

Just before Balmoral we stopped for a break and some snacks in the most idyllic fly fishing spot. We lay on the grass and relaxed in the sun after a great run. To our surprise, the road down to Perth continued to be a superb ride with stunning views - what a country! We missed so many photo opportunities, but Konrad was leading today and was on a mission.

We then took a section of motorway to get around Edinburgh. We stopped for fuel and some food and I took the opportunity to oil the chains, check the oil and re-tape the front of my bike. We took the road to Jedburgh, like we did before. Nice enough run but full of speed cameras and Police so you can't speed. We topped-up with fuel, had some more food / coffee and bought provisions for the evening.

We couldn't find anywhere to stay around Holy Island or Bamburgh Castle so Konrad found a place on the other side of the Kielder Forest in Bellingham which changed our route. We rode past Mary Queen of Scots House and the ruined Abbey before turning off onto the road into Kielder. What a ride. We wanted to come this way last time we were here, but we ran out of time. Never realised the roads and the views here were so nice. What fun - lots of trees, water and grippy, bendy tarmac.

We saw a couple of bikers on the road who waved for us to slow down. As we got to the next set of bends, we saw a smashed-up sports bike that had obviously taken the corner too fast and had gone off the road. We stopped, but there were others on the scene so we carried-on and enjoyed the rest of the route, slowly.

Before we knew it, we were in Bellingham and had set our tents up for the last time. Red wine, cheese and crackers to end the evening (and a quick escape to the local pub for some Mad Jack). It was a long day of hard riding, but utterly rewarding. We thought things were over when we got to John o'Groats, but Scotland (and Northumberland) still had plenty to offer.

Tomorrow we have no choice other than to hammer it down motorways so that we can get home in time for work on Tuesday. So sad for the trip to be ending and the reality of work just around the corner. Looking forward to being retired!
Mileage: 2025
Beers: 44 + 3 bottles of white + 2 red
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 8/10
Mechanical issues: 0
Accidents: 1 (me running into Konrad)
Wetness: 0/10
Coldness: 0/10
Birthday's: 2 (Krysia and Barry) 



Comments

  1. amitkoliMarch 30, 2022 at 6:41 AM

    Amazing write-up! You always have good humor in your Blog's , So much fun and easy to read!
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