ENGLISH JOURNEY BY BICYCLE

On 16 Sep I went to Kendal to ride NCR6 – yes, our Route 6! This goes all the way up to Carlisle, much the same as the A6 trunk road. I took this to Windermere (pic 1) in pouring rain, making frequent stops for cups of tea and shelter. The route uses mostly minor roads and was less hilly than I had expected. At Windermere the ferry had broken down (pic 2) so I decided to return to Kendal by an alternative route, via a gated road from Bowness to Ings, passing through some striking scenery (pic 3). On my way home in the car, I stopped off at the western terminus of the Trans-Pennine Trail, at Southport. I had never seen this before but I found this to be quite a pleasant path, next to the dunes (and the main road, unfortunately) and I rode a few miles of this before it turned off into the Merseyside hinterland. Pics 4-6show giant weather vane, fishy sculpture and NCR signing at the TPT terminus.

My other cycling in September has been documented on the Derby Rangers' blog. Let’s see what October will bring!