Barren Land

I have been in Scotland again – a place which calls me back time and time again. Though at times I pine for the benevolent weather which a country like Spain can offer me I pine at other times for the savagery of a landscape shaped by less kind weather events than those typical of Spain. Cycling in Scotland can be a battle with those weather events.

On 27 September 2014 I rode from Altnaharra to Tain. With a serious storm raging, there was no way I would have set out on my bike if I'd been at home. But I was on a group holiday and eleven other people had no option but to ride – there was one space in the van, but why should I take it? That would have been cowardly. I couldn't show cowardice with all those people to witness me doing so, even if I'd been minded to do so.

But it was hardly safe. I weigh 8 stone and an ounce or two, and strong winds deflect me with ease. I set off from Altnaharra, which only the day before had seemed like a peaceful green oasis in a sea of hills flanked by russet-edged grass seeming to glow as though each blade was on fire. Now there was no peace, the wind battered the hollow and every tree, every fiery blade of grass was bent to the winds' will. I rode slowly uphill into the teeth of the storm; every few hundred metres ahead of me and behind was a cyclist, each of us taking our turn to be stopped dead by gusts which played tricks on our steering.

But it was beautiful. More than that, it was breathtaking. I cannot describe the intensity of the colours, or the contrast between the desolation and the exquisite beauty of the desolation. This contrast, and the epic, savage stormy weather, excited me. The landscape, and the forces which shape it; the wind which moulds it, and the rain which colours it. A sudden rainbow gave a striking representation of the feelings in my heart.

I fought the wind to descend to a greener, quieter valley, and to my accommodation for the night. I had ridden just 43 miles but I was as proud of my ride as if it had been twice that – it had been quite as hard as twice the distance would have been on a calm day. Sometimes, it's the quality that counts.

In fact, it almost always is.

Just back from Scotland...

I've been away in Scotland for a couple of weeks, and I'm just back. The first week consisted of my hubby and I riding the northern half of Sustrans route 7 (Lochs and Glens) from Balloch, near Glasgow, up to Inverness. The second week saw us meeting up with a CTC tour (we do quite a few CTC tours) to ride from Inverness to Durness and then back to Inverness. Over the two weeks we rode 821 km, all on our trusty tandem, Carlos.

We had a fortnight of pure spectacle. My photos don't do justice to the exquisite beauty of the place, but I'll upload some soon. I'm working on what will be a rather lengthy blog piece about the trip and I'll post it when I finish it, but for now, this photo will give a flavour. 

Home Again

We're home - and we got here in the nick of time!  One day later and we probably wouldn't have made it - snow drifts all over the country have brought traffic to a standstill and thousands of people have had journeys disrupted.

But we got home safe and sound, though each of us brought with us the cold and cough with which we had been burdened for our final days in Essex.  As I write this, I'm still suffering badly with mine, though my husband is on the mend.  Not that the colds have kept us indoors - the weather has seen to that!  

I've been using my time indoors to paint and going to finish this very short blog with a small version of my last Essex watercolour (last for now, anyhow).  Beeleigh Lock was very close to our accommodation, and I visited it almost every day.  For ten weeks it was in flood - I'm sure it is navigable by narrowboat in summer (when it would also be much greener) but this picture is my interpretation of how I saw it - in beautiful fury. 

(I'll put a bigger version of the picture on my "Fragile Brush" page).

New Roads, New Rivers

With our tandem finally liberated from the snow and ice, and being away from home, my husband Paul and I decided yesterday to take advantage of one of the many benefits of being CTC members by riding with new friends on new roads.  Ride, that is, with friendly complete strangers, on completely strange roads that we knew they would show to us. 

We had a cold and wet start, but the weathermen had assured us that the rain would pass and so with enthusiasm borne of cabin fever we packed waterproofs and set off.  Against a strong headwind we battled our way to Chelmsford, using mainly main roads because we knew no better.  At the bus station there we met up with four other riders, and guided by our leader, Martin, we set off with the wind behind us. 

We didn’t know what to expect.  Essex is decidedly flatter than Shropshire and there’s a lot more traffic, but good company makes up for a great deal and CTC riders always find the best routes (and the best tea stops, obviously).  Our new companions were lovely people and like us, they were riding with sluggish legs due to a lack of winter riding.  So we were well strung out, particularly on the several undulations which the route threw at us. 

Outside the cafe at Heybridge Basin

We stopped for tea at Heybridge Basin.  Though only about two miles as the crow flies from our temporary home, the river and canal crossings make it a very long walk away and so we hadn’t previously been there.  It’s a place to go again though - the cafe overlooked the sea lock where the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation Canal enters the Blackwater Estuary, and it overlooked Northey Island, with its fabulous birdlife, too.  With yachts bobbing against the breakwater in the high tide, it was a fabulous place to see. 

Moving on, we climbed through Maldon, a proper hill climb by anyone’s standards, and a busy road too.  Riding out of Maldon we passed the turning for our temporary home but we held our resolve to continue to the lunch stop, which was at a pub at East Hanningfield. 

The lanes we took were bordered by gullies and often also by narrow wooded strips. Every gully was flooded - in this low lying arable farming land there is much ancient wisdom about drainage, and evidence of it is everywhere.  We saw hardly any flooded fields, the water management seems to be effective enough to avoid the worst.

Two other riders from places other than Chelmsford had joined us at Heybridge.  One of these, a man called Dave, rode with us and guided us back to our temporary home, on his way to his own home.  He was a remarkable man - only five months ago he was in hospital for several weeks recovering from multiple fractures of hip and pelvis, caused by a collision with a car.  I believe this was his first ride since the accident.  I was astonished by the lack of evidence of his injuries.  

We were home by four pm, having had a fabulous day.  In the garden of our temporary home by the river, it was obvious that the high tide had brought the river higher than we had ever seen it, and almost into the garden.  So I went out with my camera at high tide today to take the shots which follow.  I’m not sure I shall ever see such a dramatic river system as this ever again. 

This is the same tree which is in the snowy picture in my previous blog entry. But how different the river looks!

Taken from the far side of the river, the path here is underwater, and the two distant trees stand on a small island which is completely covered.

This is the main weir at high tide and in flood - The point from where I took my "low tide shot" in the previous blog is underwater. 










This is the weir from the other side - I was frightened to cross the bridge, so thunderous was the water!  In the background you can see the overflowing canal lock.

No wonder they shut the canal to pleasure boaters in winter!

Estuary Land

Winter can be monotonous and long, with the weather interrupting plans and throwing in difficulties at every turn.  With most of the country gripped by snow and ice, we thought it would be nice to travel south in winter, with the hope of escaping it all.  Last year we managed to get away to India for a fortnight.  But this year we are not as far south as that - we’re in Essex!  

But Essex has been lucky, having had only a light and picturesque dusting of snow.  It has not escaped the freezing temperatures though and so our bikes have been locked in the van for many days, with no chance of our being able to ride them. 

Garden View

I’ve made good use of my time; learning to paint (again) from scratch.  It’s been easy to be inspired - our temporary home is in the most exquisite spot, with a tidal river bordering our garden and a system of locks and weirs just a few hundred yards from our door.  I have always had a fascination with water, so I am in heaven here, and I walk out each day to see the effect of the tide on the weirs and the wildlife that lives there. 

Yesterday, we managed our first Essex ride.  With many icy patches remaining on the roads we chose to stay on gritted surfaces, and that meant riding B roads.  We rode the tandem down to Burnham on Crouch, over land so flat that we felt like we were flying.  But I saw plenty to interest me, mainly winter thrushes and eastern arable birdlife, finches and partridges, in quantities I simply never see in my Marches home. 

We took a short detour before returning home, along a road leading to a causeway across to a low lying island, Northey, in the Blackwater Estuary.  Well over a thousand Brent Geese were feeding in a field of stubble onshore, and in the muddy riverbank, tens of thousands of wading birds took advantage of the receding tide.  It was simply a breathtaking sight.

I’d done my RSPB “Big Garden Birdwatch” before we’d set out.  I have counted 14 species of birds feeding in and below just the one tree immediately outside of my window.  But as I rested on the sofa following my ride yesterday, I saw the fifteenth - a Goldcrest, flitting around the branches.  

Here, wildlife comes to my window.  But if I ride only a short way, it is there in spectacular and magnificent, wild and windswept abundance.

Low tide, but flooded from melting snow

Back from the Birthday Rides 2012

Another "page" added, this time about the CTC Birthday Rides from which I have just returned.  A five day cycling trip, these rides take place every year in celebration of the CTC's anniversary of formation. Close to home for me, this one was, but I picked my rides to avoid my regular roads and I had a great time!  Click here to read more... 

Tandeming in the Picos de Europa

I like to keep my blog posts short, and if they get a bit too long, I put them up as "pages" which are shown up at the top left of this piece you are reading.  If you look there, you will find that I have written a page about my holiday in the Picos de Europa, which was simply a cyclists' dream holiday with stunning scenery, minimal traffic, and (almost) perfect weather!