Just shy of 400 miles today

Just had one of the best biking days so far, and I could only give vague details of where Ive been.

Ive never been north of Alston before on the bike so a mate who knows Northumberland & The Borders like the back of his hand, met me at Sunderland. From there we whisked straight up the A19 and onto the A1 where we came off for Hexham. ]
At Heddon-on-the-Wall we turned off taking the military road up along to Wark, before turning and passing Kielder Water. From there we went to Newcastleton but needed fuel so went up to Hawick to refuel. We then went down the A7 to Langholm but then back up to Buccleuch through Eskdalemuir to take in the Tibetan Monastery.

After that it was Lunch by St Marys Loch before we then crossed East across to Selkirk, then onto Kelso upto Coldstream before coming through Wooler and right onto the East Coast in Bamburgh. Then it was down the coast road to Alnwick & Amble before hitting the main route again to the Tyne Tunnel. Through the Tunnel and back home via the A19.

Now not only is the route an excellent one with some of the best surfaces, some of the best twisties and some amazing scenery, the roads were absolutely deserted! Yorkshire has some amazing roads as does the Lakes but too many times theyre spoiled by too much traffic.
I dont know how busy it gets up there in the summer months but it felt like we were somewhere that not many people knew about! If anyone ever fancies going up that way, give me a shout because im now itching to get up there again! Its a bikers paradise.




Edit: Actually that wasnt too vague i just couldnt remember which roads we took to get to each of those places!

Originally Posted by robchester

Just had one of the best biking days so far,
After that it was Lunch by St Marys Loch before we then crossed East across to Selkirk,

give me a shout because im now itching to get up there again! Its a bikers paradise.

Flipping heck mate it's taken you this long to find the decent roads

don't shout tooo loud though will ya (i like them deserted) if you shout toooo loud they will become crowded

[Richie]

I'm Shouting...

give me a couple o' weeks and I'll join Ya....


Sounds a cracking route.. Show me..... please

Honestly Richie, if you thought the roads around the dales were good.......

400 miles bet your bum is killing

i remember doing a long stint on ours (can't remember how far) round Wales and we couldn't get off when we got back due to numb bum syndrome

Glad you enjoyed it!!

Jo.

Yeah I did some exploring in and around the area you went last summer. The Hexham-Jedburgh road is amazing........if you manage not to scare yourself ****less flying over all those bloody peaks! I too pulled off to go to Kielder a couple of times, and if I've read it right you would've taken the same road I did. Was it a 'backroad' that went directly North from Kielder rather than the main road which tries to takes you East back towards the Jedburgh one? And about 2 minutes after leaving the reservoir you hit the Scottish border in a little foresty area that feels like Germany, then pop out into the middle of nowhere with those abandoned railway tunnels dotting the hills?

I too ended up at Hawick but went back via the East coast and Newcastle. Also well worth a look if you haven't seen it yet is that main Hexham-Jedburgh road a bit further north from the Kielder turn-off at the border viewing spot - it's like the earth just drops away below you and you can see for miles. Doesn't hurt that there is a nice set of twisties (worthy of the continent) on the descent!

Went on holiday up around kielder this time last year and was amazed at the lack of everything up there. There were great roads and scenery and none of the usual traffic/people problems.

Ssshhhhhhh...... Been caging up to Hawick to see my mum now and again and it's a great road, as are many round there, the Scooby gets a right workout. Still to take the bike up there but keep it quiet lads!

Note that the border traffic cops are quite astute, especially on the main A roads between Kelso/Hawick/Peebles/Selkirk etc, I've heard that my mum's other half has been pulled oover numerous times, even in his old series II Landie, you've been warned (and that's with a friend who's a traffic cop!).

Meridia - you took the words right out of my mouth! I was about to say that the forested area reminds me of the Rhineland and I imagined it to being on the 'Ring albeit without the writing all over the road!

Tim - saw quite a few border (Well D&G) cops at St Marys Loch. 2 on bikes, one in a car and saw a couple more just floating around.

Im off Thursday but think its gonna be bad weather - beyond that possibly Sunday or next Weds/Thurs. Im gonna go back up and see if i can learn some more of the area. Kielder is outstanding

Oh and surprisingly i didnt have a single ache/pain when i got off. My knees didnt even feel stiff which is usually the first thing that goes.

[Bluepete]

Jeez fella's, that route looks so good, I have just started planning a trip up there myself! Can you reccomend any good, small campsites anywhere on, around or near the route? I fancy a few days on my own and the countryside up there is just superb!