Today's journey in a nutshell:
-up @ 0500 & out the door @0600
-6 km ride through Belfast
-2-1/2 hour ferry ride.
-104 km bike ride, clouds, rain, sun, clouds, a bit more rain
The best news - Laura was able to ride all the way. It was a tough day, because of the ferry ride that didn't allow riding until 1015.
For all you BC people - what the hell was the ferry like?
Nicer looking interior than BCF. Breakfast - soso. Full Irish I think
This is the vessel docked on the Scottish side. All the decks had tie-downs for vehicles. Their loading and unloading wasn't as efficient as BCF, but was better than the Newfoundland ferries when we took them way back when.
The Internet is way too bad for me to continue. I'll try to finish this when we get to Edinburgh tomorrow.
It's tomorrow now, and we are in Edinburgh. I'll finish this quickly before I do the next installment
Back to the ferry - here's one of the many lounges on board. The main cafeteria is almost as nice. They were already serving beer on this run (0700 - 1000).
When we cycled off the ferry we pulled over and waited until all the vehicles & their possibly imbibing drivers went by.
We climbed the hill from the ferry dock. One of the first impressions was the number of Rhododendrons and Azaleas in bloom along the roadside. They seemed to be wild. Can one of you gardening types tell me if Rhodos & Azaleas are native to Scotland?
Look at the size of this Rhodo!
And, they have lots of Broom & Gorsch over here.
The misty countryside with well tended fields separated by rock walls.
The walls and bush frequently go right up to the road, with no clearance at the sides for things like bicycles. In general, the car drivers would be somewhat patient and hold up behind cyclists until there was clear passing space.
Here's a 'typical' farmhouse. White stucco or painted brick walls, a slate roof with no eves. Of course, there are all sorts of styles and ages, but this seemed like the one we all imagine Scotland to be like.
A stone railway trestle over the highway.
This kind of construction fascinates me.
This is a close-up as I cycled under another one. There was just enough cleared brush that I could poke my camera out and try to get an 'artsey' photo.
More one lane road through a tunnel of forest. That's Laura, by the way.
And, the village where the lunch van was set up. Very 'typical' houses.
I took this photo because I was impressed that the little church had gone high tech with solar energy. But looking at the door in the side of it and the fact that there was no sign on the building, it may be a barn now.
I saw a lot of buildings constructed of what looked like a red sandstone, so I guess that is 'typical' as well.
Enough. We got into Kilmarnock wet & tired around 530 - 6 pm. Clean up, showers, a beer, dinner and off to bed.We stayed in the Park Hotel, so named I believe because it was situated beside the city's Rugby Park, which is quite large, holding 15,000 people. No games on thankfully. The history of the rugby ground goes back to 1899 (Wikipedia!). No photos in the rain.
That's it. We're off to explore Edinburgh & I'll do some more later tonight or tomorrow.
It's tomorrow now, and we are in Edinburgh. I'll finish this quickly before I do the next installment
Back to the ferry - here's one of the many lounges on board. The main cafeteria is almost as nice. They were already serving beer on this run (0700 - 1000).
When we cycled off the ferry we pulled over and waited until all the vehicles & their possibly imbibing drivers went by.
We climbed the hill from the ferry dock. One of the first impressions was the number of Rhododendrons and Azaleas in bloom along the roadside. They seemed to be wild. Can one of you gardening types tell me if Rhodos & Azaleas are native to Scotland?
Look at the size of this Rhodo!
And, they have lots of Broom & Gorsch over here.
The misty countryside with well tended fields separated by rock walls.
The walls and bush frequently go right up to the road, with no clearance at the sides for things like bicycles. In general, the car drivers would be somewhat patient and hold up behind cyclists until there was clear passing space.
Here's a 'typical' farmhouse. White stucco or painted brick walls, a slate roof with no eves. Of course, there are all sorts of styles and ages, but this seemed like the one we all imagine Scotland to be like.
A stone railway trestle over the highway.
This kind of construction fascinates me.
This is a close-up as I cycled under another one. There was just enough cleared brush that I could poke my camera out and try to get an 'artsey' photo.
More one lane road through a tunnel of forest. That's Laura, by the way.
And, the village where the lunch van was set up. Very 'typical' houses.
I took this photo because I was impressed that the little church had gone high tech with solar energy. But looking at the door in the side of it and the fact that there was no sign on the building, it may be a barn now.
I saw a lot of buildings constructed of what looked like a red sandstone, so I guess that is 'typical' as well.
Enough. We got into Kilmarnock wet & tired around 530 - 6 pm. Clean up, showers, a beer, dinner and off to bed.We stayed in the Park Hotel, so named I believe because it was situated beside the city's Rugby Park, which is quite large, holding 15,000 people. No games on thankfully. The history of the rugby ground goes back to 1899 (Wikipedia!). No photos in the rain.
That's it. We're off to explore Edinburgh & I'll do some more later tonight or tomorrow.
