Monday, June 4, 2018

June 4 - Edinburgh to Bamburgh / Seahouses

129 km today, in fog in the morning and heavy cloud in the afternoon.  A long day.


We convoyed (single file, Gergo in lead) 6  km out of Edinburgh, going east until we hit the Firth of Forth at a town (suburb?) called Portobello.  So, the question is is the area named after the mushroom or vice versa?  (Trust me to ask the tough questions, eh?).  Here's a shot along the beach in the fog.





Not too far into the trip we came across the gateway to the Winton Castle dating back to 1480 (the land was granted in 1150).  Private, not for a bunch of sweaty cyclists wanting Lattes.

Wikipedia says it is a pretty swish example of Scottish Renaissance architecture.





I forgot to mention, today was our longest ride of the trip, and included a nasty 300 metre climb.  Foggy all the way up and particularly so at the top of the climb (about 40 km into the ride).  No point in trying to show you any of the bad photos I took.


On the other side of the hill I noticed this cute little church, the Cranshaws Parish Church.  I suspect it would be chilly










And, just a bit further up the road was this stone cottage in a large sheep field.  What fascinated me was that I couldn't see anything that looked like a driveway or permanent road access to the place.  The windows also appear to be gone.
Possibly abandoned, or only occasionally accessed across the field.

Not like abandoned farm buildings in BC - most are rotted away in 50 years.




Next, a milestone as we cross the River Tweed via the Union Suspension Bridge - we have left Scotland and are in England.





The bridge was opened in 1820.  It doesn't use cables to support the deck; instead they are metal rods (copper clad, by the colour of the oxidation?).  The masonry towers are massive and stunning.

The other feature of this bridge is that it has a one vehicle load limit.  How many cyclists does it take to exceed the limit?  Before or after lunch?









 And just past the bridge is this beautiful house.  The quintessential English cottage (except for the automobile)









Our route eventually came back to the North Sea north of Bamburgh.  The main feature there is the Bamburgh Castle.  The site was originally built on by Celtic Britons around 500 A.D.  That was destroyed by Vikings in 993 and the Normans rebuilt it. 

Unfortunately, we were too late for a tour and leave too early for a tour tomorrow.





We finished the day a bit further south in Seahouses and are staying in the Bamburgh Castle Inn.  Just in front of the Inn is this small private harbour.

That's it for today - we have a mere 87 km tomorrow, but I have some bones and a sore toosh that need rest.





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