Farewell Scotland 4-9 August 2016

Leaving Edinburgh we had a mostly uneventful day until we reached our destination for the night. We freedom camped alongside the John Muir Way http://johnmuirway.org/ at West Barnes where Sally found a campfire area secluded from all the dog walkers. We set up the tent in the rain and went to bed early.

Next morning we stopped at Dunbar http://www.dunbar.org.uk/ for a coffee and then set off for Eyemouth. We found our way onto the A1 for several miles before following a cycle route which followed the

railway line and the old A1. We found a stunning bridge at Castle Dykes and pushed on to Eyemouth, just north of the English border. Along the way we could have been riding SH3 in North Taranaki just south of Mokau. It was beautiful. Upon arriving in town we asked a local for directions to the Fleet Hotel which was hidden down an alley way. We went inside, bought a pint, and announced to the lady behind the bar that we came from New Zealand and were in fact the parents of Simon, her daughter’s former boyfriend ,in the colonies. We chatted for a while and went outside to drink our beers. Two local characters joined us and chatted and made jokes. They were an absolute hoot.

Rachael arrived for work at 3 pm and was rather surprised to see us there. We had never met in person before but had said hello a couple times while Skyping Simon. She did know we were in the UK and that we might turn up out of the blue. After 3 months she has itchy feet

again and was saving up for her next adventure to Asia. We said our farewells and visited the fishing port which still lands seafood for export to England.

The lampposts were adorned with banners with photos of the all the Herring Queens going back many years. http://www.ehq.org.uk/ We had to get hot chips and sat overlooking the port to eat them and dried the tent at the same time.

We reached the border and I had a little tear in my eye again as we farewelled Scotland. Despite all the rain and bad weather, despite the misery caused, we enjoyed the scenery and the people. We would go back again but not on bikes. And not camping. I was disappointed by the lack of a “Farewell from Scotland" sign so took photos across the road of Welcome to Scotland. We pushed on to Berwick-on-Tweed where we stayed at the Youth Hostel. It was formerly a granary which

had been damaged in a fire many years ago and had a distinct lean.

Next day we were permitted to leave our bikes in the shed while we played tourist and visited the old walls. Signs at regular intervals explained the history of the town and how the English had adapted the defences to new threats after its capture from the Scottish. http://www.visitberwick.com/ We left in bright sunshine so out came the sunscreen for first time in a month. We followed the A1 south as far as The Holy Island of Lindisfarne. http://visitnorthumberland.com/holy-island It is only accessible at low tide and we were lucky enough to have a 3 hour window before the next closure of the causeway. It is beautiful out there and the place was packed with tourists who visited the castle. We ate lunch on the beach by some sheds which had been crafted to look like upside down dinghy. Very clever.

We arrived at Warren Mill where we found an old fashioned camp ground. It was packed ( which was hardly surprising as the cost was 14 pounds, compared to one we looked at along the way at 23 pounds.) We chose to stay near the office as it was quieter there. We stayed 2 nights and had a wonderful after noon tea in Belford on our lazy day off.

We followed the Castles and Coast route along side the Northumberland coast. http://www.yournorthumberland.co.uk/ It is a secret gem well worth a visit of several days. The beaches are golden, the castles prolific, and the villages are not yet overloaded with tourists. First up was Bamburgh Castle http://www.bamburghcastle.com/ which is your typical picture postcard English Castle, still lived in with what looks like double glazing.

Our goal for the night was Morpeth where we were to stay with our hosts Eileen and Heinz. We had the wind behind us so made excellent progress. The last 3 hours were a nightmare as I had not read the address correctly. When we got to the outskirts of Morpeth we rechecked the address to find they were in fact at a different town 15 kms back. Morpeth was just the postcode, so to speak. So back into the wind we went and when we arrived we had covered 90 kms instead of the planned 55 kms. I was not popular.

Eileen's daughter had just arrived in New Zealand and they are planning a visit in November. So we expect them to stay with us when they come to Auckland around early January next year. We discussed all sorts of useful things about NZ and planned a route to Newcastle for the next day. Dinner was meat and pasta which we demolished and left nothing behind. Dessert was meringue and fresh fruit salad. They were dog sitting for her son who was on holiday in Greece but

their cat was not amused and only appeared at dinner time for a quick feed before vanishing off for the night.