Day 13 - Newcastle Upon Tyne to Hull

We woke up to an overcast and cold day. We had heard while we were in Scotland that the next days would be very cold as a strong cold front descended into the north of the UK and Europe so we were quite keen to be on the road as soon as possible and did not spend a lot of time visiting Newcastle. Our general mpression was that this is quite an industrial city and based on the business activity in the hotel quite a thriving city from an economic point of view. We unfortunately were too tired to enjoy the famous nightlife that the city is well known for. The city was touched by the summer Olympics earlier in the year as St. James Park stadium was host for football matches.

The way south to Hull was done mainly on highway at an average speed of 120Km/h but as we got close to York we went off the highway and drove on a beautiful country road. The sun had come out so Paula was able to take some photographs.

 

We also stopped for lunch in a pub along the road and had curry which I have been craving since coming to the UK but was only able to have it on our last day on UK soil ... but rather late than never. The desert was carrot cake which each slice could fill a battalion. Paula and I tried but could not finish it all.

 

Due to rain or wet roads, the GSA was very dirty and as we had some time as we arrived in Hull we took the opportunity to wash her down. It was great to see the number plate and the stickers appear as by magic. Isn't she a beauty ?

 

As we arrived to the ferry check in we met two other motorbikers from the Hells Angels UK Chapter. As we queued up to wait for check in, rain and frost started to come down and I missed Italy where the motorcycles would just jump the queue and minimized our time in the wet. As we were in England where no one jumps queues we got throuroughly wet and if it was not for the rain gear we would probably be still drying ourselves today. Fortunately the rain gear held, and here I must give a big advertisement for the "Frogs" rain gear. They lasted the whole trip and were a "life" safer for the rain and cold (as a wind shield). They also "breathe" quite well and for me they are the best rain gear out there.

 

It felt good after a day of riding most in the wet to just lie down and read. By the way reading an excellent book called "The Secret Race" by Tyler Hamilton. If you are interested (or even if you are not) in cycling this is one of the best books out there giving a very honest account about the life of a professional cyclist with doping included.

Click HERE for all the pictures for Day 13

 

Posted by Armando

Day 12 - Boat of Garten, Scotland to Newcastle Upon Tyne, England

Today we continued our trip south and left Scotland which we have thoroughly enjoyed. We found it much quieter (and we like that) than England and the people seem more approachable and helpful.

We were very happy with our hotel in Boat.

I will take a bit of a detour here and spend some time explaining how we go about choosing hotels which we have to do every evening as we have decided not to plan too much ahead and rather be more flexible. In general this method has worked very well although we had less choices in the large cities as these fill up quite fast. I also believe this works as we are not in the peak of the season when hotels will all be full. We use mainly a combination of booking.com to do the actual booking and most of the analysis and now and then we do a check in trip advisor to ensure ratings are consistent and there are no horror stories. Using booking.com we usually check for hotels close to the city center, within our budget and that have ratings higher than 8.5, ideally 9 or above. Hotels with these ratings have been excellent.

For the night our bike had her own room (the only place where this happened) and we loaded it up inside.

 

The weather was not very good when we left Boat but we still took some time to visit the Loch of Garten which is tucked away in the middle of beautiful vegetation. It is so remote we even saw a deer crossing the road. It was a magic moment and wished I could have suspended time at that instant and taken a picture.

 

The NE to SW view of the Loch is very beautiful.

 

We then made our way towards the A9 which is the main highway that crosses this part of Scotland in a N to S direction. We went through some beautiful countryside.

 

For lunch we stopped at the House of Bruar which is widely regarded as Scotland's most prestigious independent store. Here is a short summary of what you can experience

" Quite simply, it is the perfect place to take a break, walk the dog and see the spectacular waterfalls immortalised by Robert Burns in his poem “The Humble Petition of Bruar Water”, before enjoying an outstanding meal, stocking up with delicious foodstuffs for your holiday…. and partaking in some serious retail therapy!"

We did take the break and enjoyed an outstanding meal. Paula had the Scottish salmon and I had the roast turkey. We top it all off with a delicious freshly baked carrot cake.

The sun actually came out and we enjoyed some beautiful riding on the A9.

 

After the A9, the trip south was a bear as roads became full of traffic, visibility was poor due to fog and the temperatures started to plunge. We were very happy when we got to our hotel and felt the warmth of an heated room.

During the evening bought the tickets for the overnight ferry from Hull to Roterdam and the 28 hour ferry from Travemunde to Helsinki. A couple more days of riding on our magic adventure.

 

Click HERE for all the pictures for Day 12

 

Posted by Armando

Day 11 - John o'Groats to Boat of Garten

After spending 2 nights in John o'Groats, today plan was to travel to Boat of Garten where Paula's brother Nuno and his family live.

Gordon prepared another great breakfast and we spoke about maritime traffic in those parts of the world and even tracked the Orkney ferry and a cargo boat on the way to Montreal that went through the Pentland Firth. I have really enjoyed staying at the Hamnavoe B&B. Room was great, so was breakfast and price.

Eventually I decided to face the harsh weather (it was drizzling and quite cold), get on the bike and make a short trip (2 miles) to Duncansby Head and visit the beach and the Duncansby Stacks.

But before going there, stopped by the village of JoG to visit the first and last house, buy a couple of souvenirs and have a coffee and cup cake.

 

Once I arrived at Duncansby, I spent over two hours walking the area, going down to the beach to see the seals closer by and just sit and enjoy the unspoiled view of the stacks

 

The views were magnificent and it will be a visit I will not forget. I specially enjoyed going down the face of the cliff to the beach. Not for the weak at heart as it was very slippery as the grass and stones were quite wet.

 

But hour was getting late and needed to ride 150 miles with not so good weather and difficult road that has some tricky parts and lots of traffic.

The ride was not easy as there was a lot of splash (quite dirty) whenever you followed a car or when a car or truck crossed the other way. The road was quite wet and not in good condition in some parts so all caution was needed.

One of the highlights of the trip was stopping at Dunrobin castle which is seat for the Countess and Clan of Sutherland. The castle was already closed for the winter so could not visit any of the 185 rooms, but the gardens were open for public viewing. Externally, the castle has elements based on French architecture. The French influence extends into the gardens. These were completed in 1850, taking inspiration for the formal parterres from the French formal style of the Gardens of Versailles.

What a sight !

 

Arrived as night was coming in to Boat of Garten and very happy with hotel.

The restaurant is well known and has a won a number of awards. The roast chicken and cheese platter were excellent.

 

Tomorrow we continue south as we make our way back to Finland where we plan to arrive on Monday next week.

 

VIDEOS

 

 

Click HERE for all the pictures for Day 11

 

Posted by Armando