My first solo experience of the English country side on my
bicycle and its the same as India, the same warm welcome everywhere you go and
people going out of the way to
help you and make you
comfortable, sharing experiences and views and in general about the place,
which you don’t get when travelling in a group.
Enjoy the snaps and the small writeup below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152380085306181.1073741857.595556180&type=1&l=f402914e5e
First day a continuous incline of 3 miles from Glossop to
King Clough Head Farm - tired since my legs not yet used to cycling :). But it was
an amazing clear and sunny day.
Reached the King's B&B and met up with Terry my host,
and very helpful as well. Then went to a road side Inn
(Grouse Inn) for lunch at 4:00 PM and had a nice Salmon, Chips and Salad
soaking the warm afternoon sun. After which as usual I found a Bridle path to
the moorland and decided to explore that. Went on a hill top there with my
bicycle and relaxed and enjoyed the early evening views and cool breeze. Later went
back to the room to relax and came back for early dinner at 7:15 PM (since
things close down early here) but the Chef had already left so I was very
bluntly told no food available now. Cursing my luck I decided to try out
another Inn at a small village known as Little
Mill Village on the other side of King Clough Farm.
The route was adventurous - leaving the small tarmac road,
getting onto a dirt road and crossing a stream and finally joining a tarmac
road again. I met a person by the road side that helped me with the finer
details of the route of the Little Mill Inn ahead. He would meet me again for
the 2 days I went for dinner to the Little Mill Inn. We became good friends
having beer and chatting during the evenings. The Bartender there was also good
and helped me select the dishes perfect to my taste buds. I was in love with
the Little Mill Inn – typical old British village surroundings, small Inn with wooden furnishings, fire place, the funny
comments on the wall and the music going on in the background.
Next day was supposed to be tough, I decided to cycle to the
Kinder reservoir (lake) and then trek to Kinder Scout – one of the higher hills
in the area. It was a easy cycle ride to Kinder Lane since all of it was downhill.
I would rather not imagine the 3 miles which I would have to climb uphill when
coming back after a 4 hour trek. The last part to Kinder Lane was very scenic with nice
forest and a peaceful campsite with a small brook following the road.
The gentleman at the end of the Kinder Lane was kind enough to let me
allow parking my cycle at his place along with some stuff I won’t need for the
trek. He also guided me with the detailed route.
The route started on the left bank of the Kinder Reservoir,
beautiful greenery all around and cool breeze for company with overcast sky all
day. I took the Williams Clough route up and came down via Sandy route which meets the Williams Clough
route by the bridge. This area is a typical moor land with grass / stubs
growing all over the place with various shades of green, yellow and brown. This
was unique mountain scenery which I had never seen. Once I gained some height –
it was a sight to behold, the vast brown moorland stretches with the thin trek
routes going all the way to the horizon giving it a feel of Ladakh, Changthang
Plateau. I also met 2 trekkers with whom I shared a nice conversation and also
snacks. After viewing the Kinder Downfall (water fall) I returned back via the Sandy route having a nice
break of cheese sandwich (which Terry had packed for me) by the small brook and
the bridge. As said earlier the uphill ride back to King Clough was not
pleasant. I had to walk a bit and also got down 3 times before I reached the
top of the pass.
Finally last day I decided to go for a short ride to Ladbroke
Farm (not sure of the name) around 2 miles one way. It was a nice off road
trail not actually meant for my Hybrid but I enjoyed it to the max. Some fine
views and a killer incline made my day. Finally bade goodbye to Terry- my host
at King Clough Head Farm and left for Glossop station to catch the train back
to London . This
is just the start of the journeys on my bicycle. Hopefully!.
No comments:
Post a Comment