15 September - Carlisle

0 miles

£27.00 Speedo swimming costume, The Pools, Carlisle
£18.60 three day tickets for Victorian Turkish Baths, Carlisle
£10.95 Sunday roast special, William Rufus Wetherspoons pub, Carlisle
£6.00 three desserts specials, William Rufus Wetherspoons pub, Carlisle
£50.00 diesel for campervan, Sainsbury petrol station, Carlisle

Storms had been forecasted to roll in to the UK from the West on Sunday, so this seemed like a good day for me to have a rest from cycling, spend the day with Vaughan and Liz, and do something in Carlisle which was only 7 miles from the campsite. When I woke at 06:30 it was dry and calm, so I wondered whether the storm had in fact passed us by. As the three of us sat in the campervan in our pyjamas, waking up over numerous cups of tea and coffee, and looking for things to do in Carlisle on our iPhones, the rain and wind began to whip up though, and by 10:00 it was lashing down outside and the van was being rocked about by the wind. It would have been a dangerous day to be out on a bike.

We discovered that Carlisle has some Victorian Turkish Baths connected to the modern swimming pool complex in the centre of town. Relaxing there seemed like a lovely way to spend a rainy Sunday. Vaughan and Liz had a swim whilst I tried on swimming costumes (something I hadn't packed), then the three of us went next door to spend a couple of hours in the Turkish Baths.

What an absolute treat. We each had a relaxation cubicle with bed, curtain, and places to leave clothes and toiletries and we put our valuables in the lockers. We then explored the various temperature rooms, sauna and steam. Liz and Vaughan sampled the ice cold plunge pool too, but I decided occasional cold showers would be enough for me.

We came out totally relaxed, feeling scrubbed clean, and ready for a good meal. As we didn't want to wander around in the rain looking for somewhere to get a good Sunday roast, we went with what we knew and headed for the nearest Wetherspoons pub, the William Rufus on Botchergate. We settled down with a pint and our various electronic devices (Wetherspoons have free wi-fi) and ordered our meals.

Three hours later we emerged, even more relaxed, but also full. As I was driving I'd stopped at one pint then went on to soft drinks. I also didn't want too much alcohol to counteract the cleansing effects of the Turkish Baths.

As it was still blowing a gale and we didn't fancy sitting in the campervan for the whole evening, we returned to The Golden Fleece as we'd been impressed with the atmosphere there (and they had very posh loos!). We stationed ourselves on the sofas next to the fire and spent a few hours using the Internet, charging our devices from the sockets, and making our drinks last as long as possible.

When we emerged from the pub for the short drive back to the campsite the rain had stopped and we could see stars between the clouds as they skudded across the sky. We sat in the campervan for a while, studying the map for the following day. This wasn't particularly reassuring as Vaughan and Liz knew the area well and informed I had a tough day with the Pennines to climb and cross. After this jolly conversation Vaughan and Liz disappeared into their tent for the night and I got everything ready for the morning in the campervan; I knew the following day's ride would be long so I needed to set off relatively early.

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