£30 for B&B at The Waterford Arms, Seaton Sluice
£3.10 for tea, Kit Kat, Kendal mint cake and postcard in Cresswell Ices, Cresswell
£7.65 for soup and a sandwich and a pot of tea, Alnmouth
The Bed & Breakfast in Seaton Sluice was exactly on route 1, so I had no chance to get lost finding it in the morning. However, the earliest we could have breakfast was 08:30 so I didn't get as early a start as I'd have liked.
The first part of the ride was lovely; a well surfaced cycle path right through the sand dunes on the beach. As I approached Blythe the landscape changed to industrial however, and I rode with a backdrop of factories, quarries, and generating plants all the way to Lynemouth with its enormous smelting plant and wind farm. I understood why there was a wind farm here. I was riding into a head wind and finding the going tough as well as the landscape rather depressing.
The first place I came to where I was able to stop for a cup of tea was Cresswell, a little seaside resort. I pulled in at an ice cream shop with a few people sat outside and had tea in a polystyrene cup, a Kit Kat (at last - I'd fantasised about one since Telford), and a bag of crisps. I also bought a Kendal mint cake as reserve sugar for the rest of the day and a postcard to send my Mum as I'd been trying to send one whenever I passed through a postcard producing kind of place.
I'd been told by the other people at the Ice Cream shop that I'd start to see castles soon, and to look out for Warkworth Castle. I thought I'd have to keep looking on the horizon for it, but then rode right past it as it was the road that the Sustrans route uses. It quite took my breath away being so close, and I'd have loved to have had the time to look around (it's managed by English Heritage) but I knew I had to press on to get to that night's campsite near Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Liz had told me that Alnmouth was very pretty, with painted houses and nice tea rooms. I decided to stop there for lunch as it was 2pm when I got there. I was starting to get chilled and tired by the riding into the head wind so found a tea room where I could sit inside and lock the bike safely nearby. I got a few glances when I walked in all my cycling gear, and a bit of a short answer when I asked if they had gluten free bread or cakes, but I decided to stay anyway as it was warm and I didn't want to spend ages trying to find somewhere less snooty in a town that felt rather posh generally.
After lunch the sun came out and warmed me a little on my ride, so I decided to take the off road option rather than stick to the road. When the off road sections are particularly rough, there is usually an alternative given on the maps and signposts. I was glad I made this choice, even though it was slow going, as it went right down onto the beach (I had to carry my bike at one point as I had to cross thick dry sand), included some narrow wooden bridges and tricky steep and rocky sections better suited to a mountain bike. Memorable and enjoyable in the sunshine.
At Embleton my route turned more inland and I turned more directly into the wind, making me tired and cold. By the time I got to Bamburgh, with stunning views of the castle in the warm evening sun, I was getting really cold despite wearing all the clothing I had with me. I noticed early signs of hypothermia as found following the map more tricky and I would have happily sat down under a hedge for a sleep. When I phoned my brother after crossing the A1 I explained that I wanted to finish the day's riding rather than be picked up, but that I really needed hot drinks and blankets with the campervan heater on full blast when I got in.
I was faced with a 17% uphill gradient after crossing the A1 and felt like crying at the unfairness of finishing a tough cold day with a climb. I then discovered that there were a few more hills to get to the campsite so by the time I arrived as the sun dipped below the horizon I was in desperate need of some TLC. I don't know how I'd have coped if I'd have had to put up a tent that night. Vaughan and Liz wrapped me in blankets, fed me hot tea, and cooked me a big pasta meal after I'd thawed out and had a hot shower in the unheated and basic campsite facilities.
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