£7 third of campsite fee at Fenwick
£3.30 date slice and pot of tea, Oswald's cafe, Berwick-upon-Tweed
£6.05 soup and pot of tea, Oblo bar and bistro, Eyemouth
£7.80 chicken & chips and pot of tea, Cafe Central fish and chip shop, Dunbar
After getting in so late and exhausted, Vaughan had done the concerned big brother thing and suggested that I should get earlier starts on the bike. Even though Liz and I had teased him when he'd said this, I did actually manage to get away from the campsite just after 8am which made it a chilly but glorious start to the day.
Our campsite had been very close to Lindisfarne. Whilst I didn't have time to ride across the causeway to take a look around, I did take a one mile detour to the start of the causeway to take a few photos and enjoy the morning sun glinting off the sea. I was passing through and by so many places I'd have loved to have stopped and seen. I was beginning to build myself a list of places to return to.
The first part of the day's riding, after taking a look at Lindisfarne from a distance, was on off road paths along beaches where sheep and cows had decided that the path was the most comfy place to sit. I much preferred this kind of morning rush hour, shooing the animals out of my way, than battling through traffic and fumes so I didn't mind the slight delay as I waited for the livestock to move to the side for me.
I rode into Berwick-upon-Tweed in good time for a mid morning snack so found a cafe with seating in the sun but out of the wind and watched the world go by for a while. Another lone cyclist, laden with panniers and tent, pulled up and went into the cafe opposite. I was starting to see a few more touring cyclists on this popular route and I enjoyed the gentle respect we paid each other by little nods of the head or quiet greetings we called to each other as we passed.
I got a bit lost, as usual, coming out of Berwick having gone off the Sustrans route to find the cafe. I ended up on a lovely path along the Tweed, and worked out that I needed to climb a steep hill across a park to get to the road at the top. Rather than go back to the centre of the town to retrace my steps I tried the cross-park climb and was pleased to find myself exactly where I thought I'd be and back on my route. I'm always so surprised when my map reading and navigation actually work to get me back on track.
I was battling into head winds again so riding wasn't really enjoyable and I didn't pay much attention to the passing scenery; I spent all my concentration on pushing forward at a slower pace than was reasonable, given the energy I was having to put into it. I did pass over the border into Scotland though, which lifted my spirits a little.
I lunched at a bistro with outside seating in Eyemouth, a fairly functional fishing town with a reputation and history of smuggling. I'd started to get into a pattern of having soup for lunch as it was warming and quick to order and eat. The soups always seemed to be vegetarian however, and perhaps in retrospect I should have gone for options with more protein as I seemed to get very tired and lethargic in the afternoons.
By 5pm, when I was passing through Dunbar, I decided I really needed something substantial to eat if I was to get to that night's campsite. I started fantasising about chicken and chips so searched for a fish and chip shop with seating as most were only take always. I struck lucky on my third circuit of the town centre and ate my meal as if it was my first in a fortnight. I'm sure my body was saying "At last! She feeds me protein along with the carbs!"
From Dunbar onwards I had a new lease of life and sped along, even though I was still into a head wind. I decided to take the A199 for the last part of the ride into Musselbrough as it was getting dark and didn't want to take the long winded Sustrans route along the coast. Single track country lanes and off road sections are fine in the light, but can be scary and disorientating in the dark. Whilst the traffic on the A199 was fast, it wasn't very heavy and everything gave me a good wide berth. I put my head down and pushed for home.
When I arrived in Musslebrough Vaughan phoned me to say I'd overshot the turning for the campsite. He'd started using the iPhone app Find Friends so he could see where I was. This seemed sensible as we started to get into more remote country, though it felt a bit 'big brother' in more ways than one! He was clearly worried that I'd be arriving as exhausted as the previous night though, and wanted to make sure I was OK. I told him I wanted to pop into a pub for pint before getting to the campsite, especially as I'd already eaten earlier, so I pulled into the closest pub to the campsite.
I really stuck out when I entered the pub. There was only one other woman in there, it was silent as everyone was watching a Celtic vs. Milan football match on the TV, and I was told not to sit at the one empty table in the main bar as one of the locals usually sat there. One of the gents sat propping up the bar was in a kilt; I'd only ever seen men wearing kilts at weddings or fancy dress before, so to see this was a real sign I was in Scotland good and proper now.
I was just sitting down with my pint when my brother appeared at the window outside, waving and knocking at the glass. I'm not sure what the locals made of that, but I was touched that he'd cycled down from the campsite to meet me. We had a drink together, catching up on each other's days, then rode up the hill alongside each other. Liz was waiting with a cup of tea, cheese sandwich, and bar of chocolate; it was clear that they'd been worried that I'd need TLC again after the previous evening's experience.
The campsite was about as different to the previous one as you could get, perhaps because it was so close to Edinburgh. Heated shower block with several showers, laundry room, and lots of caravans with fancy awnings. The previous night we'd been one of only three campers and one of the other tents had been held together with gaffer tape and had an owner who seemed to like hanging around the small toilet block. Liz and I felt a lot safer and more comfortable at this one so slept more soundly.
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