Seven of the usual suspects met at Barton grange and after Tony had extracted his £ ‘pound of flesh’ we set off up the ‘not-at-all- boring’ A6 to meet Peter, Chris and Colin at Hampson Lane. This new meeting place is off the A6 just south of the M6 junction 33 roundabout.
Peter led us off towards Bay Horse (it’s not a real horse!) and immediately we were in lovely scenery. The weather was still a bit dull but warming up by the time we turned at Caton and rode through Halton Park. We rode through some really pleasant villages with stone cottages eventually stopping at Staveley for a coffee break. The sun was out now and it was very warm. We were fortunate in witnessing one of the wonders of the modern world, a group of black-faced lunatics covered in feathers and bells hitting each other with sticks, yes bl**dy Morris Dancing!!
After recovering from the shock, we set off for Ambleside where we stopped for dinner. I’m not sure how but we took in part of the Kirkstone Pass called ‘The Struggle’. Anyway, it was fantastic with amazing views. From Ambleside we made our way down through Hawkshead to Newby Bridge and on to Cartmel. Here we parked by the little stream next to the Brewery called Unsworth’s Yard. Well it would’ve been rude not to so we had a swift pint in the yard. Very nice too!
Back at Peter’s in Morecambe, Jane had been slaving over a hot oven and produced some lovely cakes and coffee for us, thanks Jane!
Chris led us, fully refreshed, back to Caton via the Iron Bridge at Halton. This isn’t for cars but is OK for bikes. After Caton we took the usual route through Quernmore and Oakenclough back to the truly wonderful A6. Tony and I clocked 183 miles for the run.
Many thanks Peter for a really great day out.