Then There Were Two

Even Scotland was sad we were leaving, as we rode out of Glasgow under grey skies and rain. The first time, we’ve had to pull out our wet weather gear.

*I thought I should grab a picture of a scotch thistle. These are a noxious weed at home.*

*More interesting flavours of chippies (sorry crisps). Shame I didn’t have room to grab some of these to try later.*

And then, just like that, we were out of Scotland, with just this little sign marking the occasion.

From Glasgow we only have a few days left before we have to get the RT back to Superbike rental. So from Glasgow we are spending a night in the Lakes District, then the Yorkshire Dales on Monday night, before returning the bike on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, we won’t get to spend any time exploring these districts, as our plan was to maximise our time in Scotland, and we are only really passing through.

Our route is largely made up of scenic backroads and passes. So we’ll just have to come back to explore further.

What we did experience today was traffic! Roadworks in one town centre caused a massive traffic jam and even sneaking through the traffic on the RT still saw us stuck for nearly an hour, sweltering in our … it’s not going to be hot … motorcycle gear in 30 degree temps.

So it was nice to finally get out of town and get some air moving over us.

Lots of roads lined with stone walls

*Sun going down over our accommodation out of Freswick*

*Lots of lakes i*n the Lakes District … *strangely enough*…

On Monday, we head to the Dales via the Buttertubs pass. An interesting name for the pass … something to do with farmers transporting butter…

*Little old stone hut just off the road* by a beautiful stream.

*Spot the adventure bike safely parked* up on *the road and reluctant to venture too far off road..*.

Then up over buttertubs pass.

The amount of stone fences around here is just staggering. I can only imagine how stoney the fields must have been … and the work required to move all the stones and build all these fences.!

*Over-looking the valley and the network of stone fences.*

*A little ma and pa cafe in the small village of Keld for a cold drink and ice cream*.

Sitting in the Fox House, Sheffield, marks our last night on the road with Alain and Monica. The last two weeks have been fantastic. We’ve shared a lot of miles, got lost (okay that was generally my fault for not paying attention), enjoyed meals together, sat around chatting in off the main path cafes, wandered through castles, played cards in cafes, bars, restaurants, and on the train. And shared lots of laughs … although I’m sure they still don’t understand my sense of humour.

Few other photos from today.

And then there were two, as Alain and Monica headed west for a few more days riding before catching the ferry to the Netherlands, and we head south and return the RT.

It’s been four years since we rode together in Switzerland, let’s hope it’s not another four years to our next ride.