Day 8 - Slaidburn to Keswick 68 miles

According to Peak Tours, this is "a great day in the saddle".  For the first few miles I was out of my saddle more than I was in it so the day may have to be re-described!!

Chicken and Charley reach the top of the climb

Our first ascent was a good long one up to the Cross of Greet at a height of 400m, it was a good steady ride up and my cycling in the Alps always comes in handy on long climbs.  Once again we chose to ride as a big group of 12 today, it is a lot of fun that way, chatting to different people and getting to know them better. On the descent we saw a huge erratic boulder with stairs carved into it, and many strange breeds of sheep.  The descent was fast and straight to start with and then some undulating riding where we passed the halfway stage of 500 miles before the lunch stop suddenly appeared.




Rachel and me at Kendal


Crooklands Hotel was lunch today, it was a bit emotional for me as this was somewhere Dad loved and I had been with him and mum many years ago to a New Years celebration here, I admit to shedding tears when I cycled into the car park.

After lunch there was a fair amount of upping and downing until we reached Windermere.  At this point we were on a cycle path beside the road, much more pleasureable than being bashed by wing mirrors!!

We have ridden 500 miles and we will ride 500 more!

We stopped to take a photograph when a man came and asked about Chicken and then invited us all to his garden for tea and coffee, very random but very kind.  Continuing along the road after this coffee stop we passed through Ambleside and then had a long but steady climb before a great downhill to our turn off around the Thirlmere Reservoir which got us off the main A591 for a few miles.  This road was stunning, so quiet and with lovely views of the reservoir.

The arrival into Keswick was another fantastic descent and we soon found the Youth Hostel on the banks of the river.

A hilly but very scenic and rewarding days cycling in lovely weather again.  We cross into Scotland tomorrow, I can't believe its here already!

Roadkill - I have given up counting!!

Chicken update - looking scraggy but still getting people clapping and shouting!

Weather - misty start then hot sun!