Pennine Cycleway NCN68 (&quiz) -On your virtual Bike

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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by mickthemaverick »

Right I think I've got it now, so Bob is your second cousin but younger than you as:
own work
own work


Time for another pint methinks, must be Bob's round, mine's a Wolf :-D
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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Looks about right, given the information I have provided.
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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

I think one more pint and a couple of jukebox selections and I will turn in.

I'll finish off with another from Allendale Tall Stories from England Last Wilderness
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Not sure if I like Allendale's new branding artwork on their beers
I much prefer this
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to this
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Regards Neil
Last edited by NewcastleFalcon on 22 May 2020, 23:45, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Time to Chill with a bit of Earth Wind and Fire



REgards Neil
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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by mickthemaverick »

Followed by Steven Tyler doing his best:

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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

And a bit laid back jazz fron Henri Mancini



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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by mickthemaverick »

I enjoyed that and it put me in the mood for this:

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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

We are just a couple of miles from the Nothumberland border Mick, and I've had a little drive down Pennine Cycleway 68 as far as Kirkhaugh Church. Worth a little halt there (even if only to answer the question I intend to pose on it :-D). Its a very picturesque route which follows the South Tyne closely down a narrow road. No song and dance with notices where you cross from Cumbria into Northumberland on that route as far as I can see but by the time you get to Kirkhaugh Church you are definitely in Northumberland. Red Triangle signs to warn to look out for Red Squirrels...you may be lucky and see one. The remoteness of Northumberland and surprisingly the man made forrestation of Kielder and other parts favours reds over greys.

The Day 6 Journey takes us from Alston to Bellingham. Only settlement of any size passed through by the route is Haltwhistle. The south Tyne joins the North Tyne at Warden near Hexham and flows to the sea as the River Tyne. Our route basically takes us down the South Tyne and up the North Tyne to Bellingham.

I could think of many other routes to detour on but I think its best to follow the route 68...it has been mapped out where it goes for a reason. For example 2 miles or so up from Haltwhistle is Hadrians wall. You could quite easily follow the "Military Road as its known all the way along Hadrians wall to Chollerford then turn left and go directly up the North Tyne to Bellingham. I think the 68 takes a longer route but probably does it for a reason.

If you fancy a pour over the maps in the morning, its a bit of an easier day, and I'm happy to amend plans to fit in. Above all I'd like you to enjoy Notrthumberland and see the best it has to offer.

Night all!

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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

On reflection I do think a slight adjustment to the route would be a good thing.
Day 5 done, Next Leg Day 6 Alston to Bellingham including a bit of Hadrians Wall.

Main Towns and Villages Alston Haltwhistle, Vindolanda, Hadrians wall walk, Military Road, Chollerford, Wark, Bellingham If we arrive early enough at Bellingham some canoeing on the River Tyne is possible particularly if we book in at the Riverdale Hall Hotel.

For the Pennine Cycleway purist this deviates from the Route 68, which would take a circuitous route through a bit of forest offroading. For me a Northumberland coniferous forest with rough forest roads is the same as any other forest anywhere else but Hadrians wall is a world heritage site so my route follows the military road right alongside it. On top of that its a scenic ride by the side of the North Tyne all the way up from Chollerford to Bellingham missed out by the forest diversion.

I've never actually been to Vindolanda, but one of the most interesting aspects of the 2000 ish year old Hadrians Wall, is not so much the bits of stone that are left, but the discovery of first-hand accounts through written artefacts and vindolanda is the site for that type of thing..
The rough Guide
Day 1 Derby to Whaley BridgeImage
Day 2 Whaley Bridge to SlaithwaiteImage
Day 3 Slaithwaite to BarnoldswickImage
Day 4 Barnoldswick to DentImage
Day 5 Dent to Alston Image
Day 6 Alston to Bellingham
Day 7 Bellingham to Wooler
Day 8 Wooler to Berwick
The map of the route if you choose the overlay on the OS map on the Sustrans Site can take it down to a very detailed level.

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-rout ... /route-68/
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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by mickthemaverick »

100 % with your decisions there Neil. It's your territory from here on in so we are totally happy for you to advise where to stop for coffee, lunch tea and B&Bs. I will book that hotel and then after breakfast we have to ride down the road to collect the trailers. Looking forward to a river paddle in Bellingham and seeing if Hadrian's Wall has aged any more since my meander in March! Missing out on the forest is great because I had many a happy rally come to an unplanned end in Kielder 40 years ago and I just don't need reminding. So, shower, shave and down for brekkie. Did you remember to charge your battery last night? If not we have 9 unused units with full batteries packed in one of the canoes so should be ok. Bob was messing about with one unit to see if he could attach a prop in place of the friction wheel as a silent but easy canoeing option!!
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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

So our first scheduled stop should be Haltwhistle but in advance of the route I'll pose some Questions to look out for.
If you could do a bit of "photographing" (geograph could help) and present these at the Cafe Stop at Haltwhistle that would be great. I'll dig out a Cafe in a minute.
Pennine Cycleway Quiz Questions Day 6 Number 1
Where is the Border between Northumberland and Cumbria on the Pennine Cycleway out of Alston?
What is the Name of the Pele tower Next to it on the Cumbria side and what is a Pele Tower?
Pennine Cycleway Quiz Questions Day 6 Number 2
There is an interesting Church at Kirkhaugh. It has a very pointy spire.
It is almost unique, some say none, but there is actually one other, a church in Hom Green Herefordshire which shares something with Kirkhaugh Church although they are very different architecturally. What is this :?:
and I would suggest that at the appropriate point on the way to Haltwhistle we park the Bikes and take a short walk to Langley Viaduct and take a photo and enjoy the view from the top.

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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

mickthemaverick wrote: 23 May 2020, 09:15 Did you remember to charge your battery last night?
The short answer to that is of course not! Pleased you can bail me out! Still with my revised route there may be a climb up to the Military Road next to Hadrians Wall out of Haltwhistle, but Alston to Haltwhistle is downstream all the way. You could even have canoed it :?: Then there are ups and downs along the very straight, for the most part Military Road, but at Chollerford we follow the North Tyne upstream so no great hills to cope with.

So pending further research and me taking an Ashes to Ashes break I'll plump for this in Haltwhistle. Have a mooch round if I'm a bit late....the Newcastle/Carlisle line passes through Haltwhistle Station which is interesting enough for a mooch round and maybe even a question set.

There is not a lot of choice in Haltwhistle so I've just gone for cheap and cheerful, and probably very small! Late elevenses by the time I get there but really today there is no rush. My route probably shaves 12 miles off the other one through the forest. So its the Pillar Box Cafe :-D

Image

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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by mickthemaverick »

Well we've had breakfast:
BFTW
BFTW
collected the trailers and we're on the way. I was told to keep an eye out for Thomas Edmundson on my way up the road so I think it might be sensible to ask for a bit of help so:
Pennine Cycleway Quiz Question Day 6 Number 3
Where might I find Thomas Edmundson?
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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by mickthemaverick »

While peddling north out of Alston, we nearly missed the left fork but just saw it in time and we have just reached the county border so time to answer Q1:
Spoiler: show
The border crosses our path southwest of the centre of Ayle and next to Randalholme Hall which was developed from the original Pele (Or Peel as some seem to spell it!) Tower. I found this very interesting:

Randalhome, Alston, a fourteenth century peel tower, originally the manor house of Kirkhaugh, first mentioned in 1370. A Tudor wing was added circa 1600 and remodelled in classical style circa 1650 (Collingwood; Curwen).
The peel tower, of three stories with added attic and gabled roof, forms the SE corner of a later farmhouse. It measures 8.3m x 7.7m with walls 1.7m thick, and contains an original doorway, leading into a barrel-vaulted basement. The later additions are not outstanding (LS Reviser (BA Cowling 24.7.80)).
Adjacent to the Hall is a range containing a bastle.

On a more general point and answering the "what is a Pele Tower" part of the question:

"Determined to resist further invasion from the Scots, the people of Cumberland and Westmorland built defensive structures known as pele towers, quite unique to the north of England. About 90 were built.

They were small stone buildings with walls from 3 to 10 feet thick, square or oblong in shape. Most were on the outskirts of the Lake District, but a few were within its boundaries. Designed to withstand short sieges, they usually consisted of three storeys – a tunnel-vaulted ground floor which had no windows which was used as a storage area, and which could accommodate animals.

The first floor contained a hall and kitchen, and the top floor was space for living and sleeping. The battlemented roof was normally flat for look-out purposes, and to allow arrows to be fired at raiders, and missiles hurled down on unwanted visitors.

Today many of these towers have had additions or modifications. Some such as Yanwath Hall are part of a working farm. Others such as Muncaster, Dacre and Sizergh are now stately homes. Some have fallen and become ruins, others have been dismantled so the stone could be used to build other buildings. Some towers were built onto churches to act as both pele tower, and bell tower."

Although the Pele towers are quite unique (if such a term exists :-D ) to the North down here in the South we do have our own equivalent in the Martello Towers built around the SE coastal regions in Napoleonic times for defense against the European threats:

"Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.

They stand up to 40 feet (12 m) high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15–25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse, and hence fire, over a complete 360° circle. A few towers had moats or other batteries and works attached for extra defence.

The Martello towers were used during the first half of the 19th century, but became obsolete with the introduction of powerful rifled artillery. Many have survived to the present day, often preserved as historic monuments."
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Re: On Your Virtual Bike:The Pennine Cycleway (&quiz)

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Well had a decent whizz down by the side of the south tyne....very much one way traffic on the narrow road, but this is Northumberland, just got to watch out for the odd tractor or quad bike.

Heres where we turn off the big road onto the little one following the South Tyne and a little hint for Q1

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8213759 ... 312!8i6656

and to give viewers a bit of the flavour of the route, that may just be Q1 coming into the picture..
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8289913 ... 312!8i6656

REgards Neil
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