The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Hadrian's Wall and the Scottish Borders

June 1st to June 15th

Ride Coordinator: Jane Maxwell
Report by: Adele Gelfand

Sketch by Steve Hultgren

“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Mark Twain

Remembering the middle name of our club is “Adventure”, 25 hearty souls set out from Newton Stewart (outside Glasgow) on an overcast, rainy day to explore Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish Borders. Following the River Cree we had our first introduction to the unique and sometimes difficult to pronounce names of Scottish Towns.(Phonetics don’t work!)  To escape the wind and damp weather, we stopped in Wigtown where two covenanters named Margaret were drowned in 1685. An excellent ride, with the exception of some off-road but doable track, to Kircudbright, a delightfully well-manicured town overlooking a quiet harbor.

The following day, after riding on potholed roads with the mandatory early shower, brought a delightful surprise in our overnight at a Holiday Inn in Dumfries. The beautiful old converted manor house, sits on a marvelously landscaped college campus.  Lush green grass dotted with huge bushes of gorgeous pink rhododendrons provided a backdrop to old turreted red brick buildings. Dumfries (1186) features a mandatory Robert Burns statue, historic sites, and pubs, associated with Scotland’s most famous poet.

Along the route, the group often connected at a town’s bike shop where we bought rain pants, bike fenders etc. People were very friendly and helpful, and once we became more acquainted with their heavy Scottish brogue, were quite opinionated regarding US politics and how the UK is dealing with the mess of Brexit.

On the way to Gretna Green, we visited Caerlaverock Castle, unique with its broad inner moat and unusual shape.  Driving rain encouraged a stop in the 1300’s river port of Annan, at a café for some of the famous Scottish leek and vegetable soup, usually served with a large chunk of delicious brown bread that was warming and filling.

Gretna Green, across the border from England, was the wedding site for many eloping couples in the mid 1700’s. The blacksmith hit the anvil to mark the marriage.  The anvil symbolizes Gretna.

A challenging ride brought us to the Twice Brewed Inn where an historical site marker noted that on 14th of January 1863, “absolutely nothing happened here.”         This was the starting point to hike along Hadrian’s Wall and visit the incredible fortress ruins of Vindolanda and Houseteads. The Vindolanda Tablets, thin, postcard sized pieces of wood that were used as writing paper between AD85 –AD130 are the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. Active archeological digging is ongoing. Fascinating, and certainly a highlight of the trip.

Not so the following day when driving rain forced most of us to ride on a chartered bus to Gosforth. Bamburg to Berwick took us on narrow, single track paths and through pastures to our first view of the coast. Quite spectacular cliffs with the North Sea raging below.

         We followed the Tweed River to Dryburgh, passing through the market town of Kelso. A mandatory lunch stop offered a chance to explore the large Market square.

Traffic picked up as we were headed to Cardrona, near Edinburgh. The hotel, on a beautiful golf course offered an easy bus ride from nearby Peebles to our first view of the capital city. Our last stop was Gyle, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Some of us elected to take a train part way, so as to avoid the heavy traffic and slick trolley tracks in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, a true gem, with its history, museums and, for Harry Potter fans, sites identified in the books, including the cemetery filled with names of familiar characters added to the flavor of the city.

A final dinner in Edinburgh, without haggis, and farewell to our travelling companions and lush, green Scotland.