Have you tried the IPA?

I spent the Easter weekend torturing myself along the Coast and Castles cycle route from Edinburgh to Newcastle.

The first day was 55 miles from Edinburgh to Melrose. This included a long climb into the Moorfoot hills. The climb was a bit of a shock to the system but we all managed to (finally) get to the top and were rewarded with a long downhill stretch into Innerleithen. The last few miles into Melrose seemed to last for ages but we eventually arrived at Melrose Hostel. A quick shower later we were tucking into well deserved steaks and mixed grills at the Kings Arms Hotel. We were all in bed before 21:30 - exhausted.

The second day was the shortest and easiest of the trip, 46 miles from Melrose to Berwick-upon-Tweed. The route took in two crossings of the River Tweed, including the impressive Union bridge. We stayed at the Queen’s Head Hotel and enjoyed a few pints at Barrels Alehouse.

The third day was the longest both in distance and time in the saddle. The 69 miles from Berwick to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea took us 11 hours. We were slowed down by a number of punctures (after some members of the groups decided to try a costal short cut) and a very strong head wind which made cycling along the flat costal path feel like cycling through treacle. On our arrival we managed to summon up enough energy to enjoy a few pints at the Queen’s Head and a curry at Shaj Tandoori.

The final day saw us cycling the 30 miles along the coast from Newbiggin to Tynemouth and then back to Newcastle. The sight of Newcastle’s bridges has never been sweeter.

My sore arse, aching legs, sun burn, insect bites and blisters are a reminder of a great trip. It remains to be seen whether I’ll allow myself to be talked into attempting the hillier C2C route.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 20th, 2006 at 10:36 am and is filed under Outdoors, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.