In this weekly blog episode: A restful bank holiday weekend, riding two of the UK’s forest drives, and some rather mundane daily walks for National Walking Month.
Ah a three-day weekend. I do like May and its quota of bank holidays. Don’t you?! What have you done with yours this time? I haven’t done much at all, it’s been a lovely quiet one – which makes a nice change of pace when you consider how the rest of May has been.
It’s nice to be able to say I haven’t worked a full week for the whole month. There is quite a big part of me that wishes I could make three or four day weekends a much more regular occurrence – I can see the appeal of part-time working. But for now, I am simply grateful that I’ve been able to add to the bank holidays by using some of my annual leave to have an awful lot of outdoor fun this month.
While every other weekend in May has been all about small adventures (read weekly blog episodes 152, 153 and 154 for more on those), this one has been quite the opposite. I’ve been enjoying some much-needed rest and relaxation, as well as catching up on a few of the things I’ve neglected for the rest of the month.
A Welcome Mundane Weekend
I must laugh at the weather, though. Back on 9 May 2023 I published a weekly blog (episode 116) which started with a moany statement asking why bank holiday weekends are always wet. I said: “Do the clouds look at the calendar and think “oh look, the Brits have an extra day to have barbecues and go for walks and enjoy the outdoors… we know what’ll test their resolve…”. It’s been raining on and off all day. Once again, the sky has chosen a bank holiday weekend to demonstrate its power in the form of heavy rain.
At least it’s been sunny in-between the showers.
To be honest, the rain this weekend has probably been a bit of a blessing. I could easily have found myself forcing another small adventure into this already busy month. I talked about taking the kayak into Wales a blog or two ago, considered a spot of local-ish trig bagging, and even had a look at heading to Thorpe Park.
The latter was to ride Hyperia, which opened on Friday and is now the UKs tallest and fastest rollercoaster, getting up to 236ft high and reaching speeds of over 80mph. I REALLY want to ride it, and soon. In fairness, it’s probably a good job I didn’t go, seeing as it closed a day after opening… I’m sure they’ll get it sorted.
But I really (really) have needed to slow down for a day or two after all the fun I’ve been having. I’m not as young and fit as I once was (meh to that), and my body and mind have been screaming at me to stop for a minute.
A Good Admission
Admitting that is good progress for me, I think. I’ve previously said that spending weekends like this are mundane and feel lazy and not a good use of my time. There have been no big adventures – hiking or otherwise – and no big ticks off the to do list. Yes, the front door remains unpainted, and no, I haven’t managed to draft a bunch of articles for Splodz Blogz.
I did have a leisurely walk in Cheltenham, unsuccessful at finding otters, but which included some gorgeous cygnets and a (great spotted) woodpecker couple taking it in turns to feed their chicks. I gave my motorbike a good clean, and did a bit of chain maintenance, so that’s not insignificant. And I got a few bits of online and at-home admin organised, too.
The rest of the time I mainly did a lot of sitting (and laying) down, a lot of consuming of other people’s adventure stories on YouTube and in blog posts (did you see what happened to Itchy Boots?!), and listened to a lot of music.
I remain more than a little jealous of people who have been out on epic adventures this weekend. And especially of people who just seem to be able to keep going when I can’t muster enough energy to do so. But I am also pretty happy that I didn’t do much for three-days-straight. Sometimes not doing is as important as doing.
After all that rambling about doing nothing, there is one of my May small adventures I still need to tell you about… riding two of the UK’s Forest Drives.
Forest Drives Road Trip
Inspired by an article in Adventure Bike Rider magazine, last weekend I went on my first multi-day road trip on my new F750GS with my husband and a couple of friends. The premise of the trip was to have a mini overland adventure linking three of England and Scotland’s forest drives – the Kielder Forest Drive in Northumberland, Raiders’ Road Forest Drive in Galloway Forest Park, and the Three Lochs Forest Drive in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park.
These forest drives consist of maintained but unsealed gravel roads which are open to the public. They are toll roads, which helps keep them open. We don’t have many miles of gravel roads in the UK, unlike in the USA and Europe where there are miles and miles of such routes which get you out into some wild and rugged countryside. I was intrigued to see what these roads are like to ride. Unfortunately for us, the second of the three forest drives was still closed for logging when we made the trip north (we did know before we left home), although it does seem to have opened for the season now.
The magazine writer notes that riding a route like this is why he got into adventure motorcycling in the first place. I feel exactly the same. When I ride my motorbike, I want to be in the middle of nature, riding where others aren’t, feeling like I’m very much part of the scene and not just looking at it from a distance. I don’t care too much about the technical stuff (even if I’ve had a good go and would definitely do so again…), but I love (love love) getting off road and out of the way on forest roads and farm tracks.
Motorcycling Adventure Close to Home
It was when we did our North America trip (called Zartusacan) that I fell in love with this kind of riding – a combination of on and off road riding, with a real focus on wilderness and countryside. I was hoping that this short weekend away, checking out these forest drives and linking them up with some narrow and winding tarmac, would give me some of that without having to go too far from home.
Although we did have to go a really long way from home when you think about it. On Friday we rode a little over 300 miles from our home in Gloucestershire up to Alnwick in Northumberland. And on Monday we rode 360 miles south on various motorways from a bit above Stirling to get back home again. The there-and-back part of this road trip was a long and boring slog of a ride. And far from motorcycling friendly; one of the reasons we normally head abroad for our motorcycle road trips.
At least on the way there, we were able to do the third-third of the journey on lovely winding roads through some very pretty countryside, and even found a most excellent ice cream parlour (Wheelbirks Parlour) for an afternoon break – and milkshake. It pays to follow those brown signs!!
The two days of our magazine-inspired route, though, can definitely be described as great riding. I was reminded that road tripping in the UK can be special, if you know where to go.
Kielder Forest Drive
On Saturday we meandered through the beautiful countryside of northern England and the Scottish borders, heading from Alnwick in the east over and up to Ayr in the west. It was even warm and sunny. We rode around 220 miles in total, and it took all day.
The first was Kielder Forest Drive itself. I didn’t realise that Kielder Water and Forest Park is England’s largest forest and the biggest man-made lake in Northern Europe – and while we’ve driven/ridden through before, it’s a surprise we haven’t spent more time exploring this area. An oversight, for sure.
We joined the £5-to-ride gravel toll road from the Blakehopeburnhaugh end (what a great name!), where there was a parking area (with free toilets). From there it was 12 miles of winding and undulating gravel road, which took us through a combination of open grasslands with big views, and thick plantation forest. It was beautiful, and very quiet – the quietness definitely helping the experience. The highlight was our brief stop at The Nick, a shelter come sculpture at the halfway and highest point (1500 feet) of the forest drive, from which you get fantastic views all around.
As I mentioned above, the road is well maintained and so the riding was easy – a bit of loose stuff built up in the corners but no issues. If anything, the 12 miles ended far too soon, I would have happily pootled along roads like that all day.
Loch Trool
After a coffee overlooking Kielder Water, we rode across country to Castle Douglas, where we stopped at Ernespie Farm for lunch. I had homemade spinach, apple and parsnip soup with a cheese scone at the large café, and would recommend it to other people road tripping in this area.
The Scottish borders are truly beautiful – and the roads lovely and quiet. The second highlight came after Newton Stewart, where we rode along narrow and winding roads through Galloway Forest Park. Just the most beautiful ride through a very green landscape. No Raiders’ Road Forest Drive for us, but this bit of tarmac was a decent enough consolation.
At one point we ended up spread out quite over some distance, so I couldn’t see anyone in front or behind me. It felt like I had the whole forest to myself; just me and my bike, the road and the scenery. At the end of this stretch we reached Loch Trool, which has a stone to commemorate Robert the Bruce and the Battle of Trool in 1307. Oh, and a baby adder enjoying the viewpoint!
The third highlight of the day came quickly after, as we left Loch Trool and continued along the narrow and winding roads, gradually climbing until we were out of the trees. We rode along a balcony road carved into the hillside, which was like riding a mountain pass even though we weren’t really that high. The views were huge.
That evening we stayed in Ayr, which looked like it might have been a nice place for a wander if we’d had the time. If you are in Ayr for dinner anytime, I highly recommend The Bistro. We had an excellent meal – the food and service were both fantastic.
Sunday Funday
Sunday was a much shorter day on the bikes, starting with a coastal road along a rather atmospheric-looking Firth of Clyde to Largs (no sunshine today), before picking up a beautiful winding road over high countryside to Loch Thom. Another utterly stunning bit of tarmac, which took us through the view to Greenock rather than having to stay on the A7.
We did have to pick up the main road again in order to cross Erskine Bridge to continue north, which was a bit busy at times, but you can’t have it quiet all the time in a place that is so densely populated.
Every other time I’ve been up this way – by bike or car – I’ve taken the A82 at this point, to head along the west shore of Loch Lomond. But this time we turned right, on the old military road to Drymen, which I recognised from my West Highland Way adventure.
After excellent coffee and cake at The Station Coffee Shop in Aberfoyle, the next order of business was to ride along the spectacular Duke’s Pass, which is apparently one of the UK’s best motorcycling roads. Our second gravel road of the trip – Three Locks Forest Drive – was just a short way along this pass.
Three Locks Forest Drive
Half the distance of Kielder Forest Drive, and much busier (there were a lot of other people having a Sunday funday too), the Three Lochs Forest Drive is a seven-mile toll road through a another truly beautiful landscape. The twists and turns were certainly sharper and more frequent than at Kielder, but this was still a very easy ride indeed – and the fact that there was much less loose gravel meant I did almost all of it seated.
The three lochs in question on this forest drive are Loch Reoidhte, Loch Drunkie, and Loch Achray – the one-way road links them and allows you to enjoy the forest and wildlife from a immersed vantage point. It was very pretty indeed, and well worth the £3 fee.
I think it perhaps didn’t feel quite as wild and rugged as Kielder, though. It could have been that we had to share the route with quite a few cars (it wasn’t traffic-filled by any means, just not empty!), or it could be that the Kielder Forest Drive was such a great ride that it was never going to be beaten. It is a real shame we didn’t have the opportunity to ride Raiders’ Road Forest Drive to make it three for three – some say that is by far the best one. I guess we’ll have to return pay that one a visit another time.
Hiking in Callander
The final couple of hours of our Sunday ride meant completing Duke’s Pass, and riding along Loch Venacahr, Loch Lubnaig, and Loch Earn – it really was a day of lochs. Just beautiful scenery, even when the traffic built up a bit towards the end of the day. We stopped at the biker-friendly Tullybannocher Café for a late lunch, before riding to Callander, where we stopped for the night.
A shorter riding day meant we arrived at our overnight stop with time to explore – and we chose to go all in with a hike up Callander Craig for some exercise and views. There are quite a few walking options from this little town on the edge of the forest, but this is the one we chose. Inspired by a route from AA Walks (but shortened due to time), we mostly made use of the signposted Callander Craig loop, adding in a there-and-back to the summit cairn.
It was a hard-going mile-long slog through a steeply sloping woodland to get to the top (343m), but as is normally the case, it was worth the effort. The way down through the middle of the woodland was very pretty, too. As someone who loves both motorcycling and hiking, who rarely gets to do both in the same weekend, this was a nice way to end our trip before heading home the following day.
If you find yourself in Callander with a couple of hours to spare, I would highly recommend this one – I plotted the route we ended up walking in OS Maps (start here if you don’t yet have a subscription). Note the actual route zig zags uphill rather than taking the straight line indicated on the map; it’s easy to follow on the ground, though, and has signposting.
Rural Wilderness in the UK
There are only so many ways I can say the scenery on this two-day ride inspired by Adventure Bike Rider magazine was beautiful. But it really was stunning – dark green forest, high open countryside, little villages, farmland, sea views – more than enough to keep the eyes interested.
The roads were pretty special, too, providing plenty of variety for this motorcyclist to enjoy. The two forest drives we used as our excuse to head north were well worth riding, and I would go back to do them again very happily. In fact, I reckon we’ve already come up with a potential week-long itinerary for a future road trip taking in more of Kielder and the Scottish borders, to include both Kielder Forest Drive and Raiders’ Road Forest Drove.
It felt very good indeed to get away from the usual business of riding at home, and find a little bit of rural wilderness in the UK. Even if that meant two days of motorway riding to get to the start and home from the finish. Needs must.
I’m just a bit sad I didn’t get any photos of me with my new bike on our first proper road trip together. I’ll fix that on the next one!
Week Four of National Walking Month
Tuesday 21 May to Friday 24 My: Fresh Air and Errands
It’s a good job I had a nice trip report to include in this weekly blog episode, because my daily walks for National Walking Month have been so very mundane! Four days in a row involved running errands or getting some much-needed fresh air in the middle of the working day. And yes, I know I’ve talked about how exactly this kind of walk is what National Walking Month is all about (you can read some of the background stuff in weekly blog episode 151), but I’m meant to be some hike-loving outdoors woman here. Still, fresh air and running errands was how the week went, so that’s what I have to report.
Saturday 25 May: Great Spotted Woodpecker
Due to be the best weather day of the week, we went for one of our Pittville Park wanders to see if we could see the otters, before heading into town to have breakfast for lunch. No such luck, again, but you know I will keep trying. (Any tips, let me know!) We were however, treated to watching a great spotted woodpecker couple take it in turn to feed their chicks – and got to meet George and Maisie’s five cygnets as the couple brought them over to the bank to show them off.
Sunday 26 May: Buying Milk
With a thunderstorm warning hanging around all day, I didn’t go anywhere for a specific walk, but did go for a walk through the village to buy milk. Yup, that’s it, a walk to buy milk. Worse than a normal working day! Oh well.
Monday 27 May: An Urban Wander
The weather might have been very showery, but inspired by my good friend Sarah, we headed out for an urban wander. And by that, I simply mean a ‘where our feet take us’ wander around the town – along streets and alleyways we might not otherwise go down.
Walks like this always mean finding something unexpected. First up, we came across a café we didn’t know was there. It wasn’t open due to the bank holiday, but we’ll be back to try it another time. And second, we found an old fountain with an interesting backstory. The Imperial Fountain (once called Napoleon’s Fountain) was originally looted from Genova by Napoleon’s army, before being ‘acquired’ at sea by a Bristol privateer. It would have been powered by steam, I kind of wish they’re restored that element when they renovated the fountain, as that would be cool to see.
See You Next Time…
Right, I am done here. I hope you have enjoyed this motorcycle road trip focused weekly blog episode. I’d love to hear if you have ridden or driven (or cycled…) any of those forest drives in the UK, and if you have any other similar suggestions for future UK road trips. Let me know in the comments below.
I don’t really know what is in store over the last few days of May… work, naturally, but who knows what else. I shan’t comment on how ridiculous it is that we start June 2024 this coming weekend – but you know, time is at it again.
If things go to plan, you will have my full trip report from the Test Valley to read later this week. And if you missed my latest currently loving list, you can head over to read that next. See you next time.
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