Today is our paper anniversary so we thought we would let the Cal Mac Ferries take some of the strain. We started the day with a leisurely breakfast before cycling 5 minutes from the hotel to the ferry terminal for the 9:45am to Brodd*** on the isle of Arran. The day had started cloudy but as we stood on deck patches of sunlight broke through the cloud, highlighting some the mountains and forests of "Little Scotland" across the water. The cycling was beautiful...

Our first day of cycling in Scotland began well. From the B&B we followed the Solway Firth, past Caerlaverlock Castle and Nature Reserve before heading along the river to Dumfries. We picked up a sandwich each from a deli, replenished battery supplies and then got a bit lost on the way out of town... We did get to see the local rowing club out on the water though. When we found the main road out and headed for the hills, the climbing was easy and the scener...

After a fantastic breakfast, we packed lunch into the panniers and headed off to the Lake District. The day started relatively easily following the river from Kirkby Lonsdale. Then as we approached the M6 the road climbed steeply upwards, under the carriageway, to the top of a hill to present a view of the lakes, the dales and military jets flying low (lower than us) through the valley. The sky was crystal clear and we could see for miles ahead as we raced down...

The best way to depict the day of cycling from Leigh is to imagine a graph with time along the x axis and a straight line bisecting the x & y axis. Now the y axis could represent any number of subjects... The view, enjoyment of the cycling, quality of the roads, altitude and pain in the arse. The roads and cycling around Leigh was horrible, the roads were poorly maintained and very busy. It was slow progress, cycling into a head wind. But a few miles out of ...

After a good night's sleep in our own bed and a big breakfast, we got on our way at about 10am (getting out takes a lot longer when you have to feed and clear up after yourself). The going was good and flat for the day and we made good progress into Cheshire. The day was uneventful and easy going, the inner chainring got hardly any use at all. We had a stop at the Penny Farthing Cafe in Knutsford, where we found a LEJOG sign (see photo). We booked somewhere to ...