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The ‘2018 Tour of Britain’ Leg Three – Markinch

The Balbirnie Stone Circle.

Markinch is a small town in Fife, Scotland, with a population of around 2,500 and lies to the east of the administrative centre of Fife – Glenrothes. It’s history is apparently much unknown, but relics of its past are said to date back to around 3000 BC.

Lomond Hills Regional Park.
Edinburgh with the throngs heading to the Festival.

Thanks to its train connections we were able to enjoy the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and with a short car journey the following day the Lomond Hills Regional Park – where the rain well and truly hit us and would plague us for much of the remainder of the holiday!

More of Edinburgh.

The Balbirnie Golf Course, where we stayed next to in its Caravan Park, provided traffic free running with its well signposted network of footpaths.

Lomond Hills Regional Park.

Day 7 – Wednesday 8th August 2018 – If You’re Fond of Bike Lanes and Rainy Air….

The route for my first run in Markinch came about by the need to check out where the train station was for our planned visit to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival the following day.

One of many cycle paths in Glenrothes.

Once there I noted a bike path that looked interesting and so I followed it. That was around a mile and bought me out in a modern housing estate where not long after it split into two further cycle paths and then two more. I had choices on which one to take and so I chose the one that said Leslie – for no other reason than it was marked as being around 3 miles away which would be perfect for a 10 mile out and back run.

Another cycle path in Glenrothes – it even has a proper junction!

So what followed was not the most scenic run I’ve ever done in not the greatest weather (a bit rainy, not that warm) but what it was was a great example of a decent network of bike paths (I believe my path was a former railway line converted to become a cycle path) that kept the run blissfully traffic free.

View of the viaduct at Leslie.

Skirting to the south of Glenrothes I arrived at a large viaduct where a photo was required as I entered Leslie itself. A quick run up to the main high street and a look around before turning around and running back from whence  I came. As I’ve often done on these type of runs over the years I tried to pick up the pace a bit for the return leg, suspecting there may be a Strava segment or two to target. I put particular effort into the run back to Markinch train station and was rewarded for with my first crown on an existing segment of the holiday.

Once I’d made my way back to the Caravan Park and uploaded my run to Strava it transpired that the Glenrothes area has a thriving Strava community with a plethora of segments, particularly on the cycle paths, including the semi official Boblingen Way Mile. I was tempted to return to have a proper stab at that section and others but the lure to explore other areas was too great!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 7:22(7:22/m) 119/134bpm 75cal 8.14/8.85mph
2) 1m – 7:10(7:10/m) 134/144bpm 91cal 8.37/8.89mph
3) 1m – 7:02(7:02/m) 138/152bpm 89cal 8.54/9.04mph
4) 1m – 6:39(6:39/m) 146/152bpm 95cal 9.02/10.14mph
5) 1m – 6:42(6:42/m) 141/154bpm 83cal 8.96/10.1mph
6) 1m – 6:49(6:49/m) 139/154bpm 78cal 8.81/11.29mph
7) 1m – 6:12(6:12/m) 147/154bpm 86cal 9.68/10.33mph
8) 1m – 6:09(6:09/m) 151/154bpm 90cal 9.75/10.08mph
9) 1m – 6:12(6:12/m) 148/152bpm 84cal 9.69/10.81mph
10) 1m – 6:11(6:11/m) 155/164bpm 92cal 9.7/10.6mph
11) 0.41m – 2:46(6:50/m) 149/152bpm 36cal 8.78/9.29mph

Best Strava Segment Performance: Haig heave up ‘ta station – 1st/253

Day 8 – Thursday 9th August 2018 – Pre Edinburgh Festival Warm Up.

Thursday was the day earmarked for a full day of family fun at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival so Day 8 saw me having to get my sh*t together and be up an out of the caravan door as early as possible. I managed 7:40am, which by many others standard is fairly rubbish, but for me is pretty early!

Balbirnie Park Golf Club, resplendent in the ‘early’ morning light.

This early start meant more of a shuffle in the opening stages than usual, especially as much of the opening mile was a steady drag up the main road of the Balbirnie Golf Course grounds. Once up and out of the park I had options on where to attempt to run.  The bridle paths I could see looked a touch too technical; the A92 a bit overwhelming with traffic. My options looked limited, but I saw a sign directing me to Star, which seemed an intriguing place to visit. Moreover, once I’d tackled a short stretch of Stob Cross Road I could take a left onto a road with no name marked as a cycle route, which I assumed would guarantee near traffic free seclusion.

Sadly, while I am sure this road is probably very quiet for the most part, running on it at the height of rush hour proved to be a somewhat traumatic affair. With numerous undulations, tight bends and blind spots aplenty, it was a case of trying as hard as possible to stay on the correct sight of the road to allow car drivers as much time to see me as possible. Alas on one bend I was stuck between a rock and a hard place with cars approaching from both directions and I must of given one of the drivers a bit of a scare for she chose to beep her horn for a good 5-10 seconds after she passed. All I can do is apologise for any distress concerned, but there was little I could do.

Thankfully this dangerous section only lasted a mile or so before I could take a left into the much quieter road running through Star. This village failed to live up to its grand sounding title, for while it looked pleasant enough, it was just a small village in Fife. Before long I had run through it and found myself back on the busy road a little further on.

The road from Star to Markinch – at times busier than anticipated!

Thankfully although there was more traffic than desired, including a bus and a heavy goods vehicle looking a little lost, there was no repeat of the earlier passing car dramas and I was able to make it back to the outskirts of the golf course unscathed.

I had though only covered around 6.5 miles so had to try and find another 3.5 miles to run. This involved me running back through the golf course with an unsuccessful attempt to follow the path that looped much of the Balbirnie Park grounds.

Markinch Park.

With a couple of miles still required I headed to Markinch Park which I looped twice, once reasonably quickly in the hope of grabbing any Strava segments set up. I managed to claim fourth. This was though  a good day for Strava, with four first places secured on existing segments – not bad considering that for the most part it was a pretty low effort performance after the quicker efforts on the footpath the previous afternoon.

With the park run done, it was just a case of heading back to the caravan park, watching as the Garmin clocked over ten miles, stopping at 10.08, and changing quicker than a Mercedes AMG F1 pit stop to get to the train station in time for Edinburgh!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 7:57(7:57/m) 119/133bpm 81cal 7.55/8.31mph
2) 1m – 7:30(7:30/m) 128/143bpm 85cal 7.99/8.97mph
3) 1m – 6:54(6:54/m) 138/150bpm 92cal 8.69/9.06mph
4) 1m – 6:47(6:47/m) 133/148bpm 75cal 8.84/9.56mph
5) 1m – 7:02(7:02/m) 141/147bpm 93cal 8.54/9.52mph
6) 1m – 6:51(6:51/m) 137/149bpm 79cal 8.76/10.96mph
7) 1m – 6:47(6:47/m) 140/153bpm 84cal 8.84/9.37mph
8) 1m – 6:59(6:59/m) 134/150bpm 70cal 8.6/9.2mph
9) 1m – 6:56(6:56/m) 133/145bpm 64cal 8.65/9.16mph
10) 1m – 6:45(6:45/m) 139/146bpm 77cal 8.89/9.68mph
11) 0.08m – 39(7:45/m) 138/142bpm 6cal 7.74/7.91mph

Best Strava Segment Performances: Star Escape – 1st/19; Balbirnie edge brow dual run – 1st/42; Brow Bash Blast – 1st/36; Golf drive to wall – 1st/92.

Day 9 – Friday 10th August 2018 – Cobbled together a loop with only a couple of wrong turns.

It was another relatively early start for the final run in Markinch, setting off at just after 8 am and heading again to the nearby Balbirnie Golf Club for an attempt at following the bridle path that circulates around the perimeter of the golf course.

A bridle path in Balbirnie Park Golf Club.

The first mile was pretty technical and a stop/start affair as I lost the path on several occasions and had to resort to Google Maps to work out where to run. Once the painfully slow opening mile (8:44) was out of the way the legs loosened up nicely and I settled down into running fairly comfortably under 7 minutes per mile for the remainder of the run. I had left the Golf Club accidentally after a mile and a half and soon found myself in new housing estate a cul-de-sac. This time I didn’t rely on Google Maps but my eagle eyes to spot a footpath that took me out onto the busy A92, which thankfully had a decent pavement to let me run south, skirting past Glenrothes – the town centre of which I never did get to see.

Thornton – the flower display was the highlight.

I left the A92 to hit the much quieter B9130 which took me to Thornton, a town whose flower display in a wheelbarrow above was probably its highlight. With six miles covered I was very keen to make the run a loop rather than an out and back affair and so consulted the Google Maps to try and chart a run back. A network of roads that took me north past the fantastically literal sounding Coaltown of Balgonie and back towards Markinch looked the order of the day so I headed to them.

I very nearly missed these roads before I realised that they were in fact a series of gravel paths, not dissimilar to many found on a run in England, but slightly more unusual in that they clearly fed some traffic as there were quite a few houses en route.

A gravel road heading out of Thornton.

Nearly two miles later and I was back onto normal roads and a simple run back into Markinch made slightly tougher with a 2/3s mile climb averaging 3%. By the time I’d made it back to the Caravan Club I’d clocked 10.6 miles in a smidge under 7 minute mile average. With Leg 3 done and dusted it was onwards and upwards into the Highlands!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 8:47(8:47/m) 118/142bpm 89cal 6.83/7.66mph
2) 1m – 7:29(7:29/m) 133/142bpm 96cal 8.01/8.56mph
3) 1m – 6:57(6:57/m) 130/142bpm 80cal 8.63/9.12mph
4) 1m – 6:32(6:32/m) 141/149bpm 90cal 9.18/10.29mph
5) 1m – 6:39(6:39/m) 140/150bpm 87cal 9.03/9.58mph
6) 1m – 6:26(6:26/m) 139/147bpm 79cal 9.32/9.93mph
7) 1m – 6:55(6:55/m) 135/142bpm 74cal 8.67/9.25mph
8) 1m – 6:47(6:47/m) 132/145bpm 63cal 8.84/12.17mph
9) 1m – 6:45(6:45/m) 137/146bpm 73cal 8.9/9.46mph
10) 1m – 6:42(6:42/m) 142/158bpm 80cal 8.96/10.23mph
11) 0.6m – 3:55(6:31/m) 147/154bpm 55cal 9.21/9.83mph

Best Strava Segment Performances: Escape from Balbirnie – 3rd/61; Alburnie V down – 3rd/208.

Leg Three Summary

Distance Run: 31.1 miles. Average Pace: 6:54 per mile. Accumulated Time: 3:34:16. Average HR: 137; Total Ascent: 376 meters.

 

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The ‘2018 Tour of Britain’ Leg Four – Morvich

 

Spectacular surrounds at Morvich Caravan Park.

Morvich is a very small highland settlement within land owned by the Scottish National Trust consisting of no more than a few houses, a youth hostel or two, a mountain rescue centre and a Caravan Park in the Highlands of Scotland on the southern edge of Loch Duich.

Loch Duich from the village of Morvich.

Morvich is very close to the A87 which heads north to the Isle of Skye and other popular tourist destinations. it is also a popular base for hiking.

Heading to the The Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye.
The Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye – the best we saw of it on a very cloudy day.

The Highlands is renowned for its climate that helps keep the grass lush and green and the lochs full of water. While it was noticeable how scorched much of the grass looked and how low the lochs appeared, the weather was mostly cloudy and sometimes wet on our visit – which is what we half expected, but was a touch disappointed nonetheless.

Plockton on a wet, drab afternoon.

Day 10 – Saturday 11th August 2018 – Almost Solitude 👌

This was a run I was fearing and looking forward to in equal measure. The opportunity to run in the spectacular surrounds of the Highlands was a thrilling prospect. The thought of having to get my body up and active after a 180 mile drive towing a caravan on some of the more demanding A roads on these isles was less than attractive. Having done the drive, set up the caravan and had lunch I was ready to collapse. But there was a run to be done and so I changed into my kit and off I headed.

I’d already decided for my first run in the Highlands I was going to do an out and back on a track that appeared to run for several miles to nowhere in particular except for a building that was marked on Google Maps. Fearing some really tired legs I was pleasantly surprised that the opening mile was a not too slow 7:35. I was a touch disappointed to see the road turn into a gravel track (as I predicted) and then stop at a cul-de-sac of two houses. A quick inspection on the Google Maps showed that the track I wanted I’d missed (It was a gated bridle path I’d ignored a little while earlier). Heading back I felt my guts churn in a not pleasant way so I opted to head back to the Caravan Park to use the facilities and begin the run afresh.

The beautiful trail running from Morvinch.

Feeling much better and a little lighter I resumed the run. Mile two was a 6:39 which was really quite unexpected. Finding the correct bridle path this time I set off on what turned out to be three and a half miles of almost pure solitude and pure bliss.

Spectacular views on the trail from Morvich. (Not a Strava picture)

Hugging the River Croe the path offered constantly changing views of the multitude of surrounding hills and mountains knwn as the Five Sisters of Kintail. The run out was a start / stop affair as I spent almost as much time admiring the scenery and taking photos as I did running.

Spectacular views on the path from Morvich (Also not  a Strava picture).

The path was easy to run on at first but as the minutes passed the gravel began to get bigger and more of the path took on the form of small rocks, which were tricky to run on and required a good deal of concentration to avoid trips and potential ankle sprains.

The beautiful trail running from Morvinch – the sheep nearly the only company I found.

Despite the lack of recent rain there were also quite a few small streams to cross, most of which had rocks handily placed to tip toe across. I imagine in wetter times this run would have been far more challenging. It was at such a stream I encountered pretty much my only company for the day – a flock of sheep. The solitude was further broken a little while later when I passed a small group of young trekkers who looked distinctly weary. I passed them on the way back and rather creepily perhaps (for them) twice more on future runs as they were staying in the same caravan park.

A lone inhabited building in the middle of nowhere.

Having run a couple of miles before hitting the path I knew it would be around six miles before I hopefully spotted the lone building. Sure enough I crested a small rise and spotted it in the distance. As I passed it I had to stop and wonder how it must feel to live in a house as secluded as this and what fate befell the owners of a very derelict house next to it.

A derlict lone building on the trail (Another picture that failed to make the Strava cut).

Just a short way past the house was a bridge which I crossed and continued running for just a short way before I sensed it was going to get very technical very quickly as it narrowed and steepened. I turned back around and headed to the bridge – stopping for a minute or two to enjoy the tranquillity.

The view from the bridge (Not on Strava either).

With the sightseeing over it was a case of running the next four and a bit miles back to base. There was no stopping now as I enjoyed the moderately technical nature of the path which was by now really working the muscles in the feet and legs far more used to running on roads and fairly level terrain.

I wasn’t particularly interested in the pace of the run but was pleased to have covered the 10.6 miles in 7:04, especially given how tired I was after the long journey into the Highlands.

Once I’d uploaded my run, I noted there was a Strava segment that looked like it was for a race that takes place in the area. I had no chance of claiming that as I had stopped many times to take pictures. On my return home I did though create a similar segment for the return back to Morvinch which I was pleased to have claimed top spot! This though was not a run about segments but about soaking in the stunning scenery that this part of the world has to offer.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 7:35(7:35/m) 121/138bpm 82cal 7.91/9mph
2) 1m – 6:40(6:40/m) 132/146bpm 82cal 9/10.52mph
3) 1m – 6:59(6:59/m) 141/150bpm 97cal 8.59/9.41mph
4) 1m – 7:03(7:03/m) 141/151bpm 95cal 8.51/9.46mph
5) 1m – 7:10(7:10/m) 148/152bpm 106cal 8.38/9.18mph
6) 1m – 7:44(7:44/m) 139/158bpm 87cal 7.77/9.43mph
7) 1m – 7:45(7:45/m) 138/152bpm 87cal 7.74/9.41mph
8) 1m – 6:48(6:48/m) 144/151bpm 89cal 8.83/10.75mph
9) 1m – 6:45(6:45/m) 147/154bpm 93cal 8.9/9.52mph
10) 1m – 6:40(6:40/m) 150/156bpm 96cal 9/9.75mph
11) 0.61m – 3:51(6:15/m) 146/150bpm 47cal 9.59/11.81mph

Best Strava Segment Performance: Back to Morvich – 1st/79

Day 11 – Sunday 12th August 2018 – Mam Ratagan and Back

The second run in Morvich and I decided to attempt to take to the only road I could relatively safely tackle in the area. The A87 has a section with a pavement as it heads to Inverinate but much beyond that and it is no place for a runner to be, especially in the month of August with the multitude of caravans and motorhomes flying along the twisting road.

The road I had to play with was the Old Military Road, which runs on the opposite side of Loch Duich and is signposted as a tourist route alternative to the A87 and the Isle of Skye via a ferry. While it was unlikely to be traffic free I was confident that the A87 would take the vast majority of the through traffic and it would be no more risky than many other country roads I have run on.

Heading off at 8:30am the run was immediately compromised by a landslide (which had occurred some time before we had arrived) on the most direct route out of Morvich to the A87. I had no alternative but to take the diversion onto the A87 and over the causeway and bridge that was built to bypass the A87 away from Morvich itself. This added around a mile each way to the run, but thankfully at least there was a pavement to run on.

Loch Duich at Shiel Bridge.

Once over the bridge the pavement left the main road briefly to a quiet footpath before rejoining the A87 at Shiel Bridge. Just as the pavement ran out I could take the right turn over Shiel Bridge and onto the Old Military Road. This road was originally built in the 1750s before being rebuilt in the 1820s taking a route from Fort Augustus to Bernera. Having perused the road on Google Maps I fancied a run up to the Mam Ratagan viewpoint a few miles literally up the road.

My legs were not too bad after the day before – after the customary steady opening mile (7:34) I slipped into a comfortable pace of around 6:50 for miles 2 to 4. I then began the near two mile long climb which only averaged 5% but held some surprises along the way. Part of the Highlands experience has to be running some proper hills, so I was, in a perverse way, looking forward to the challenge.

Loch Duich running up Mam Ratagan.

It began as a drag and then as I worked my way further and further up it began to steepen: 8%, then 10% then, as it approached where I assumed was the top it was signposted as 18% average but in places felt much steeper – not quite the 30% the Strava segment suggests, but probably short sections were around 20-25%.

Slowly making my way up I stopped briefly to take a photo before taking on the final onslaught via a set of steep hairpin bends which made my running feel like a crawl to the extent where walking felt like it could have been a quicker option.

View from Mam Ratagan.

With one final effort I finally reached the Mam Ratagan viewpoint. I stopped briefly to take in the scenery and to take a photo, but as I was sharing the experience with a young couple who had clearly slept the night there in their car (A common occurrence in Scotland where laws on where you can stay overnight are different from the rest of the UK) were thankfully doing nothing more than brushing their teeth, I kept the visit short. While the view there was good, the abundance of growing trees at this point, made the vista slightly lower down the hill, in my opinion, slightly superior.

A little later on in the day, it was a surprise when I uploaded my run to the world that I had claimed both the Old Military Road Climb segments on Strava despite at least one stop to take photos. That said, the road is not exactly over frequented by runners, based on the single digit numbers of those who have uploaded to Strava and covered the segment. It may though be more popular with cyclists as it features in the Scotland edition of the seminal Britain’s Greatest Cycling Climbs. I only discovered this by chance from a club mate who noted my effort on Strava and wondered if I’d deliberately targeted it. I was a bit disappointed to find out that I never quite made it to the top of the climb as described in the book. It’s a long way to go back to finish the job!

The out section of the run covered with just under six miles on the Garmin I knew it was going to be run closer to 12 miles than the customary 10. As I plunged down the steepest section of the climb I had some severe pains in the quads which normally precedes a bout of debilitating cramp. I tried my best to relax and not tense the legs and was relieved when the gradient reduced a little and the pains subsided, not to the point of them disappearing, but enough for it to not affect the remainder of the run.

Having taken a hit with the uphill (a 7:05 and a 7:59 mile, although Strava GAP has them both as sub six minute miles) the average pace for the run recovered as I continued the 2.4 mile downhill run back to Shiel Bridge, running 5:58, 6:15, and 6:28 for miles 7-9. Back on the A87 I decided that it was probably best to continuing pushing rather than easing up as far as the quads were concerned, so continued with 6:37, 6:30 and 6:29 miles, not stopping at any point of the run, to end the 12 miles in 1:21:43 at an average of 6:47. This was pretty pleasing considering the severity of the climb I’d run as I passed the halfway mark in the Tour of Britain.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 7:35(7:35/m) 124/138bpm 88cal 7.91/8.97mph
2) 1m – 6:55(6:55/m) 132/140bpm 89cal 8.67/9.18mph
3) 1m – 6:46(6:46/m) 135/143bpm 86cal 8.87/9.75mph
4) 1m – 6:48(6:48/m) 138/147bpm 85cal 8.83/10.98mph
5) 1m – 7:05(7:05/m) 153/165bpm 108cal 8.47/9.35mph
6) 1m – 8:00(8:00/m) 160/169bpm 122cal 7.5/9.85mph
7) 1m – 5:58(5:58/m) 133/138bpm 50cal 10.06/11mph
8) 1m – 6:15(6:15/m) 139/148bpm 72cal 9.59/10.54mph
9) 1m – 6:28(6:28/m) 146/150bpm 86cal 9.29/9.87mph
10) 1m – 6:37(6:37/m) 149/152bpm 92cal 9.06/9.43mph
11) 1m – 6:30(6:30/m) 151/155bpm 91cal 9.22/10.27mph
12) 1m – 6:29(6:29/m) 148/156bpm 81cal 9.25/9.83mph
13) 0.04m – 17(7:22/m) 146/146bpm 3cal 8.15/8.83mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:s Old Military Road Climb – 1st/12; Old Military Road Climb – 1st/7; Down Old Military Road to Shiel Bridge – 1st/2; Keeping Safe on the A87 – 1st/72; From the A87 to Morvich – 1st/28

Day 12 – Monday 13th August 2018 – Loch Duich – high and low

Having tackled the only obvious footpath on the Saturday and the only real safe road on the Sunday, I must admit I was wondering where I was going to run for the third and final run in Morvich. It was only when I was driving back along the A87 near Inverinate with the family from a trip to Kyle of Lochalsh and a rainy Plockton, that I spotted on the side of the road a sign for a footpath into woodland. This looked as though it could be just what I needed!

A long journey to the Isle of Skye was planned for later in the day so it was out of the caravan fairly early at 8 am for the Monday morning run. The first mile was fairly slow and tortuous while the legs struggled to wake up on the road out of Morvich. I wasn’t long on the A87 when I spotted a different path to the woodland than the one I’d seen the day before, and grabbed the opportunity to explore without hesitation.

A woodland path heading towards Inverinate.

I soon began heading upwards: rocks, trees, and the occasional stream to the right of me, trees, trees, and more trees to the left. It was quite hard work as I climbed a not especially steep gradient, the legs still a little unwilling to activate. Mile three was a pedestrian 9:01, although Strava GAP reckons it was worth a 6:45 once the elevation is taken into account.

After a mile and a half of climbing the hill levelled off and there was quite a rock formation to the right of me and quite a remarkable view to the left of me, with a splendid vista of Loch Duich around 200 feet below me.  I stopped to reel off some photos and take stock of the view before carrying on along the track. Alas as the track became less pronounced and the abundance of grass more apparent I feared the end was nigh and indeed it was that the path came to an abrupt end.

Loch Duich – high.

There was little else to do but turn around and head back from where I came – this time quicker thanks to gravity but not especially fast – this was not a day where any world records would be set. Two thirds of the way down I spotted what looked like an alternate route but reckoned it would be prudent to stay on the path I knew. This took me back on the A87, but with only just over five miles covered, I knew I had to do some more exploring to make up the distance.

So I headed up the A87 back towards Inverinate, knowing there was a pavement beside it for a good deal of the way. I passed some houses and a small primary school; once the houses ceased a fairly long uphill drag commenced. I spotted the gate to the woodland path I’d spotted in the car the day before and tried to get in. However I couldn’t get the gate to open and the sight of an unleashed dog staring at me with angry eyes in the distance made me think better of this route and went back to the main road.

Loch Duich – low.

After a mile and a half or so I reckoned I could turn around and head back and clock 10 miles by the time I reached the Caravan Park. This I did via a small diversion from the A87 down a small footpath and a quiet road where the select group of residents could enjoy a most tranquil view of Loch Duich each and every morning. Buoyed on by quite a long gentle down hill run I was able to maintain a good steady pace for the remaining couple of miles in 6:35 and 6:25 respectably. This couldn’t prevent however, at 7:20 per mile, this run being the fourth slowest of the Tour. But what it lacked in pace it made up with one of the most memorable Surprise Views of the holiday.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 8:03(8:03/m) 122/134bpm 90cal 7.45/8.33mph
2) 1m – 8:04(8:04/m) 129/143bpm 96cal 7.44/9.2mph
3) 1m – 9:01(9:01/m) 139/151bpm 117cal 6.65/7.58mph
4) 1m – 7:31(7:31/m) 124/146bpm 65cal 7.98/8.87mph
5) 1m – 6:49(6:49/m) 121/136bpm 52cal 8.8/9.27mph
6) 1m – 6:57(6:57/m) 127/140bpm 66cal 8.64/9.5mph
7) 1m – 7:10(7:10/m) 137/149bpm 85cal 8.36/10.6mph
8) 1m – 6:46(6:46/m) 132/146bpm 67cal 8.88/9.91mph
9) 1m – 6:35(6:35/m) 142/147bpm 88cal 9.1/9.73mph
10) 1m – 6:25(6:25/m) 146/152bpm 89cal 9.36/10.18mph
11) 0.05m – 23(7:04/m) 143/145bpm 5cal 8.48/9.31mph

Best Strava Segment Performance: From the A87 to Morvich – 1st/28

Leg Four Summary

Distance Run: 32.7 miles. Average Pace: 7:03 per mile. Accumulated Time: 3:50:27. Average HR: 138; Total Ascent: 1174 meters.

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The ‘2018 Tour of Britain’ – Leg Six – Dalston (Carlisle)

For our penultimate stop on our grand tour of northern Britain we headed 200 miles south from the Highlands via the mostly beautiful, at times challenging, A82, and the less scenic but undeniably easier to drive M74, which magically became the M6 as we returned to England and stayed at Dalston Hall Caravan Site, where a misjudgement over the height of the barrier very nearly wrote off our caravan!

Dalston is a large village around 4 miles southwest of Carlisle. Home of a Nestle factory ‘which has been on the outskirts of the village since 1952, processing 65 million litres of milk each year, and almost one billion sachets of Nescafe Cafe Menu products’ there was also a very nice fish and chip shop which we visited on the Saturday night!

A festival in Cockermouth.

Lying north of the Lake District, there was no shortage of places to visit on our short stay. We enjoyed Wordsworth’s house in Cockermouth, which happened to have a festival on that day (Our third on our trip!).

Keswick high street – Pedestrianised since our last visit nearly ten years ago!

We visited Keswick for perhaps the fifth time – we really enjoyed the Puzzling Place – a museum crammed with mind bending illusions and puzzles.

Moss Force at Newlands Hause.

From there we headed to Moss Force and Knott Rigg on Newlands Pass near Buttermere for some enjoyable Lake District hill scrambling and challenging driving. Carlisle provided a welcome playground for the kids who were beginning to tire of daily walks and we left Carlisle thinking that we definitely need to return to the Lake District again for a longer than three night stay.

Knott Rigg with Newlands Pass and Buttermere in the distance.
Knott Rigg.

Day 16 – Friday 17th August 2018 – Into Carlisle and Out Again

After the long drive south back into England I wanted little more than a simple, uncomplicated afternoon ten mile run with perhaps the odd sight or two to enjoy. The first issue was that the road on which the Caravan Park lay,  was a fairly busy, fast B-Road, with plenty of traffic heading out of Carlisle towards somewhere. I wanted to head to Carlisle itself but didn’t fancy running on the road. Thankfully the owner of the caravan park told me there was a footpath that ran to a cycle path that ran all the way to Carlisle and beyond.

The footpath on Dalston Manor Golf Course I became pretty familiar with.

Cycle paths are great for uncomplicated running I thought, so at a few minutes before 4 pm I headed off, under fairly leaden skies but, for the time being, dry. The route to the cycle path was quite a fun affair – across a golf course, down through some woodlands, along a well manicured grass path in a field, through another section of woodland before popping out on the main B Road just before Dalston, but right next to a private road which, if you headed along, through the self operated level crossing (a first for me!) headed to the long awaited cycle path. This sounds simple but required a fair amount of stopping and Google Map checking to assure myself that I was going in the right direction.

All this twisting and turning meant, at 8:02, the first mile was pretty slow, but once on the cycle path the pace naturally lowered to or just under 7 minute miles. I was though, having discovered that day there was a parkrun in Carlisle taking place on Saturday morning, taking it deliberately easy.

The cycle path running close to the railway.

The path ran alongside a fairly quiet railway, at times it got very close to the railway – close enough to almost be able to touch a passing train if you were to be so stupid. I wasn’t so I carried on running.  Arriving at the small village of Cummersdale I was briefly running on road before joining another path that was a little more undulating having left the path of the railway and instead copying the path of the River Caldew.

Cummersdale Holmes cycle path in Carlisle (Not a Strava picture).

After five miles of running I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever reach Carlisle, but the welcoming sight of a signpost for Carlisle Castle assured me that I was indeed in the heart of the city.

Carlisle Castle.

Crossing a pedestrian bridge I stopped briefly to take a photo of the outside of the castle. Behind me was a the busy A595 which didn’t look to fun to run along so with some more Google mapping I cut into the heart of Carlisle, passing the Cathedral and through the pedestrianised shopping centre.

Carlisle Cathedral – just before the rain came.

I then got a little lost trying to get myself on the Dalston Road which I figured may just take me back to Dalston where I was staying. Things weren’t helped by a squally shower making things decidedly unpleasant for a while before things calmed down, but didn’t exactly brighten up.

I ran along Dalston Road for a couple of miles, where in total I managed to notch up a trio of 7:11 miles. At a set of roadworks I noted that I could take a quiet road back to the small village of Cummersdale where I reckoned I could rejoin the cycle path back to the Caravan Park rather than face running on the busy main road back during the heart of a Friday evening rush hour.

Once I’d worked out that I could follow the road down to the main cycle path and ignore the foot paths across muddy fields, it was with some relief that I was back on the cycle path, where I knocked out a couple of easy six fifty something miles to bring me back to to the Caravan Park via the twists and turns of the unofficial footpath of the golf course. A ten and a third mile done with the minimum of energy expenditure followed by the plushest showers I’ve ever used at a Caravan Park! Happy Days!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 8:02(8:02/m) 113/133bpm 74cal 7.47/8.72mph
2) 1m – 6:57(6:57/m) 127/141bpm 80cal 8.64/9.08mph
3) 1m – 6:50(6:50/m) 136/144bpm 90cal 8.78/9.27mph
4) 1m – 6:52(6:52/m) 135/148bpm 84cal 8.75/9.33mph
5) 1m – 7:11(7:11/m) 131/145bpm 75cal 8.35/9.29mph
6) 1m – 7:10(7:10/m) 130/145bpm 73cal 8.36/10.27mph
7) 1m – 7:11(7:11/m) 142/148bpm 97cal 8.35/9.1mph
8) 1m – 6:54(6:55/m) 131/147bpm 64cal 8.69/9.89mph
9) 1m – 6:51(6:51/m) 143/148bpm 91cal 8.76/9.33mph
10) 1m – 7:01(7:01/m) 143/148bpm 91cal 8.54/9.73mph
11) 0.33m – 2:39(7:58/m) 148/154bpm 37cal 7.53/8.95mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  Richie to pirelli lane – 36th/490

Day 17 – Saturday 18th August 2018 – Five miles then Carlisle parkrun (1st, 17:59), five miles to end it.

Unlike the Tees Barrage parkrun in Stockton that I was aware of in advance of us setting off on holiday, I genuinely wasn’t aware that there was a parkrun in Carlisle until a day or so before arriving at Dalston. I really don’t know why I didn’t think there would be a parkrun in a city, but it never crossed my mind.

Once I knew there was, there was the logistics of trying to get to it by running and not driving. Fortunately it was only three and a half miles away – as long as I ran on the busy B road from Dalston into Carlisle, a mile or so would have me running on the road. I reckoned that, at just after 8 am,  the traffic would not be so bad and thankfully I was proved correct, with less than a handful of cars passing me, all able to give me plenty of space as they passed.

Chance’s Park, home of Carlisle parkrun.

Considering I had to run through some back streets to make it to the park, I got to Chance’s Park, venue of Carlisle parkrun, relatively smoothly. I did double check with a pair in high-vis bibs that I was in the right place, they assured me I was and I relaxed somewhat. I chatted briefly to another pair of parkrun tourists, our paths would cross later, before heading off for a couple more miles or so working my way around the park, using the toilet facilities, and generally trying to kill half an hour or so before the 5K run began. The pre-parkrun miles were all run at a relaxed pace, the slowest 7:40, the quickest a 7 flat as I ended with a few strides to try and wake the legs.

The pre-run brief for first timers to Carlisle was far briefer than the one I enjoyed at Stockton. There was no map, no real information on where the course went other than it was three laps and we were shown where it began and finished. I had a fair idea of where we went, but I thought it would be prudent, whatever the pace, to not attempt to lead (if such a thing was possible) until the end of the opening lap. There was an intriguing aside from the marshal who pointed out that a lot of the Strava uploads from the parkrun showed the course to be 3.2 miles (5K is 3.1 miles), but was confident that the course was indeed exactly 5K. (I also overheard a couple of regulars who said the course was definitely long as it had been changed slightly from what it was originally).

Before the start of Carlisle parkrun.

At a few minutes past nine I lined up at the front of the 260 odd strong field and waited for the next pre-run biref to commence and finish. Finally at around 9:05 we were on our way. There was the usual surge of runners to the front, I was probably only just in the top ten after 300 meters, but slowly worked my way through to sit fourth at the back of a group of four.

The three lap parkrun was a twisty affair, partly run on grass, partly on footpaths, fairly constantly undulating and for today, pretty windy. It was reminiscent of a cross country course minus mud and spikes and with more tarmac – for which I was grateful. It was a good example of a parkrun in a regular kind of park. After all the definition of what constitutes a park has been stretched somewhat over the years to allow a parkrun to take place.

I stayed fourth until we reached the bottom of the park and made a hairpin bend that took us climbing back up a longish drag. I was confident I knew where the course went from here and felt the pace slow a touch so I pushed on and took the lead near the top of the hill, enjoying the immediate gradual downhill run following a hairpin which meant the pace naturally picked up. I went through a mile in 5:43, which I was pleased with given the undulating twisty nature of the course.

As I turned again sharp left to begin the second lap I tried my best to relax and enjoy the run. Halfway around the second lap before tackling the main climb again, I reckon I only had a few seconds on the second placed runner, by the time I reached the top it had pushed out to 15 or so and I knew that, barring disaster, first place was assured. The second mile was 5:35 and my legs felt great, bounding with confidence and purpose.

The final lap was much the same as the second, I was strongest of the field on the climb and extended my lead further. By now the biggest issue was back markers, of which there were many on a three lap course and on narrow pavements were tough to navigate at times. The third mile was a 5:36 and it was a very long 0.1 of a mile (as it was 0.2) of slightly uncomfortable slightly uphill running to the finish line. I finished first in 17:59, 38 seconds clear of the second placed runner. Given my splits I expected a bit quicker time but, I do believe the course was indeed a touch long.

The end of Carlisle parkrun.

I hung around a few minutes to clap some of the runners behind me home. The tourists I met earlier in the morning came home in a low 20 minutes, which for the girl as a 15-17 junior was very impressive – especially on her first parkrun attempt. She did however feel she was robbed of a position by another runner and I decided to leave before the argument got potentially heated.

Returning to a comfortable pace I made my way back to the Caravan Site. I reckoned the busy B road was indeed looking quite busy so I opted, as I had the day before, to take the left hand turn down to Cummersdale and the bicycle path back to Dalston. This meant that the run was as near as it can be half marathon distance by the time I’d run a lap or two of the caravan park. The average was a pleasing 6:49 and all was good, even if the legs felt pretty tired by the end. It was my third first place at parkrun in a row and I knew that, although the times suggested otherwise, there was some pleasing form arriving in the legs.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 7:41(7:41/m) 126/137bpm 93cal 7.81/8.7mph
2) 1m – 7:08(7:08/m) 132/142bpm 92cal 8.42/9.1mph
3) 1m – 7:20(7:20/m) 128/146bpm 80cal 8.19/9.33mph
4) 1m – 7:15(7:15/m) 137/151bpm 90cal 8.27/9.62mph
5) 1m – 7:00(7:00/m) 143/155bpm 94cal 8.57/10.23mph
6) 1m – 5:43(5:43/m) 159/169bpm 90cal 10.48/11.98mph
7) 1m – 5:35(5:35/m) 172/175bpm 98cal 10.76/11.61mph
8) 1m – 5:36(5:36/m) 174/178bpm 100cal 10.71/11.54mph
9) 1m – 6:53(6:53/m) 144/178bpm 79cal 8.72/11.15mph
10) 1m – 7:05(7:05/m) 146/152bpm 93cal 8.47/10.73mph
11) 1m – 6:49(6:49/m) 140/147bpm 71cal 8.81/9.68mph
12) 1m – 6:57(6:57/m) 145/149bpm 87cal 8.62/10.04mph
13) 1m – 7:31(7:31/m) 143/151bpm 80cal 7.98/9.64mph
14) 0.13m – 59(7:21/m) 139/140bpm 7cal 8.16/8.72mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  Carlisle Parkrun – 17th/1216

Day 18 – Sunday 19th August 2018 – Wet Dalston Loop

For the final run in Dalston I decided to head into Dalston itself, pick a road and see where it would take me, hopefully making a loop out of the run rather than an out and back. As it was 8:30 am on a Sunday morning I reckoned I could safely make the 200 meters or so of road without pavement before making it into Dalston. This I managed to do, running for a mile or so through the large village waiting patiently for the legs to wake up, stopping a the church to take a photo which kind of matched the vintage ones in the nearby fish and chip shop the evening before.

The church in Dalston.

You may spot the pavement is wet and indeed it was raining, lightly at first and gradually intensifying during the run with heavy bursts of precipitation that eased and then returned for the entirety of the run. Fortunately it wasn’t cold, indeed the rain had apparently been blown in by the back end of a tropical storm, so it was actually almost as pleasant as running in the rain can be.

Fred Flintstone looking after someone’s garden in Dalston.

Through Dalston I spotted a sign for a footpath and cycle path so I took that, which went briefly went through park before leading to a bridge and  a private road containing an old factory and then some very pleasant looking houses alongside a stream, one of which was guarded by Fred Flintstone!

I found myself popped out at the other end of Dalston. A quick look at Google Maps showed that if I went up a short hill and turned right, there was a quiet country lane that could lead to more country lanes and the possibility of a loop. I ran along this road for a couple of miles, occasionally stopping to see when this road or roads that would allow me to loop around would appear.

An old sign post – I headed to the ‘village’ of Crown Inn…

I stopped at some houses with a very old looking sign post that included the familiar names of Dalston, Carlisle, Penrith, and Crown Inn. How odd I thought to myself that a pub would be advertised on a road sign post. I know there are examples of this – the road known as the Cat and Fiddle is the pub on top of hill upon which it sits upon is one that springs to mind, but still, I can’t think of many other instances where a pub is so ingrained in the landscape it merits a place on a road sign. I did though wonder, with the sign being so old, whether it still existed.

The Crown Inn – a pub worthy of a signpost in the middle of nowhere!

So I continued along the road for another mile and a half which took me to a set of cross roads with just one solitary building, which was The Crown Inn. It was not the most spectacular pub, looking a little tired – although most would with the weather I was running in.  After a brief stop I turned left and headed towards Durdar. The pace picked up, having struggled to break 7 minute miles I was not running 6:30 and quicker. It was only when I got back and checked the elevation profile did I realise that I had been climbing ever so gently 300 feet for the opening five miles of the run, and was now doing the same but going downhill.

What struck me about this road to Durdar, although it was almost totally devoid of road traffic and had no road markings, it had the hallmarks of a road that was once much busier. Wide enough to almost be an A road with junctions here and there that suggested that this road was once much busier. Indeed around half a mile further along the road was another pub, which had clearly closed some years ago and was in a state of some disrepair. I haven’t been able to confirm it but I can only assume that, pre-M6, this road may have been a far busier, more important road taking drivers north or south – hence the sign posted pub on a crossroads in the middle of nowhere with another not far along the road, both convenient stopping points for the long distance driver. I guess once the M6 arrived this road ceased to have any vital purpose other than taking drivers from one village to the next and, perhaps, taking some slack if there is ever a drama on the nearby M6.

I made it to Durdar with eight miles on the clock and turned left at the cross roads. This road back to Dalston was just as wide as the one I was on, but was still a busy popular road judging by the volume of traffic on it. I can’t say it was the most pleasant experience running on this busy road for three miles or so, in the rain, constantly changing from one side of the road to the other to keep myself visible to traffic on the bends and hills.

It was a relief at 11 miles when I returned to the house guarded by Fred Flinstone and the footpath I’d left some miles earlier. I could relax and head back to the caravan site. I opted at the end of the run to take the unofficial footpath through the golf course once again to my caravan, to make the run a second consecutive half marathon effort. Rather eerily I clocked 13.13 miles (exactly the same as the day before) in 1:29:35, just four seconds slower than the day before. A sub 3 marathon clocked over the 24 hours!

With that run done it was farewell to Carlisle and on to the final destination of the holiday – Yorkshire!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 7:43(7:43/m) 124/134bpm 89cal 7.77/8.89mph
2) 1m – 7:29(7:29/m) 128/135bpm 86cal 8.02/9.1mph
3) 1m – 7:07(7:07/m) 137/146bpm 93cal 8.44/8.81mph
4) 1m – 7:04(7:04/m) 134/148bpm 81cal 8.49/9.48mph
5) 1m – 6:58(6:58/m) 137/150bpm 84cal 8.62/9.33mph
6) 1m – 6:31(6:31/m) 133/143bpm 72cal 9.21/9.66mph
7) 1m – 6:30(6:30/m) 138/147bpm 81cal 9.23/9.83mph
8) 1m – 6:22(6:22/m) 140/148bpm 79cal 9.42/9.79mph
9) 1m – 6:29(6:29/m) 144/152bpm 86cal 9.27/9.91mph
10) 1m – 6:29(6:29/m) 147/155bpm 89cal 9.26/10mph
11) 1m – 6:19(6:19/m) 142/150bpm 75cal 9.51/9.93mph
12) 1m – 6:27(6:27/m) 144/152bpm 82cal 9.29/9.71mph
13) 1m – 7:14(7:14/m) 145/155bpm 92cal 8.3/10.62mph
14) 0.14m – 55(6:38/m) 145/146bpm 11cal 9.06/10.06mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  Through and Out of Dalston – 3rd/68

Leg Six Summary

Distance Run: 36.6 miles. Average Pace: 6:54 per mile. Accumulated Time: 4:12:44. Average HR: 139; Total Ascent: 461 meters.

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The ‘2018 Tour of Britain’ Leg Seven – Knaresborough

Knaresborough, a couple of miles from where we stayed for our final destination on our three week holiday, is a market town of around 15,000 people,  four miles east of the larger Harrogate, in North Yorkshire. Lying on the River Nidd, the town has the popular tourist destinations Mother Shipton’s Caves and Knaresborough Castle.

Fountains Abbey.

We had just one full day to spend in Knaresborough. With many potential places to visit, we headed to the nearby Fountains Abbey. This popular National Trust  is a World Heritage Site and has one of the most impressive ruins of a building I’ve seen (I’m not usually that moved by them). It’s also a venue of what must be an awesome parkrun. One to remember for future trips!

Fountains Abbey – great venue for a parkrun

Day 19 – Monday 20th August 2018 – Knaresborough exploration and likewise in Nidd Gorge.

The relatively straightforward drive from Carlisle to Knaresborough – M6, A66 to Scotch Corner, then A1 South – was made more stressful by the anti friction pads on the caravan dying on us, which made for horrendous sounding noises whenever the caravan turned or hit a bump! Fortunately we made it one piece and after a quick lunch and set up I was on my way at 3:30pm for my nineteenth run in a row.

The caravan site leaflet recommended Nidd Gorge as an great place to go for a walk. Where there’s a great walk there’s usually somewhere good to run, plus it had the great benefit of nearly literally being just over the main road right next to where we were staying. Once I arrived in Nidd Gorge car park, I was able to peruse a map, which showed numerous footpaths in the Woodland Trust owned forest. One of them headed in the direction of Knaresborough which was my target destination for the run.

A bridge to where? In the Nidd Gorge.

I dropped down a wide gravel path, around a nice alpine style hairpin, and was offered the option of crossing the wooden bridge above. Over I went and I had headed left which I figured would take me to Knaresborough. The terrain quickly became more technical and more uphill – the opening miles of 8:02 and 7:21 not bad considering the terrain.

Signs for the Beryl Burton Cycleway. (Not a Strava Picture)

The speeding up of pace was partly thanks to popping out onto the Beryl Burton Cycleway after a mile and a half of running. This recently constructed route (Made partly by making Bilton Lane a no-through road for vehicles) takes cyclists and pedestrians from Knaresborough to Bilton and then on to Harrogate or Ripley thanks to the Nidderdale Greenway. I was much enthused to be in another part of the country with an abundance of seemingly well maintained and useful cycle paths.

Tribute to cycling legend Beryl Burton in Kanresborough.

I headed to Knaresborough, which was little more than a mile away, it wasn’t long before the Beryl Burton Cycleway ended, marked by a tribute to a cyclist who, were she born to a more recent generation, would surely have been one of Britain’s most famous sportswomen, but who is probably now unknown to most and better known to cycling fans now than she was when competing.

Tribute to cycling legend Beryl Burton in Kanresborough. (Picture not on Strava).

Having read all about Beryl I ran a few yards further on, popping out on the main road that takes cars the short journey from Knaresborough to Harrogate.

The scenic Knaresborough.

On a bridge next to the entrance to Mother Shipton’s Cave I spotted the great vista as shown above. Rowing boats, cottages, bridges, the River Nidd – idyllic!

One of several homages to the 2015 Tour de France in Kanresborough. (Picture not on Strava)

Running uphill I spotted another, more direct homage to the 2014 Tour de France, which passed through during Stage Two.

Although a good example of a Yorkshire Town, this was about as good as it got as I spent the next couple of miles or so running a largely fruitless figure of eight of the town, with an ultimately pointless detour down a cul de sac, which Google Maps suggested could link me to a small road by the river, but didn’t (I was on the wrong road).  I also managed to only just but completely miss the castle and its grounds as I searched for interesting places to discover.

Popping back out on the same main road I was on a couple of miles earlier and with less than five miles covered there had to be some more exploring to make up the remaining five miles. I went into the grounds of Conyngham Hall  which provided me a mile or so where I lost track of where I was before popping out of Foolish Wood and recognising the familiar surrounds of the Beryl Burton Cycleway.

I decided to head back the way I came, back along Beryl into the Nidd Gorge and crossing the bridge. After studying long and hard the map in the car park which I’d photographed on my phone, with over two miles left to run I opted to turn right rather than left which would take me – hopefully – to an alternative exit.

A fallen tree in the Nidd Gorge.

Some of the terrain on this route was even more technical and a little bit ridiculous – The Basterd as its known on the 0.04 mile Strava section has a entirely believable average gradient on Strava of 25%. My very slow time was due to stopping at top and bottom to work out where on earth I should be heading. Somehow I managed to pop out back onto the main road, before opting to head back into Nidd Gorge briefly again to exit at yet another exit (this time into a small housing estate).

With another mile still to kill I crossed the main road and ran a small loop near Scotton, the small village where the caravan site was. By the time I was back at the caravan park I’d finally clocked up ten miles, winding up at 10.35. I averaged a leisurely 7:35, but given that mile eight alone took 9:05, being little other than walkable at times, and with plenty of other technical sections, the pace wasn’t too bad. Besides, I was deliberately taking it very easy after a tough weekend of running and with two more runs remaining. I didn’t want to blow a gasket now, being so close to achieving my goal!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 8:03(8:03/m) 125/148bpm 92cal 7.45/8.89mph
2) 1m – 7:21(7:21/m) 143/156bpm 104cal 8.16/9.12mph
3) 1m – 7:08(7:08/m) 134/152bpm 82cal 8.4/9.87mph
4) 1m – 7:08(7:08/m) 135/146bpm 82cal 8.41/9.02mph
5) 1m – 6:55(6:55/m) 135/145bpm 77cal 8.68/10.06mph
6) 1m – 7:32(7:32/m) 139/156bpm 89cal 7.97/9.33mph
7) 1m – 7:08(7:08/m) 139/155bpm 82cal 8.41/9.04mph
8) 1m – 9:04(9:04/m) 128/149bpm 74cal 6.61/9.93mph
9) 1m – 8:02(8:02/m) 136/158bpm 85cal 7.47/9.12mph
10) 1m – 7:20(7:20/m) 140/154bpm 85cal 8.17/9.29mph
11) 0.35m – 2:22(6:44/m) 147/151bpm 33cal 8.92/9.89mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  Scotton carpark drop – 2nd / 191

Day 20 – Tuesday 21st August 2018 – A bit of everything around Harrogate.

Having interrogated more  closely the map of Nidd Gorge that I Had photographed at the beginning of the previous day’s run, I noted that if, I had turned right instead of left when I crossed the wooden bridge, there was a fairly long path which would hopefully bring me out somewhere north of Harrogate.

I left the Caravan Park at 8:25am and set off for the penultimate run of my Tour of Britain. The legs felt fairly reasonable although, as always, the first mile saw the Achilles especially take a little while just to warm up and ache a little less. Into Nidd Gorge and turning right over the bridge the terrain quickly became very technical. There were fair chunks that had wooden sleepers covering the boggy ground underneath. Generally the going underfoot was good; I imagine in the winter time or when there has been heavy rain, the ground beneath your feet would be treacherous and requiring cross country spikes!

Tough running terrain in the Nidd Gorge.

The opening mile took 9:34 despite dropping over 100 feet in elevation and spending the opening half mile on good solid ground. Things were even tougher for the second mile, literally finding myself reduced to walking for short periods as the abundance of tree roots especially made planting your feet with any degree of security a perilously difficult task .

A painted stone in the Nidd Gorge – one of scores we spotted on the course of the holiday.

The second mile was 9:37. Despite concentrating very hard on the ground below me I was able to spot the ladybird in the picture above. The stone had been painted and carefully placed on a fallen tree. It was one of scores of such painted stones that we encountered on our holiday – apparently it has been something of a craze amongst the youth.  The natural scenery was pretty good too, I imagine the river would have been more impressive with some decent rainfall.

The Nidd Gorge.

The third mile was a touch faster at 8:46 as the terrain difficulty eased a touch and I was able to increase the pace. Shortly before leaving the Gorge an impressive viaduct stood out amongst the trees and water. Once carrying a railway I wondered what it was used for now.

A dissued railway viaduct in the Nidd Gorge. (Picture not on Strava)

The next day I would find out, but for now I turned sharp left and uphill, scrambling out to exit the Gorge and through a park (Knox Country Park, to be precise) and a footpath behind some allotments before being spat out on a fairly unremarkable housing estate. By now I was loosely following signs for a Harrogate circular walking loop, which I followed for a mile or so before it attempted to take me over a field where someone who presumably resented the field being a footpath advised there were bulls in the field and you entered at your own risk!

On this quiet road which took me to a small village called Knox, I came across the only runner I got to follow except for when I was doing parkruns in my Tour thus far. I briefly considered following him when he turned right on the busy A61, but I opted to go with the road signs pointing me to Harrogate and bid him a silent farewell.

Running on solid, albeit undulating terrain, the pace picked up to a more familiar low seven minutes per mile.  Heading left onto the A59 which would see me avoid central Harrogate itself, I was very aware of how polluted the roads were with petrol and diesel fumes having been largely spoilt by mostly traffic free running for the past 20 days or so.

Not particularly enjoying this polluted road, I chanced upon a cycle route sign that went off on a quieter road. Having consulted the Google Maps and gained its approval that this would be a potentially more pleasing alternative to the main road, I headed down Grove Park Terrace which soon enough offered a cycle path over the bridge of the main railway line and onto a dedicated, immaculate cycle path.

I ran along this for a mile, the pace coming down to 6:30 for mile seven. It brought me out at a cycle path junction – the Nidderdale Greenway continued straight on, the Beryl Burton Cycleway was a right hand turn. Familiar with Beryl and where she would take me I turned right, initially up a bit of a drag of a climb before it levelled off on Bilton Lane.

There was around half a mile of virgin territory for me before I recognised the path as that which I had run on the day before.  A 6:38 mile was followed by a 6:08 mile as the confidence of familiar surrounds saw the central governor free up some energy reserves to the legs. They would be needed when I hit Knaresborough and took on the main B Road back to the Caravan Park, for there was a cheeky little climb or three to tackle before getting back to the comfort of my caravan.

With mile 10 covered in 6:31 and mile 11 in 6:27, the 11 mile run, which was looking set to be the slowest of the Tour turned out to merely be one of the slowest at an average of 7:25. It certainly though won the award for the most variety with woodland, rivers, tough technical terrain, housing estates, footpaths, busy A roads, choked busy town centres, glorious cycle paths with gentle ex-railway gradients and more traditional Yorkshire ascents.

Run 20 down – just one more run to go!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 9:35(9:35/m) 117/141bpm 92cal 6.26/8.31mph
2) 1m – 9:38(9:38/m) 128/143bpm 105cal 6.23/7.39mph
3) 1m – 8:45(8:45/m) 126/145bpm 87cal 6.86/10.42mph
4) 1m – 7:19(7:19/m) 133/152bpm 81cal 8.21/9.46mph
5) 1m – 7:06(7:06/m) 145/159bpm 96cal 8.45/9.58mph
6) 1m – 7:02(7:02/m) 131/143bpm 67cal 8.54/10.35mph
7) 1m – 6:30(6:30/m) 136/146bpm 74cal 9.23/9.73mph
8) 1m – 6:34(6:34/m) 147/153bpm 93cal 9.14/9.96mph
9) 1m – 6:08(6:08/m) 144/153bpm 79cal 9.79/10.52mph
10) 1m – 6:31(6:31/m) 154/160bpm 98cal 9.22/9.83mph
11) 1m – 6:28(6:28/m) 151/160bpm 91cal 9.29/10.23mph
12) 0.03m – 15(7:19/m) 146/148bpm 3cal 8.2/9.14mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  The Bond End Climb – 2nd / 218

Day 21 – Wednesday 22nd August 2018 –To Ripley Castle on the Nidderdale Greenway

So this was it – my last day of running on the final morning of our near three week holiday. This day was always planned as no more than a travel day, so it was a case of running, finishing the packing and loading and then off to home we go.

If you’d have asked me some weeks earlier how I would be feeling having completed twenty consecutive runs of a minimum of ten miles, then I’d imagine by this last day I would have been exhausted, probably injured, and ready to do the bare minimum required to achieve the rather pointless goal.

To my surprise though, although the starts of runs were often a laborious, shuffling affair as I waited to the Achilles to stretch out and stop aching, the running had generally improved over the weeks, particularly in the past seven days, and I was feeling good enough to attempt something a bit longer for the final run. I’d seen a few signs for the Nidderdale Greenway and was keen to run more of it than I had done the previous day. If I had carried along it when I’d left Harrogate the previous day rather than head onto the Beryl Burton Cycleway it would apparently take me to Ripley and its castle.

Rather than take the Greenway from its starting point in Harrogate, I figured the quickest way to get to it would be to, once again, head through Nidd Gorge to pick up the Beryl Burton Cycleway which, if I turned right, would take me to the Greenway after a mile or so of running. The opening mile was predictably slow through the technical Gorge at 8:59. Once through the worst of it the pace soon picked up, 7:13 for the second mile as I ran along Beryl Burton and then a 6:32 as I turned right at a cycle path crossroads onto the Nidderdale Greenway.

Officially opened in 2013, the Nidderdale Greenway follows the route of the Leeds to Northallerton railway, which closed in 1969. Being an ex-railway line meant this section was pretty straight and the gradient was gentle and gently downhill for the two and a half miles or so to Ripley.

A Grade II listed railway viaduct in the Nidd Gorge. (Picture not on Strava – taken on the run the previous day)
View from the former railway viaduct in the Nidd Gorge, now part of the Nidderdale Greenway. (picture not on Strava)

Feeling fairly sprightly I continued at a fair old lick, only stopping briefly to take the picture from the former railway viaduct that I had spotted on my run the day before. Apparently I was not the only one struck by its grandeur, it is apparently a Grade II listed structure. Once the bridge had been crossed I decided I would not stop running until I had to, thinking there could be some Strava segments en route to have a go at. This meant I even attempted a once only attempt at taking a photo while running. Actually the result wasn’t too bad – as shown below, but it did fail to make the cut for Strava.

On the Nidderdale Greenway – taken while running!

Mile 4 was 6:25 and mile 5 was 6:32 – involving as it did a little bit of climbing, road crossing and another stop to take a picture of another tribute to the 2014 Tour de France.

Ripley’s homage to the passing through of the 2014 Tour De France.

I ran along the cycle path for another half mile or so before I reached the entrance to Ripley Castle. There was just time to take a quick photo of the castle and of the picturesque road it sat on before turning around and heading back.

Ripley Castle – the out point for my final run on the Tour Of Britain.
Ripley – could be from a different era.

The return from Ripley was a little tougher than the way out as it was now gently uphill. Despite this the pace was pretty good really, I had stopped worrying about taking photos and was instead concentrating on maintaining good pace. Mile 6 slowed to 6:43, but then miles 7, 8 and 9 were 6:26, 6:20 and 6:31 as I opted to not turn left on Beryl Burton, instead carrying on the Greenway into Harrogate.

Mile 10 slowed a touch to 6:41, labouring a touch briefly, while I left the cycle path, spitting me out on the busy main road in Harrogate I had turned off the day before. Having subsequently driven on this road I knew I could get back to Knaresborough and the caravan site by taking the next main road left, which I duly did. Feeling rejuvenated, presumably by the knowledge of being only a few miles away from finishing, miles 11 and 12 sped up to 6:15 and 6:14 as I ran mostly gently downhill, before slowing to 6:30 for mile 13, which involved a fair bit of climbing and negotiating stationary traffic.

The final mile of my Tour of Britain was most pleasingly a 5:58, helped by having another stab at taking the Strava segment on the B road the caravan club site sat off. I didn’t quite get a KOM, but did bag second spot. It did though mean that the final run of the three weeks away was the longest at 14.18 miles and at an average pace of 6:39 per mile the equal quickest too with two other runs on the trip.

On finishing back at the caravan, there was no fanfare, no medal, no t-shirt, no real acknowledgement of the achievement at all. But that was never the point of this. The goal was to see if I could run 10 miles every day of the holiday and, more importantly, to enjoy and fully appreciate the varied landscapes, terrain, topography, and even the weather that a three week holiday in northern Britain would bring. And to that end it was very much mission accomplished!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 9:00(9:00/m) 126/152bpm 102cal 6.67/7.83mph
2) 1m – 7:13(7:13/m) 142/152bpm 100cal 8.31/9.52mph
3) 1m – 6:32(6:32/m) 144/150bpm 92cal 9.19/9.75mph
4) 1m – 6:25(6:25/m) 144/153bpm 87cal 9.34/9.85mph
5) 1m – 6:33(6:33/m) 145/153bpm 87cal 9.16/9.93mph
6) 1m – 6:41(6:41/m) 135/148bpm 71cal 8.98/9.91mph
7) 1m – 6:25(6:25/m) 149/153bpm 91cal 9.34/10mph
8) 1m – 6:20(6:20/m) 152/155bpm 91cal 9.49/9.91mph
9) 1m – 6:32(6:32/m) 153/156bpm 95cal 9.2/9.77mph
10) 1m – 6:41(6:41/m) 152/158bpm 95cal 8.99/9.54mph
11) 1m – 6:15(6:15/m) 146/151bpm 77cal 9.61/10.42mph
12) 1m – 6:14(6:14/m) 148/155bpm 80cal 9.64/10.56mph
13) 1m – 6:30(6:30/m) 153/161bpm 87cal 9.24/10.54mph
14) 1m – 5:57(5:57/m) 161/168bpm 94cal 10.07/11.48mph
15) 0.19m – 1:11(6:16/m) 157/160bpm 17cal 9.57/10.48mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  The Bond End Climb – 2nd / 218 (again – I was second the day before too!)

Leg Seven Summary

Distance Run: 35.6 miles. Average Pace: 7:09 per mile. Accumulated Time: 4:14:18. Average HR: 139; Total Ascent: 681 meters.

Overall Tour Summary

Distance Run: 227.6 miles. Average Pace: 7:00 per mile. Accumulated Time: 26:32:39. Average HR: 139; Total Ascent: 4034 meters.

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What I Did Last Summer…

Summer 2016 is fast becoming a fading memory as the nights draw in, vests and t-shirts are slowly shifting towards the back of the drawers as the long sleeve tops look more likely in the coming days, weeks and months.

For the record I probably had the best summer holiday I ever had. Long a dream of mine, my family and I spent three weeks touring with a caravan up and down the British Isles – three nights each in seven different caravan sites. With the Robin Hood Half Marathon the target race at the end of September, I didn’t want to neglect the training (not that I ever really do), so I packed a couple of pairs of trainers with the intention of trying to run as near as possible every day while away. I had no hard and fast training plan, other than a rough idea to try and run around 10 miles each day, occasionally putting in some effort, but really just trying to bank plenty of miles.

Some years ago (2011, I think) when I was traveling on the F1 circus and trying to run as much as possible, when technology allowed me to carry a portable waterproof camera, for one year I attempted to take photographs during each run to capture some of the interesting things you see every day when running. I had grand intentions to make something of them but it never really materialised, partly because I had no real medium to show off the pictures.

Fast forward to 2016 and thanks to the wonders of smart phones having cameras that can, in some situations, rival SLR cameras for clarity, and a Flipbelt to easily carry the phone, I planned to try to capture my holiday through three photos uploaded with each run that appeared on Strava. Not always very good nor interesting, nonetheless I really enjoyed capturing the different things I saw over the three weeks and thought that, some weeks later, I should really put it in my blog, for posterity, if nothing else.

Run #1 Exploring the Norfolk Broads

Morning run - River Ant, How Hill. Norfolk Broads Caravan Club Site, Ludham, Wroxham, Wednesday 3rd August 2016.
Morning run – River Ant, How Hill.
Morning run - River Ant, How Hill. Norfolk Broads Caravan Club Site, Ludham, Wroxham, Wednesday 3rd August 2016.
Morning run – River Ant, How Hill.
Morning run - River Ant. Norfolk Broads Caravan Club Site, Ludham, Wroxham, Wednesday 3rd August 2016.
Morning run – River Ant.
Norfolk Broads Caravan Club Site, Ludham, Wroxham, Wednesday 3rd August 2016.

We had arrived at the caravan site much later than planned on the Tuesday (AA called before we even left, nearly didn’t make it at all!) so Wednesday morning was the first opportunity to run. The two Norfolk Broads morning runs were the only two which took place ‘mid-morning’. After this run it was up at 7am and out running by half past the hour, whenever possible.

Having never experienced the Broads before, I was struck by the beauty of the area – even if it soon dawned on me that the canals / rivers were not easily navigable by foot.

Run #2 More Norfolk Broads Exploring.

Morning run - Bewilderwood entrance. Norfolk Broads Caravan Club Site, Ludham, Wroxham, Thursday 4th August 2016.
Morning run – Bewilderwood entrance.
Morning run - Horning pleasure steamer. Norfolk Broads Caravan Club Site, Ludham, Wroxham, Thursday 4th August 2016.
Morning run – Horning pleasure steamer.
Morning run - footpath near Horning. Norfolk Broads Caravan Club Site, Ludham, Wroxham, Thursday 4th August 2016.
Morning run – footpath near Horning.
Norfolk Broads Caravan Club Site, Ludham, Wroxham, Thursday 4th August 2016.

I still didn’t have much of a clue where I was running on our final day in the Norfolk Broads. The site of a pleasure steamer was a bit of a surprise! I took a picture of Bewilderwood! to show the kids, as it one of their favourite days out and I wanted to show them how relatively close we were to it. This run saw the first of some Stravalek efforts on roads where I thought there may be Strava segments to have a go on or, later in the holiday when I realised how few existed in some parts of the country, where I could create some of my own.

Run #3 Promenade stroll from Sutton on Sea to Mablethorpe

Late afternoon run - Mablethorpe beach. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Friday 5th August 2016.
Late afternoon run – Mablethorpe beach.
Late afternoon run - Mablethorpe funfair. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Friday 5th August 2016.
Late afternoon run – Mablethorpe funfair.
Late afternoon run - Mablethorpe beach. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Friday 5th August 2016.
Late afternoon run – Mablethorpe beach.
Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Friday 5th August 2016.

Friday saw us travel up from Norfolk to Sutton-on-Sea, which is a stone’s throw from the better known (and much busier in the summer) Mablethorpe. Having unhitched the caravan and left the wife to try and work out how to erect the awning (This may sound harsh, but I had her blessing and I would definitely have just got in the way) I went on a late afternoon run along the promenade that runs for around 8 miles up to Mablethorpe.

I’ve had the good fortune to run beside beaches on a number of promenades all over the world. I think this was as quintessentially British as you could get and very pleasurable too, if it weren’t for a pair of quite badly blistered Achilles, which would cause me no end of grief over the coming weeks (and months, it seems).

‘Halfway’ etched into the sand? That was Whattsapped to my wife to tell her where I was. Couldn’t do that a few years ago….

Run #4 Early morning beach recovery 10k

Morning run - Sutton On Sea - fishermen. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Saturday 6th August 2016.
Morning run – Sutton On Sea – fishermen.
Morning run - Sutton On Sea beach huts. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Saturday 6th August 2016.
Morning run – Sutton On Sea beach huts.
Morning run - Huttoft beach. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Saturday 6th August 2016.
Morning run – Huttoft beach.
Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Saturday 6th August 2016.

A necessity to be back at the caravan early and some very bloody looking Achilles meant Run #4 was the lowest mileage day of the holiday. Turning right at the promenade rather than left took me to a beach car park at Huttoft Beach, having passed some brightly painted beach huts – of which there are hundreds on the promenade. The fisherman shot could have been wonderful with the right camera and lens, as it is it serves as a reminder that mobile phone cameras still have their limitations (It would not have been picked if it weren’t for a need to get three photos…)

Run #5 Mablethorpe before the crowds swarm in.

Morning run - Sutton on Sea - Russells International Circus. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Sunday 7th August 2016.
Morning run – Sutton on Sea – Russells International Circus.
Morning run - Sutton on Sea. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Sunday 7th August 2016.
Morning run – Sutton on Sea.
Morning run - Mablethorpe - homage to the Rio Olympics. Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Sunday 7th August 2016.
Morning run – Mablethorpe – homage to the Rio Olympics.
Sutton on Sea Caravan Site, Sunday 7th August 2016.

Typical for the area is the reality that roads were relatively few and far between, so the promenade was used for a third run in a succession, albeit I opted to stick to the main road for the opening half of the run. This meant interesting photo opportunities were limited, but I was pleased to discover Mablethorpe’s homage to the Rio Olympics, which had begun that weekend and saw the TV bought out to try and watch as much as possible, while still enjoying the holiday (And getting sleep!)

Run #6 Barnard Castle exploration loop.

Evening run - Barnard Castle - near Stainton. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Monday 8th August 2016.
Evening run – Barnard Castle – near Stainton.
Evening run - Barnard Castle. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Monday 8th August 2016.
Evening run – Barnard Castle.
Evening run - Barnard Castle. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Monday 8th August 2016.
Evening run – Barnard Castle.
Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Monday 8th August 2016.

From Sutton-on-Sea we headed north to Barnard Castle. The first six runs had been all but pancake flat – How Hill, which I ran to on the opening run in hope of a hill fix, was a huge disappointment. Having driven in to the caravan site on some very undulating roads, I was dead keen to get out and find some hills. I wasn’t disappointed as within half a mile of setting off, I was climbing a short ramp of around 20% to witness Barnard Castle itself. Another shorter run (seven miles), I was pleased to make a loop out of it rather than an out and back thanks to Google Maps. Again, something I couldn’t have done a few years ago….

Run #7 Teesdale Way. Met angry cows… Stuck to roads!

Morning run - Teesdale Way path - blocked by Cows! Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Tuesday 9th August 2016.
Morning run – Teesdale Way path – blocked by Cows!
Morning run - Teesdale Way path. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Tuesday 9th August 2016.
Morning run – Teesdale Way path.
Morning run - Teesdale Way path. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Tuesday 9th August 2016.
Morning run – Teesdale Way path.
Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Tuesday 9th August 2016.

The caravan site was yards from the Teesdale Way path, which I knew nothing about but figured it may be well signposted and a good opportunity to do some off-road running. For the first three miles or so it was and quite good fun until I met those Angry Cows! I was sure I was going to be chased and / or crushed by them! I counted my blessings when I escaped them, any plans of doing an out and back were thrown out of the window. Thankfully the first road I arrived at happened to be the one that took me back to the caravan site, a few miles less than the ten I had planned.

Run #8 Short, technical, trail run after visit to High Force.

High Force Waterfall, near Bowlees. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Tuesday 9th August 2016.
High Force Waterfall, near Bowlees.
Afternoon run on the local footpaths. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Tuesday 9th August 2016.
Afternoon run on the local footpaths.

Afternoon run on the local footpaths. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Tuesday 9th August 2016.
Afternoon run on the local footpaths.
Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Tuesday 9th August 2016.

This run was notable on two accounts. Firstly it was the shortest run, albeit highly technical off-road, with plenty of obstacles made it a harder effort than the 3.7 miles suggested. Secondly, the picture of High Force wasn’t taken on the run, but a couple of hours earlier on our trip out. This cheat was partly because I didn’t have three decent photos, but also because I was particularly impressed with High Force and felt the need to show it off in all its glory!

Run #9 Barnard Castle – Whorlton out and back.

Morning run - Bowes Museum. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Wednesday 10th August 2016.
Morning run – Bowes Museum.
Morning run - Barnard Castle. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Wednesday 10th August 2016.
Morning run – Barnard Castle.
Morning run - Whorlton Suspension Bridge. Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Wednesday 10th August 2016.
Morning run – Whorlton Suspension Bridge.
Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Wednesday 10th August 2016.

Having secured two pleasing photos, I was rapidly running out of opportunities to take a third photo of note on my mostly flat 10 mile out and back run. As chance would have it as the fifth mile clicked over I found myself hurtling down a steep hill, complete with alpine style switchback, and at the bottom a rare site of a wooden slatted  (Whorlton) suspension bridge – which I ran across and then swiftly back as I commenced a Strava segment busting five miles of continuous tempo.

Run #10 Powburn > Glanton loop.

Afternoon run - lake on Caravan site. River Breamish Caravan Site, Ingram, Alnwick, Thursday 11th August 2016.
Afternoon run – lake on Caravan site.
Afternoon run - Glanton. River Breamish Caravan Site, Ingram, Alnwick, Thursday 11th August 2016.
Afternoon run – Glanton.
Afternoon run - Glanton. River Breamish Caravan Site, Ingram, Alnwick, Thursday 11th August 2016.
Afternoon run – Glanton.
River Breamish Caravan Site, Ingram, Alnwick, Thursday 11th August 2016.

It was the shortest drive from Barnard Castle to Ingram, near Alnwick, but high winds, steep hills and some lofty elevation made the journey with caravan in tow the hairiest of the holiday. Whether this was the cause for some severe calf pains during the run I will never know, but it cut short what I’d planned to be a ten mile run, and I feared that my running adventures for the holiday may be over.

Run #11 To Bolton and back.

Morning run to Bolton. River Breamish Caravan Site, Ingram, Alnwick, Saturday 13th August 2016.
Morning run to Bolton.
Morning run to Bolton. River Breamish Caravan Site, Ingram, Alnwick, Saturday 13th August 2016.
Morning run to Bolton.
Morning run to Bolton. River Breamish Caravan Site, Ingram, Alnwick, Saturday 13th August 2016.
Morning run to Bolton.
River Breamish Caravan Site, Ingram, Alnwick, Saturday 13th August 2016.

Photographically this run promised more than it delivered, I wasn’t really happy with any that I took. That is a shame because the three days spent at the River Breamish Caravan Site was a real delight. We had only really gone to see Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter) and found it to be extremely scenic, yet not that busy. The run though I was happy with. Having had the first day off running on the Friday, some massage and stretching had more or less fixed the dodgy calf by Saturday.

Run #12 Killin Time.

Killin afternoon long run on Cycle Route 7 - Loch Tay. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Sunday 14th August 2016.
Killin afternoon long run on Cycle Route 7 – Loch Tay.
Killin afternoon long run on Cycle Route 7 - Loch Tay. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Sunday 14th August 2016.
Killin afternoon long run on Cycle Route 7 – Loch Tay.

Killin afternoon long run on Cycle Route 7 - Falls of Dochart. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Sunday 14th August 2016.
Killin afternoon long run on Cycle Route 7 – Falls of Dochart.
Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Sunday 14th August 2016.

The middle Sunday of our holiday and of the Olympics, it had been a pleasingly easy journey from Alnwick to Killn. This was inadvertently the longest run of the holiday. It had meant to be around 10 miles like many of the others, but running alongside the stunning Loch Tay my tummy began to feel a little dodgy and I reckoned that if I ran a few miles to the Hotel that was being signposted I may be able to use their facilities. So many thanks to Hotel Ardeonaig, you saved me! This was the first time I ran on National Cycle Route 7. It turned out to not be the last.

Run #13 Heading up and back down cycle route 7.

Killin morning run on Cycle Route 7. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Monday 15th August 2016.
Killin morning run on Cycle Route 7.
Killin morning run on Cycle Route 7. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Monday 15th August 2016.
Killin morning run on Cycle Route 7.
Killin morning run on Cycle Route 7. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Monday 15th August 2016.
Killin morning run on Cycle Route 7.
Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Monday 15th August 2016.

This was possibly my favourite run on a holiday full of enjoyable runs. Almost the entire route was devoid of traffic noise, or any other human interaction. The scenery was stunning, amplified by the mist hovering in the valley as I ran up a big hill then came back down it. It made me want to go back and ride National Cycle Route 7 in its entirety.

Run #14 Misty, murky, early morning 10.

Morning run in Killin - National Trust House. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Tuesday 16th August 2016.
Morning run in Killin – National Trust House.
Morning run in Killin - Hydroelectric on River Lochay. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Tuesday 16th August 2016.
Morning run in Killin – Hydroelectric on River Lochay.
Morning run in Killin - Long no through road. Killin, Maragowan Caravan Site, Tuesday 16th August 2016.
Morning run in Killin – Long no through road.

I had been, and was, really lucky with the weather. Most days it was sunny, and even when it had been cloudy, it had often enhanced the photo. This was the first day when the cloud and mist made photo opportunities difficult, but there was still a couple of unexpected sights on a run down a very long no through road (I never got close to reaching the end of it!)

Run #15 Getting Ayr.

Afternoon run in Ayr - Auchincruive. Ayr Craigie Gardens Caravan Site, Wednesday 17th August 2016.
Afternoon run in Ayr – Auchincruive.
Afternoon run in Ayr A77 crossing River Ayr. Ayr Craigie Gardens Caravan Site, Wednesday 17th August 2016.
Afternoon run in Ayr A77 crossing River Ayr.
Afternoon run in Ayr - Bridge over River Ayr near town centre. Ayr Craigie Gardens Caravan Site, Wednesday 17th August 2016.
Afternoon run in Ayr – Bridge over River Ayr near town centre.
Ayr Craigie Gardens Caravan Site, Wednesday 17th August 2016.

We drove from Killin to Ayr on the Wednesday. The caravan site is next to the University in a residential area and it came as something of a culture shock having enjoyed the tranquility of the previous destinations. The opening miles of this run were perhaps the most frustrating of the holiday as I dithered over where to head and was frequently let down by poor footpath signage. Once I headed back from my ‘out point’ the run was saved by some of the quickest miles of the holiday.

Run #16 Cycle route 7 hits the coast.

Morning run in Ayr - Esplanade. Ayr Craigie Gardens Caravan Site, Thursday 18th August 2016.
Morning run in Ayr – Esplanade.
Morning run in Ayr - Lang Scots Mile on Esplanade. Ayr Craigie Gardens Caravan Site, Thursday 18th August 2016.
Morning run in Ayr – Lang Scots Mile on Esplanade.
Morning run in Ayr - Greenan Castle. Ayr Craigie Gardens Caravan Site, Thursday 18th August 2016.
Morning run in Ayr – Greenan Castle.
Ayr Craigie Gardens Caravan Site, Thursday 18th August 2016.

For this run I explored Ayr some more, and after seeing the racecourse headed to the sea where I found an unexpected esplanade. The Lang Scots Mile was a brilliant idea and a good opportunity to put my foot down and see how quick I could run. National Cycle Route 7 did itself proud once again.

Run #17 Last run in Scotland, including Ayr parkrun (1st).

Ayr parkrun (1st!). Ayr parkrun, Rozelle Park, Saturday 20th August 2016.
Ayr parkrun (1st!).
Ayr parkrun (1st!). Ayr parkrun, Rozelle Park, Saturday 20th August 2016.
Ayr parkrun (1st!).
Ayr parkrun (1st!). Ayr parkrun, Rozelle Park, Saturday 20th August 2016.
Ayr parkrun (1st!).

My first proper parkrun tourist event (not that I mentioned the fact that I was at the time) happened by chance as I had been looking at Alnwick as a possible parkrun event, and only found Ayr had an event when I was looking at Strava segments. Having had the Friday off, I was fairly fresh for the run. I used Google Maps and earphones to direct me to the start. I soon took the lead and ended up finishing first, although would have preferred company as the course had plenty of opportunities to take the wrong turn!

It was fortuitous that I took part in parkrun. At all the other travel days I ran at the destination rather than run before we departed. As soon as I got back to the caravan in Ayr the heavens opened, the wind picked up, and it rained relentlessly for hours and hours and hours…

Run #18 Finding Appleby.

Morning run - Appleby. Wild Rose Caravan Park, Ormside, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Sunday 21st August 2016.
Morning run – Appleby.
Morning run - Hoff. Wild Rose Caravan Park, Ormside, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Sunday 21st August 2016.
Morning run – Hoff.

 

Morning run - Rutter Falls. Wild Rose Caravan Park, Ormside, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Sunday 21st August 2016.
Morning run – Rutter Falls.
Wild Rose Caravan Park, Ormside, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Sunday 21st August 2016.

The Wild Rose Caravan Park was our final stay on our three week holiday, a place I had stayed at as a child some 29 years previous. The place was unrecognisable but Appleby remained much as I remembered it. The reward for 24 hours of heavy rain was seeing Rutter Falls in all their glory early on in the run. I’d only ventured down the quiet road because I could hear a roar of noise from the main road and was curious!

Run #19 About as wet as it gets.

Last run on holiday - Mask Road near Soulby. Wild Rose Caravan Park, Ormside, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Monday 22nd August 2016.
Last run on holiday – Mask Road near Soulby.
Last run on holiday - Mask Road near Soulby. Wild Rose Caravan Park, Ormside, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Monday 22nd August 2016.
Last run on holiday – Mask Road near Soulby.
Last run on holiday - Hill to Asby. Wild Rose Caravan Park, Ormside, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Monday 22nd August 2016.
Last run on holiday – Hill to Asby.

Save for a couple of minutes at the end of the parkrun run in Ayr, I had enjoyed 18 rain free runs. The running gods saved all the precipitation for my final run of the holiday! Heavy rain from beginning to end, I had considered not taking any photos, but settled on taking the barest minimum while trying to protect my phone from the water. A pity, but at least the final photo showed one of my favourite stretches of running on the holiday – the long hill into and out of Asby, which I think was made all the more enjoyable for the bad weather, the sense of solitude, and the sense of purpose that this training in adverse conditions may help when it came to racing a month or so later.

All pictures © Matthew Kingston-Lee