Filed under: real ale, beer, microbrewery, farming, rural business, local food producers, food festivals, fishing, angling | Tags: beer, driffield, beer planning, angler reward, cask beer, cascade hops, plae ale
Angler’s Reward has just won the drinks section in the Yorkshire Post Taste Awards. We were really pleased as this beer has had nothing but praise since it first was brewed in the spring. We are now looking at making it a permanent beer in cask and also in bottle. It’s 4% abv just seems to fit exactly into our pub customers profiles and it’s taste to their customers wishes. We certainly seem to have come accross alot of fishermen who are enjoying the taste and the reviews in the fishing press have been great. The fishing press has added to the reading material in the Brewery Bar.
Filed under: beer, bike ride, charity, fundraising, microbrewery, real ale, rural business | Tags: beer, beer planning, bike ride, breast cancer, cancer, charity, driffield, John O' Groats, lands end, prostate cancer
Altnaharra to the end at John O’ Groats.
We set off after a lovely breakfast full of enthusiasm for the last day, the sun was shining but there was an easterly blowing – couldn’t have been in a worse direction! Anyway there was no option this was the last day! We started up the loch then river to BettyHill. What a beautiful ride!!! Coffee at Betty Hill and a puncture repair for Gill, then the wind and hills set in. A beautiful but hard ride along the top of Scotland with Ian a very welcome sight just short of Thurso. Lunch in the sun and then we started on the last leg. All extremely scenic and definitely at the top of the world but the headwind was hardwork. We rode into John O’ Groats at about 5.30 pm tired but very happy. The place was closed but there were a group we last met in Welsh Bicnor and also another group of riders finishing. We like them celebrated with champagne and photos and just enjoyed being there!!! We got signed in /off in the pub, enjoyed Orkney Ales and then set of for Wick in the cars(wonderful invention!). quick change and shower in an excellent Band B – the Bank Guest House, and out to celebrate. After a good meal of local fish (and Steak) we joined the local Wetherspoons live music night to celebrate. All photos will probably appear on Facebook, Wold top page keep looking!!!1 Now only the journey home!
We have all had a wonderful time, met some lovely people and been incredibly lucky with the weather.
There is talk of the next trip being an easy wine tasting trip down the Loire or Dordogne! On bikes with transport for the buys, we’ll see we might just all rejoin for the new Yorkshire Wolds Ride first.
Filed under: beer, bike ride, charity, farming, fundraising, microbrewery, real ale | Tags: beer, bike ride, breast cancer, cancer, charity, driffield, John O' Groats, lands end, prostate cancer, royal wedding, scotland, YHA
Ullapool to Altnaharra
After awesome fish and chips in a pub in Ullapool and a really good night’s sleep in one of the best hostels we’ve stayed at, we set off with the Morgan’s flying their Union Jacks! The sun was shining, there was a breeze! The flat millpond sea had gone. We set off up the coast climbing gently once again wowed by the Scottish scenery however the headwind began to grow and we certainly knew we’d biked the first 20 miles, even the downhills were pedalled. Ian was waiting with coffee for us but suggested we went into the pub he’d found. It was in the middle of nowhere had a lovely lady in charge who gave us excellent coffee, homemade cakes and had a huge TV showing the Wedding. We saw the service a great result for the girls! We then set off into the wind but far more sheltered down the Oykell Valley. This was the site of the 1000 mile photo stop. Ian was waiting again in a lovely spot after 40 miles with an excellent picnic again laid out ready. Refreshed we set off again for another excellent ride up a lovely road to Altnaharra, along this road in the middle of nowhere was a pub – The Crask Inn. Decision made we need to support local industry, in we went. The pub was run by a Malton man (small world), whose wife had grown up on Bute and knew George’s family (did say it’s a small world). We even managed to get more sponsorship from some visitors. On then to Altnaharra and a very lovely hotel. Tomorrow is the last day…. will we miss our bikes? I think not.
Filed under: beer, bike ride, charity, farm diversification, farming, fundraising, garden, local food producers, microbrewery, real ale, rural business | Tags: beer, beer planning, bike ride, breast cancer, cancer, charity, driffield, John O' Groats, lands end, prostate cancer
Broadford to Ullapool.
Left Skye this morning in Scottish drizzle, luckily it didn’t last long, so we got pictures, albeit misty ones, on the Skye Bridge. Over the bridge and the longest ride started. Fairly flat so we could move a long quite quickly. Found a lovely coffee stop at the bottom of a hill complete with pottery and gift shop! The treacle tart and scones were lovely. Onwards again aiming just to cover miles. It’s an uninhabited part of the world, nothing but scenery and that makes up for everything. We got to somewhere near Achnashee and in the middle of this emptiness was our Jeep and trailer with a picnic laid out on the bonnet for us. What a marvellous new driver we have!! We left him refreshed and happier with 40 miles under our belt and 55 miles to go. It started to rain, eventually stopping and then restarting – not so good. Luckily the sunshine won and the day finished in full sunshine. As we climbed up to Lochglasnoch (sp?) we saw a stag and hind, fairly close to the road. The other memorable bit of this ride was Robin doing a Tom and riding into a bollard, both ok but the bollards pride wasn’t hurt!! We zoomed down to Braemore Crossing and then onto the waterside and Ullapool, bathed in sunshine and looking fantastic. YHA looks good, right on the harbourside so beers call…….
Filed under: beer, bike ride, charity, farm diversification, farming, fundraising, real ale, rural business | Tags: beer, beer planning, bike ride, breast cancer, charity, driffield, John O' Groats, lands end, prostate cancer
Lochgilphead to Broadford.
Lochgilphead was left in the sunshine, farewells to Dave and Helen who will be missed. We made a start on the Crinan Canal, it is very pretty and would be a good holiday destination (on a boat). We then left the canal and rode through standing stones and cairns. Finally we ended up on the road to Oban, up and down a bit but with good views. Coffee at Kimelford, nice shop and clientele but a bit of a dour lady in charge. Lunch in Oban, bought and eaten in a rush,, before the ferry across to Mull. Sat on the ferry in the sun enjoying the views (or sleeping, Tom and Robin). Got to Mull and set off to Tobermory. Road started well and then became single track with passing places and a hill. Well worth it for the awesome views. Tobermory had a quick tourist shopping diversion- we are on holiday! Then the YHA in one of the coloured buildings right on the harbour. Local shellfish was the order of the day for a meal and Tom is still bemoaning the lack of any real beer anywhere!! We do like Arran Sunset in bottles and Fyne Ales Avalanche but havn’t found anything on draught at all. Today even Tom resorted to Cider shandy it’s that bad.
Today started early, ferry at 7am after a breakfast prepared by us. Then we discovered the Ardamurchan Penninsula. We all said with time we would all be back to holiday here it was so beautiful. We continued looking at the view and probably could get boring going on about it! Sue even found a monkey up a tree, there is a photo to prove this!! Coffee at Salem, lovely hotel and we were spoilt. After this Robin pointed out that we had a bit of a way to go, 40 miles and not enough time! We worked at this, having decided we’d never make the ferry we kept trying and missed it by 30seconds. Karen Sue and Dave were there but the rest of us arrived as the ferry doors were closing. We had to go to the pub and drink cider shandies and eat chips! Got the next ferry, quick sunbathe for some, sleep for others and we arrived in Skye. Felt like home to see all about the MacDonalds of Sleat ( or Rudston), lovely Bez along and we got to Broadford where our new driver Ian Scruton was waiting. Beers and Dinner it’s a hard life! Tomorrow is 94 miles we need sleep, help and no headwinds.
Filed under: beer, bike ride, charity, farming, fundraising, microbrewery, real ale, rural business, Uncategorized | Tags: beer, beer planning, bike ride, breast cancer, cancer, charity, driffield, John O' Groats, lands end, prostate cancer
Ardrossan to Loch Gilphead.
After the best nights sleep for everyone and a typical Scottish breakfast (although Gill did eggs then porridge?), Tim did the breakfast orders! We set off for the ferry. This time prepared with ferry etiquette we waited until we were told to board. Arriving in Arran, we had the usual bike fixing and then set off. Seals were the highlight along the coast although the stone one did have George taken in for a while. A small hill kept the legs in trim the fact that we had to pedal downhill due to a headwind was a bit disconcerting to the fair weather bikers. We ended up in Lochranza where we visited the distillery, met Billy and Linda Richardson and photographed deer on the golf course.
Over on another ferry, to Clonaig on the Mull of Kintyre. Extremely beautiful in the sunshine. Up another hill and on to Tarbert where Dave and Helen were waiting. Then a swift “bez” along to Loch Gilphead next to the water with awesome views all the way. Robin had booked the accommodation – two cottages for us all with the right number of beds but too few rooms! We coped. Out for a meal at The Grey Gull (owners of the Corran, where we were staying). Lovely meal and generous donation to the cause!
Back to the cottages for coffee, horlicks, chocolate and wine. Entertainment provided by the Morgan’s. Tomorrow early start and no support drivers as Dave and Helen are returning home, we’ll miss them as we go back to YHA accommodation on Mull.
Filed under: beer, bike ride, charity, farm diversification, farming, fundraising, real ale, rural business, Uncategorized | Tags: beer, beer planning, bike ride, breast cancer, cancer, charity, driffield, John O' Groats, lands end, prostate cancer
Dumfries to Ardrossan.
We set off after an awesome Scottish breakfast at Ferintosh. Tom now deciding to try haggis every day in Scotland! The sun was shining but it was cold. We are in the north! It did take us a while to leave Dumfries, Robins technology got a bit wet yesterday, Back to maps. Once we were on the right road we travelled through some of the best scenery yet. The hills were gentle and we rolled along. At coffee time we found Moniaive which had a very good general store where we bought lunch and post cards and then a lovely cafe – The Green Tea Cafe where we stopped for coffee, so nice they donated the cost of the coffee to our charities! We continued on refreshed and happy up a hill and onwards to our 1000km picture stop. George was on a roll and did not appreciate the enforced stop at speed downhill but all for one and all that … we then found the most beautiful lunch stop at the side of a loch in the sunshine. After this it did cloud over a bit and the motorbikes passed us at amazing speeds. We ended up in Ayr where we joined the Ayrshire coastal path bike rides. We rode the coast through Ayr,Pestwick, Troon – saw the famous Golf Club, Irvine and finally Ardrossan. We met some boys on bikes and couldn’t understand a word, we are in a foreign country now!! Band B marvellous, dinner organised for us – what luxury. Back now with beers coffee and watching a programme about the Bee Gees. It must be our age!!!! We go over to Arran tomorrow life isn’t bad.
Filed under: beer, bike ride, charity, farming, fundraising, garden, microbrewery, moonbeams, music festival, real ale, Uncategorized | Tags: beer, beer planning, bike ride, breast cancer, cancer, charity, driffield, John O' Groats, lands end, prostate cancer
Eccleston to Scotland
The day started off with Robin on a mission, as we dashed at speed to Lancaster for coffee with Steve and Jackie Cade – well worth the effort. We then crossed the Lune in Lancaster with advice from an army of local experts on the best route to take. Ignored it all and picked the right one. Canal ride to Carnforth and then Tom’s pre lunch close encounter with a parked car! The ride into Lakes was amazing, with special thanks to Sun inn at Crook for iced water rehydration. The slog up to the Kirkstone Inn was not as bad as expected and we then whizzed down to Patterdale to meet new team joiners.Tim Cooper , Colette Freeman and new drivers Dave and Helen Sixsmith. Patterdale YHA was a big disappointment after the excellent hostels found in the first five nights, very poor rooms, showers , kitchens and cleanliness – not a great advert. We then had wonderful hospitality at “The Quiet Site” at Watermillock courtesy of Lawrence and Mary Wride.
Saturday had a good start along the lakeside with a leg warmer up to Dockray and pleasant riding through the North Lakes with coffee at Durden. The ride out of Carlisle could have been a disaster with road works and a road closed blocking the way but Carly (obviously in charge) sorted the Birse gang and they escorted us safely through so we resumed our ride to Gretna. Lunch was had in the garden at The Gretna Chase Hotel with Dave and Helen, again with special thanks to Mary. We arrived in Scotland so it started to rain. Tom on typical Tom form, did a typical Tom by not spotting the left turn the rest of the team had taken, not spotting the lights were red, not spotting a car on the junction and not even spotting that he was being followed by a police car! We got through Annan, when Dave’s bike decided it had gone far enough wear, tear and gravity finally dismantled his rear wheel bearings. Not to worry all were mobilised to fix the problem, Tim and Girls sent to find a bike shop for new parts, Dave Sixsmith summonsed to bring en route repair kit whilst Tom George and Robin kept with him to help him struggle on. He ignored all and bought his own replacement leaving the team superfluous! Excellent Band B at Fereintosh , followed by tea at the Cavens Arms. Good food and Fyne Ales Avalanche bitter a great way to celebrate Gill’s birthday in Dumfries.
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Coedway to Eccleston
Once again a beautiful day and after a full English breakfast we said our farewells to the Essex Boys and set off through the Welsh / Shropshire borders and up towards Chester. The route we are following, chosen so well by Robin certainly has/is showing us some wonderful countryside as we travel along. We decide that the debris in the hedges at least a metre up must be as a result of flooding. With the lack of water at the moment it seems very unreal. There is certainly a lot of dust following all the potato planters at the moment and the spring sown crops are looking a bit sparse. The one thing we have noticed as we travel along is that all the cows are going out and the sheds are being mucked out everywhere. It certainly affects the state of the roads!!
We made excellent time and covered a long way by coffee. We found a lovely Deli and then also bought a picnic lunch. Lunch was in footballer’s wives country! Picnics though don’t help with water bottle filling and Robin with his head down is hard to stop when he sails by the perfect ice cream stop! This won’t happen again, he’s learning.
Then we reached Runcorn and Widnes, not good biking country at all. Our pace slowed, signs disappeared and we slowly made our way through. Not an advisable biking area at all. We finally got to the other side and found a hill! Went up it and another one and found Billinge, the home and roots of “the Morgans”. A very welcome cup of tea from Dave’s Mum was just the thing to help us on our final fast spin into Eccleston.
The day was finished with a lovely meal at the local Italian. The staff were exceedingly tolerant of our large group who arrived late, added extra people through the meal and couldn’t decide on which menu to choose! We were joined by Gill’s cousins and Dave’s sister and her husband. There are real Lancashire roots in this Yorkshire trip.
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Exeter to Coedway.
Where to start! Sues birthday so celebrated over the cornflakes. We left Exeter in wonderful sunshine which has continued, not at all expected but now armed with liberal applications of sun cream we are better prepared. The drink bottles are also being regularly refilled.
The hills reduced to all of our benefit and we headed for Somerset, we had forgotten to eat Cornish Pasties in Cornwall and we were heading to miss out on Devon Cream Teas. Robin was advising these wouldn’t be good for biking, had we finished at teatime any day I’m sure he would have been over ruled. The teas never happened as the finishes have been late but the pasties were found at a coffee stop and were excellent! We travelled through Somerset following the course of the M5 crossing it endlessly and even walking over the main train line, yes we did get a wave from the driver. Lunch found us in a lovely pub again, Cider shandy seems to be the drink of lunchtime. Dennis our driver even managing to join us. Then we rose up over the Quantocks, hills again but spectacular views and on to Cheddar. Steak night to celebrate the birthday.
Next day started with a gentle ride up the gorge, onto rolling country at the top which was far more open with stone walls and views. We were on the Mendips. The next major place was Bristol, we had a marvellous run into the city on a bike track which took us through Ashton Park and over the Clifton suspension bridge then out through Clifton and another park (a bit like Harrogate but bigger) along the Ladies Mile. We crossed into Wales over the motorway bridge (footbridge and bikeway!!), found that accents changed immediately. Wales did not last long as we crossed back over to England in Chepstow having bought and fitted a new tyre for Dave. We headed up the Wye Valley and collected 3 Essex Boys (friend!) who were joining us for a day in Coleford. Stayed in a YHA next to the river. The highlight of the evening was organised by Jake and Penny who entertained us to drinks and a Curry night at their local pub. Local Cider was the drink of the evening. We also met our new driver who was staying with them. This was the fond farewell to Dennis who looked after us so well, learnt all our tastes in bananas and breakfast choices and kept popping up out of the roadside camera in hand.
Yesterday we headed off on the longest day to Coedway. The start along the Wye valley was beautiful, positively idyllic in places. We had a few technicals – 2 punctures and a bent gear ring. This was mended with a hammer at a coffee stop and a lovely golf club. Tom managed to get lost but was gathered up and Gill paddled at the lunchstop. This was a pretty pub on the river but not good value for money!!!! It was a long day not too bad on the hills but we needed water and even chose to rest in the shade. The pub at the end is lovely. We all were gald to get here, especially our Essex friends who are leaving this morning and we are now off to Lancashire…….
