Day 13, Edinburgh to Stockton-on-Tees

Day started off badly, just yards from the hotel. Not for us but for a squirrel. Could have been a sticky end had he been trying to play chicken with Ginny. Instead, he picked on a cyclist and luckily boubced off the wheel,  thus living to fight another day. 

For us, it was a really nice morning. Dry and reasonably warm, we made our way east/south, passing golden beaches and ruined castles galore.  Our first stop was at the border, as we entered England.

A few miles on and we entered Berwick-upon-Tweed, then over the old bridge, reached by a steepish cobbled street. Grizzly was probably having kittens at that point. Lucky they were dry.

Just over the bridge, we stopped at the Bridge Cafe for a coffee and some photos.

Next stop Alnwick for some lunch. The place was heaving, like so many places we have passed through. That's staycations for you. After a circuit of the town, we nabbed a couple of parking spaces. I think they are supposed to be for locals but there wasn't any wardens. Toilet, coffee, and for Grizzly a subway wrap. Whilst he was at Subway, it started to rain,  so waterproofs went on.

We stuck to the coast pretty well, which made for slow going. The rain didn't dampen the spirits of the English seaside holidaymakers, walking the prom or on the beach wearing their cagools! I had to laugh.

Ginny clocked up 19,000 miles at Tynemouth. Not long after, we went through the Tyne Tunnel. 

It was still raining when we made our fuel stop but fittingly the sun came out again, as we entered Sunderland. From Sunderland we continued down the coast some more, before heading inland to our overnight stop a Stockton-on-Tees. We can just see the River Tees from our room, along with a  covid testing station. 

The hotel, Hampton by Hilton has a car park.  When we arrived I stopped at the barrier, which was down. Seemed we needed to be let in. I pressed the button to speak to someone but no answer.  I was just about to ride along the pavement to get in, when the barrier opened. I obviously wasn't close enough. Simultaneously,  Grizzly had realised that there wasn't an out barrier, so he went in there. Had to laugh.

Tomorrow we are off to Grimsby.

Day 12, Inverurie to Edinburgh

Barely on the bikes, when we stopped for fuel, 3/4 of a mile up the road. Getting away from Inverurie and Aberdeen meant dual carriageway. It wasn't long though before we we on single carriageway roads and tracking the coast, well, after a fashion. We'd had some issues with Tomtom reading a higher mileage than the route planner, which was a bit of a worry for fuel stops. I couldn't explain it.  We'd not been on the coast road long when Tomtom took us inland, onto the A90. Tomtom sometimes does its own thing if you don't have enough waypoints in. A stop at a garage, so Grizzly could have a coffee allowed me to work out a plan and it wasn't long before we were back at the coast, through Montrose and Arbroath. Clearing Dundee, Tomtom seemed to have a grip again.

The weather was very good  and we were enjoying the ride, then it all seemed to unravel when we got to St Andrews. It's a quant old town but heaving with people and cars. We were caught in a traffic jam for a while. Out the other side we were bowling along nicely but the mileage seemed to be even more than it had been,  so we made another fuel stop for Grizzly to top up. I had plenty in the tank. 

Checking the route against Tomtom again, it appeared we we somewhere we should never have been. The reason,  I soon discovered, one of my waypoints was in the sea! Doh!

Eventually we were back on track and stopped for the loo at a lovely little beach in a place called Elie (below). We had thought about food but the pub/restaurant was full and had a queue. In the event, we stopped at a petrol station and had a sandwich. 

Our next stop was on the outskirts of Edinburgh at Queensferry but not before another Tomtom diversion! Another fuel stop, then we parked up in the shadow of the Forth Rail Bridge, an iconic structure. 

Just up the road is the Ferry brewery. It would have been rude to ride right by and not stop,  so I popped into the shop and bought a bottle. Might exchange it for a cuppa and sarnie in Hythe next week maybe?

We arrived at our hotel to be almost immediately greeted by a chap, who advised us to park the bikes by the front railings, and handed us a chain, to chain to them. Edinburgh it seems is a hotspot for bike thefts. A nice touch.

Tonight is our last in Jockland and tomorrow we are heading for Stockton-on-Tees. Back in England as they take on Ukraine in Euro 2020. Come on England.