Last day, I'm a little sad to go home but I guess I'm also ready too. I would like a nice night's sleep and my own stuff again. We can go inland today or around the coast. Everybody seems happy with the inland option so we mark up the maps for that then. We don't really have breakfast stuff so we have to find somewhere out to eat. Ian seems keen on the train station so we go down there. The cafe is attached to a large lounge/ballroom. It was rather shiny inside and ornate and everything. Not sure if I like it or not but it was interesting.
We order like 12 bacon sandwiches and sit and wait for the overwhelmed staff to sort that one out while we discuss maps and options. Matt wants to take his own route so that he can visit people on the way so we leave him to that.
Back at the hostel, we assemble, wheel the bikes out front and pack it all up. Gursh heads down to the station to take his train back home and the rest of us head down to the river to ride around on the bridges. We go past the castle, fairly small, I'm not sure if it has a name so it must just be the Newcastle castle. Or maybe it is just New Castle. Anyways, over the Gatehead Millennium Bridge and then a loop back over the Tyne Bridge and we head down the path heading west along the river.
There are lots of informational plaques about the history of the river and the industries. The river seems low, it must be low tide and there are a few wading birds, but not all that many. It is vaguely pretty but not so much. We turn south and Rob gets another puncture and Dave A stays with him to help fix it and keep him company as we head on. Packs and packs of guys on mountain bikes pass us coming back into the city. It was sort of like last weekend on the east coast, 98% guys out biking. They are pretty muddy and they are already heading home before even 11 am. They must have gotten an early start.
Much of the path today is old rail lines and it is slightly dull. Mostly under cover of trees, mostly upward until Consett and slightly downhill into Durham. There are loads of gates to go through and they also have the annoying habit of having a steep short uphill and a downhill right before crossing any road.
So, blah blah, nothing real exciting until Consett. Dave and Rob catch up with us there and we go in search of food. (Need to just cut and paste that phrase everywhere in these things too.) We make the wrong choice and head down the hill where it says services 200 meters, but nothing down there was open and we had to head back up to get into the center of town. Which is actually a park and there isn't anything there either. More wandering around, up more hills and eventually we come across a cafe that is open for a Sunday like the first time in its history. I'm so tired of bacon by this point, I get an omelet instead of a bacon sandwich. Probably a much better choice.
We try to figure out where we are in town and think if we just go that way, we can bypass a bit of the trail, and where we would have to backtrack and cut off a little bit of it all. Half of us have train tickets for a train leaving a bit before 5 and the other half at after 5, so we don't have a lot of time to mess around. Our lead group completely misses the turnoff back onto the trail and end up on a rather busy A road. But it is incredibly fast and we zoom down the sleep hill and wander though Lanchester trying to find where we can meet up again with them.
So, again, not an overly exciting trail, very same-ish and I'm disappointed that we come into Durham without a fantastic vista of the castle and cathedral way up high. It seems like that from the other side on the train, but not here. Zoom to the station and both groups have enough time to catch their trains. I'm with the later group and we have just a bit over an hour to zip through town quickly and see what we can see and pick up some food. The cathedral seems like the logical place to head, up the steep narrow streets and there we are. It is a pretty good one. But since we have bikes to watch over and limited time, two groups get allocated about 15 minutes to run around and see what they can see.
My camera card ran out of room so I stay behind for the first shift and root though my bag looking for my other one before it is my turn. So, a quick run through of it and then off to find something we can take on the train to eat and we make it to the station with a little bit of time to spare.
Luckily there is no hassle about the bikes this time. The conductor is pretty friendly and he says he rides to work most days, even up that super steep hill. So, loaded on and heading back to London now. Which is probably a good place to leave this then. 38.42 miles for the day and 457.91 miles for the entire tour.
Thanks go to Dave A and Caroline for their fantastic organization skills and all the work they put into pulling it all off. It was a fantastic time and I'm glad I went on the trip. And I'm looking forward to whatever one there will be next year.
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