JC accompanied me for the long tough hike a bike to the summit of Carnedd Llewellyn which is just 21 meters lower than Snowdon. Obviously being high up in the hills we were rewarded with fine views...
The view looking south towards Carnedd Daffydd with Snowdon to the left of pic
Sunset over Anglesey
Summer bag needed for this one
Fine views from the bag
A lovely omlette to start the day
I like this picture. The wild Carneddau ponies were a couple of miles away, and with a good zoom on the camera it made the wind farm 22 miles away off the coast look closer.
Another from the bivvy
The view looking back up to the bivvy spot. Cheers JC
BAM: 2014, 2018, 2024* *Thanks to BAM adjudicators
I feel this story deserves to be told and fits with other boundry pushing. I intend on completing a more conventional BaM upon my return on 29th.
My trip was rather long, with cycling playing minimal parts(but still involved).
Packed up for a climbing holiday with mointaineering club. I'm still holding onto my no flying rule (yay for the planet), so had to make it to Innsbruck on land and sea. If I had a job at the moment, I'd have got an interrail pass for £260 and travelled in relative luxury, however I paid £160 for the discomfort of a coach. 25 hours Birmingham to Zurich, with 2 hour stopover in London Victoria, Dover to Calais ferry, 2 hours at breakfast time in Brussels, then another 10 hour slog. Overnight stopover then a 4 hour train to my final destination.
Had a big rucksack and gym style bag. The classic "I've got all day to pack, I can faff as much as I want" I almost ran out of time. Bus risked taking too long, so I had to jump on my bike. The most reliable method of transport across a city, as well as the most every efficient.
15 minutes later I was super sweaty but in time for my connection. Fortunately I can rely on the kind and caring people of Birmingham to not bust the lock or nick the wheels. Can't I?
The vital part of this BaM came as I boarded the ferry, found a cosy corner, and slept in plain sight. 27 nautical miles later I was softly woken by a stranger.
Plenty of (mainly irrelevant) tales happened in my journey, but it became a haze. You stew in this melting pot of people, drifting in and out of consciousness as you collecticely wait.
At the end of my coach trip I was to get a scenic train from Zurich to a town on the edge of the Austrian Alps. Not wanting to risk missing the connection due to a likely coach delay, I planned a second night sleep in Zurich. Again, with a job I'd have probably got a hostel, instead I embraced the two wheeled tramp I am (sometimes four wheeled, sometimes none so it averages out, right?)
Urban bivis always have to be prioritise stealth, but I feel I went a bit far. I scoped on google maps a woodland that I could get a tram to. Walked up a bit, then dived deep into some bushes. No significant objects under me, but down a slope steep enough for a water bottle to topple. It was worse than the coach!
What made this up there with my worst nights sleep was the bugs. I had a simple bivi bag, tarp, quilt, and sleeping bag liner. No way of zipping myself safe. They feasted. The quantity of bites was ridiculous. Whenever an itch got scratched, my brain was flooded with short term bliss, then overflowwed with newfound agony.
Sunrise was utterly glorious, insta pictures could paint such a beautiful snapshot, but my phone is bust so that will have to remain exclusive to my memory.
Unsuprisingly, the train from Zurich left bang on time and was like a scenic slow film. Breathtaking vistas left me gazing out of the window in awe.
First thing I did on arrival was find a proper toilet. Genuinely groaned with pleasure at the relief. Quite possibly the best poo of my life. That's delayed gratification for you.
Nothing special but social, met up with an old friend at The Boar, Aust beforehand then together across the Severn Bridge - always spectacular.
Along the Wye Valley Greenway then after the tunnel we turned off up through the woods to the B4228 then all downhill to Tutshill. After school club at The Rising Sun, ice cream for the children, cider for the parents, Butty Batch and Cheesy chips for us.
I then retraced our route solo back to the tunnel and a spot by the river nearby I have used before. Good night and read the sign on Saturday morning that the tunnel is open 24 hours in July and August, but the lights are turned off at night ( I assume so that the bats can sleep)
Well refreshed again after another local trip
Post script : Intrigued by the glimpse of the quarry (Livox Quarry) on the opposite bank, I had a poke around on foot this week. Strange place, lots of Keep Out and security signs but accessible by a public footpath that goes no where, lake at its base, picnic benches, big ruined marque, no recent activity....another good Dr Who film set, along with Trefil
javatime wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2024 12:33 pm
...the sign on Saturday morning that the tunnel is open 24 hours in July and August, but the lights are turned off at night ( I assume so that the bats can sleep)
Don't bats sleep in the day and go out to feed at night That's why they live in caves (and tunnels) as they are dark in the day time? An can bats even see well enough to know if the lights are on or off?
Live bivvi in progress, in the woods near Kenmore at the foot of Loch Tay. With daughter number one and we were hoping to make it to Tomnadashan Mine, aka the Cave of Caer Bannog from Monty Python but it proved a stretch too far. Back to Pitlochry tomorrow to catch the train home sticking to National Cycle Route 7, but she did well today going up and over the big hill on the direct route.
As above, the plan was to visit the fabled Cave of Caer Bannog with daughter number one. She's outgrown her bike and won't fit my old hardtail (well, she probably would but she's not having it yet) so we rejigged her mum's old commuter with bigger tyres and a disk brake on the front at least.
It's not a single speed - that's a 7 speed Nexus hub with a reasonably wide range of gears. Not her fault that I underestimated the first hill.
Fair bit of pushing, but we did find a tenner by one of the gates that paid for ice creams later. Coming down the other side was proper twisty singletrack through bracken and gorse with rocks and streams that she loved but decided was enough, so after hitting the Highland Chocolatier in Strathtay and stocking up on chocolate buttons we switched to a B road and NC7 to Aberfeldy and lunch. From there it was onto Kenmore and by now it was getting on for 6pm so we knocked the idea of 7 and a half miles along Loch Tay on the head and backtracked into the woods where we found a cracking wee spot.
A sign said 'Unsafe Structure' so we pitched outside and got supper on. Two packets of noodles fit into a big mug but the stove was burning fiercely enough to be hard to manage and in fact started to melt the windshield.
Might have been the bioethanol. Not sure. Anyway we slept well and were up and away in a slight drizzle shortly after 7. We made good time despite taking a longer route and were back in Pitlochry in time for a sandwich and a pint before our train at 12.30.
About 45 miles all told by the time we got home. The girl done good.
Last edited by gecko76 on Sat Jul 27, 2024 9:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
If I hadn't wimped out (again) I might have bumped into you.
July part 2 - A second attempt of my Perthshire bimble but failed due to a lack of motivation to get heavily rained on.....
I nearly didn't start as the forecast for last night was horrible but at 8pm it still looked dry so I figured I'd get out and chance it. Of course the second I started out the rain came on but I avoided the worst of it. That said, after 1/4 of a mile out of the village the roads were totally awash! The rain is very selective this year....
Anyway I got to the same spot as last weekend (and Feb and March) and the sky cleared. Properly breezy so no midges. In fact it got quite chilly. Still had a good kip in the opulent luxury of the Deschutes and the mesh inner. But this morning it was somewhat cloudy so after much procrastination I took a nice route down to Auchterarder and sat in the sun / drizzle / sun / drizzle eating a Co-op breakfast and contemplating my moves. The weather forecast looked crap and a large hill to cross, almost certainly coinciding with the heaviest rain, led me to bottle it.
By way of penance I took a particularly hilly route home and caught the Stevens Bakery in Dollar for lunch. Thereafter it rained a lot. Hey ho.
@Gecko76, nice pics and congratulations on getting a teenager out bikepacking. From the smile on her face, she enjoyed it.
She really did. RetiredTester's trips with his teen last year were the inspiration. Mine is up for more but "not so far next time, okay dad?". Her sister needs to put on a few years and kilos before she's ready.
The only disappointment on this trip was the train on Thursday was supposed to be one of the Inter7City HST's brought up from the Western Region a couple of years ago, which her grandad helped develop and was responsible for maintaining for many years. This was taken at St Philip's Marsh in Bristol when they were new.
Just beyond my comfort zone (again): train 45 minutes to Lidlington (again), but then ride various bridleways to Woburn and popped into the Black Horse. Friendly young landlord who has a keen interest in good beer and many, many scatter cushions.
15 minutes before closing time the place filled up with Woburn's well-heeled Gen Z and became very convivial. On a Monday!
Plenty of deer leaping through the wheat fields and other wildlife scurrying around the undergrowth. Bivi'd under my favourite Christmas tree, 1 mile from home. So much for adventure .
Primary on call at the moment, so didn't think it appropriate to kip miles away from the house, and can't do Wednesday night as I need to leave for Scotland early on Thursday. So this is not quite the piss-take roller BaM, but it's not far off...
Headed out yesterday evening, just as it was getting dark. A local loop, that meant I was only ever about 10 to 15 mins from the house, just in case.
Got back to the house, sat down with a beer and read the internet. Then headed out into the paddocks behind the house and setup the bivvy bag. Didn't really get much sleep, but I must have sleep for bits of it. Here's the view back towards the house:
And the view from the edge of my garden:
After making a coffee, I headed out and did the same loop, but in the opposite direction. It was a lovely morning.
Let's hope for something slightly more adventurous next month...
If they're toy trains the people inspecting them must be Lego models .
Nerd alert! AWOOGA! ........
The HST/IC125 saved British Rail's bacon back in the 1970s (40% passenger increase in 4 years). A huge step change in journey times. I knew a number of the people involved with the development of the tilting APT (Advanced Passenger Train). Lot of advanced new world-first ideas for the time, boffins (some ex-aero), some problems, but they were almost there when That Woman cancelled it (in classic British fashion) and we now reap the rewards with the Pendolino tin cans, effectively buying our own technological breakthroughs back off the Italians. The APT guys were not well-liked by other engineers (some reports said they were banished to their own separate toilets!). When BR saw what was happening they tasked some of the more traditional pipe-smoking engineers to come up with a fairly "normal" but still very powerful (hence 125mph) alternative. Quick fag packet design, with some clever styling, and it was sorted in record time. Of course this is when we used to make things . As mentioned elsewhere the last ones have only just come out of service 40 years later. A bargain. (we'll draw a discreet veil over at least one of the "celebrities" chosen to TV-advertise BR at the time I think ).
Nerd alert cancelled, flashing lights and klaxons off... as you were .
Last edited by RIP on Tue Jul 30, 2024 8:50 pm, edited 6 times in total.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - WW
I remember a story about the "press" demonstration journey of the ATP. Basically journos of the time were known to imbibe on a regular basis and were pissed as newts on the train. Consequently they all got "sea sick" and blamed it on the train.
Better weight than wisdom, a traveller cannot carry
I actually rode on the APT some time in 1984/85 I think it was, and it was superb. I won a competition and the prize was two 1st Class train tickets to anywhere in the UK. Had already just been to Penzance and Thurso so me and a mate chose Stranraer for some insane reason. APT London - Glasgow then local train to Stranraer. Except for some inexplicable reason we bailed out at Barrhill in the middle of nowhere - pitch dark, train disappears leaving us all alone, total silence, errrr now what - and bivvied under the wooden station platform! To be honest I think we were pretty pissed on the train ourselves and we weren't even journalists.
We came back via Edinburgh but not before bailing again on the second night - again randomly and inexplicably just to see what would happen - at Breich near Livingston. The guard was baffled. I've since discovered that Breich station is one of the least-used stations in the UK. We didn't know that at the time but after kipping in my one-man tent in a field we went back to the station next morning to discover that - oh dear - it was Sunday and, er, no Sunday trains!! A nice gentleman (where did he come from?!) informed us in a very broad Scottish accent that a bus might take us to Edinburgh from Livingston - which turned out to be a four mile walk away!
Many other daft stories emanated from that outing (including randomly helping the then unknown comedian Arthur Smith deliver his Alternative Royal Mile Tour (torn kilt, stained white shirt, fag, can of lager; made it up as he went along) at the Edinburgh Festival (incredibly we'd come across that at random too - had never heard of it!), and kipping on Dunbar football pitch on our third night) and looking back I think that was the first time my future bikepacking see-what-happens-if technique started to gel!
Sorry to bore you with that little bit of nostalgia - got a bit carried away with my own memories and reflections .
Anyway, back to the studio again...... how are you getting on with King Alfred's Way, Verena? And where's that eagerly-anticipated mega Big Bear report, Kev?
Last edited by RIP on Tue Jul 30, 2024 10:08 pm, edited 8 times in total.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - WW
I heard on the radio that one of the chief designers of the HST died recently.
Scotrail's interpretation of them does leave something to be desired in terms of bike spaces - the nice roomy guards van is wired shut and bikes go in amongst the passenger compartment - not easy on the Jones.....
Ahh breich station - as fine a place as you'd ever hope to visit, slightly outclassed by Addiewell and feels only slightly less remote than Corrour!
When I worked in Glasgow and lived in Embra, I quite often used to get the slow train home, when the high speed line trains were rammed. It took a half hour extra but it was a generally pleasant journey on an elderly 'super sprinter' (I forget the class number Reg) which always had plenty of bike space.
frogatthefarriers wrote: ↑Fri Jul 26, 2024 9:18 pm
@Gecko76, nice pics and congratulations on getting a teenager out bikepacking. From the smile on her face, she enjoyed it.
Result! Respect!
Echoed!
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - WW
gecko76 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 27, 2024 8:04 am
The only disappointment on this trip was the train on Thursday was supposed to be one of the Inter7City HST's brought up from the Western Region a couple of years ago, which her grandad helped develop and was responsible for maintaining for many years.
...and while we're on the subject of the technological powerhouse that was British Rail in the 1970's, it's worth remembering they pioneered commercial hovercraft travel between England and France (it's the future ), with one of their SRN4's appearing in the 1971 James Bond film "Diamonds are Forever" (WTF! ). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaspeed
Aaannndddd....in the mid-1980's BR also invented the electronic "Solid State Interlocking" which went on to become the most popular signalling interlocking system... in the world . https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_S ... terlocking
In fact: I think British Rail may even have invented Concorde .Or maybe I just dreamt that .
Phew! I've well-and-truly exhausted my Google-Fu. I'm off for a lie-down
.
That's why they live in caves (and tunnels) as they are dark in the day time? An can bats even see well enough to know if the lights are on or off?
.
...and while we're on the subject of the technological powerhouse that was British Rail in the 1970's, it's worth remembering they pioneered commercial hovercraft travel between England and France (it's the future 
).
.Or maybe I just dreamt that 
.