Cutting it fine as usual but a crisp night on the heath - Kept awake by the annual owl Hootenanny - Loads of them - If I find out who they are, heads will roll, well, rotate as the case may be.



Pitched just in time for the arrival of the woodland spirits.



Mist rolled in later but clear skies straight up.

2/2
Cheeky mid-week overnight in the Lakes with Fargoist to keep my BaM train a'rollin..
Beautiful clear skys last night & was treated to a few planes passing through the valley this morning, including 2 Typhoons first thing

February ticked off last Friday. More or less a carbon copy of January, train to wigan, met Sam and John and rode a few miles through the woods to the pub. Met up with a few more guys and had some food. Then onto the bivvy spot for the worst night sleep I've had for a good while. Packed up and rode 10 miles along the canal back to wigan. Hopefully I'll use a different spot on March.

Feb ticked off for me too. Rode the round about way to Burton Dassett where I bivvied on the top in a small hollow out of the breeze, but in full view of the sky. Lay in my bivvy bag staring at the stars until I fell asleep. It got down to around freezing, but I was snug in my sleeping bag and bivvy bag. It was nice to have a minimal bivvy, no tarp, just a mat, bag and bivvy.

Woke up this morning to engine revving, and the local farmer drove past in his pickup. Not sure who was more surprised......

Trundled down to work for a shower and breakfast.

February knocked off in my customary last minute style on Tuesday night. I extended my work commute into Durris Forest for a chilly overnight before riding into work bathed in beautiful sunrise light.

Clear night for cold temps and stunning starscapes.


Packed up as the sun rose


All commutes should be like this.



Wordier version: http://highlanddrifter.com/bam-2019-february

2/2 for me and Joe.

Hmmm, looks like someone else visited the Rock and Run sleeping bag sale?

JoseMcTavish wrote:Hmmm, looks like someone else visited the Rock and Run sleeping bag sale?

Yes, I noticed that you had too! Very toasty they were too. We were too hot in them the following night when we stayed in a bothy with a stove, but the long zip makes them easy to open out over you like a quilt.

2/2
I wasn't planning on having a go at this but with the weather being so good i couldn't resist an early finish Monday did some hasty packing and drove to Talybont on Usk set off down the canal about 5 great warm up with the setting sun, bivied up in the black mountains accompanied by a stunning night sky equally matched by the sunrise . From about 9 Tuesday morning needed to wear nothing more than the Bearbones blue and orange riding shirts all day not bad for February .

Now that the weather has returned to type I better try and get the hang of adding pictures !

First of the year for me - missed last month with illness and then skiing trip. Tent at Loch Garten, into Nethy for food and the Petal Power talk, then back for the (beautiful) night. Owl was a bit loud though. Managed to forget the stove, so forced to forgo porridge in favour of a bacon roll at the Druie.

Picture of Anne by the Loch now I finally know how to insert the thing

oldstrath wrote: forced to forgo porridge in favour of a bacon roll at the Druie.

Tiny violin...

forced to forgo porridge in favour of a bacon roll at the Druie.

Tiny violin...

Indeed. As mistakes go, definitely one of my better ones!

Wotsits wrote:2/2
Cheeky mid-week overnight in the Lakes with Fargoist to keep my BaM train a'rollin..
Beautiful clear skys last night & was treated to a few planes passing through the valley this morning, including 2 Typhoons first thing

Maybe less cheeky for me, hopefully I've got a one way ticket for the BaM train with my first of 2019.

Fargoist wrote:Maybe less cheeky for me, hopefully I've got a one way ticket for the BaM train with my first of 2019.

I bet you miss my bum-trumpet in the morning

I’ll be sure to load up again with beans next time

Last minute bivvy, Braefoot Fife.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160435039 ... res/i8YWuc

Liked your little hut there Borderer with its curious low door, surprised there weren't some hobbits already in residence . Do I spy a board game being played too? Excellent.

Just back from my emergency additional Feb BaM in the Peaks. Quite a few photos, sorry about that. Half way up the first steep hill my frame of mind wasn't improved by pondering on this bit of existential angst:





At the top of Macclesfield Forest I noticed what looked like an interesting track roughly in the direction I thought I was going. Unfortunately it was badly cobble-strewn and uphill thereby enforcing lots of pushing . Remind me to ride it from the other end next time. Or possibly never. Still, there was a nice water top-up spot:



Next stop Three Shires Head with its ludicrously picturesque situation:



I love fords, and this was the first of about six on this trip:



Yet another rocky and sandy bridleway brought me to Flash - Britain's highest village, where I swapped photos with a roadie-type. Having ridden from not much higher than sea-level that morning, it certainly felt pretty blinking high.



At this point I thought I might head down the River Dove, but spotted a curious village on the map called King Sterndale further east, which appeared to be a dead end. Maybe the king got stern there because he had to turn his coach round at the dead end, who knows. A slightly futile diversion but at least I got to view their headless cross, again maybe lopped off by the king in a fit of dead-end temper:



Managed to get vaguely back to where I thought I intended to be, and continued following the River Dove along some cracking bridleways, tracks and lanes, including yet another ford. The impressive Chrome Hill dominated the scene. Didn't see a soul all afternoon in this tucked-away bit of the Peak District.





Just caught the shop at Longnor before it closed at 6pm, then slowly headed to Earl Sterndale and the Quiet Woman pub, due to open at 7pm. Eventually the door creaked ajar at 7.20, and mine host beckoned me in. It was like a decades step back in time, pretty much the gentleman's front room, coal fire on the go, a few wooden chairs and tables, no musak, any sort of electronics frowned upon, etc. For the next 3 hours or so I was the only customer and spent an interesting time chatting with the guy about anything and everything, until randomly at quarter past ten he wandered off to bed! Managed to sneak a quick pic:



Interesting pub sign seen next morning!



Bedtime for Reg too. As often happens I didn't get any further than the nearby graveyard. Didn't bother with the tarp, and haven't got a bivvy bag so it was just mat and bag on the ground. Chillier night than the day had promised and had to wriggle a fleece over my baselayer at 4am. Lots of owls, and I'm sure I saw a ghostly headless woman floating in the church doorway as the clock struck midnight. Up at 6.30 for porridge and ovaltine and headed further east. And yes that proper phone box has a proper phone in it.

There's some surprisingly remote-feeling tracks in the White Peak:



And also some astoundingly deep holes carefully hidden behind not-very-secure fencing. One of the many limestone quarries hereabouts, with some birds which suddenly took off as I was contemplating the scene:



Wandered towards the River Wye with various wrong turnings to add to the fun on the way, arriving at Millers Dale. Thought I may as well divert up to the top end and back to enjoy riding through the old railway tunnels.



The steep haul up onto the Pennine Bridleway to Wheston necessitated another quick water stop:



Feeling hungry I dropped down into Tideswell and was provided with a very pleasant veggie breakfast, plus four bits of toast and marmalade and two pots of tea:



I left the village somewhat heavier and pedalling considerably more slowly than I'd arrived, towards Wormhill and Tunstead and yet another giant excavation - Tunstead limestone quarry, reputedly the largest quarry in Europe (presumably not to be for much longer, sigh. Or will it...):



Another 2000 tons of lime chippings heads away to who knows where:



Buxton provided another much-needed water stop, where I partook of some Buxton Spring Water - free from yer actual Buxton spring not a nasty plastic bottle! (my nasty plastic bottle has been re-used goodness knows how many times):



The final part of my wanderings led up over Burbage Moor and past the source of the River Goyt, in conditions that were a marked contrast to the previous day's sunny strangeness.



Just as I'm loading the old girl onto the train at Macclesfield to head home I notice a total front-tyre flat. It'd been fine coming through the town, and I thanked the great bikepacker in the sky for saving it until right at the end.



'Reg'

2.5/2, 2.5/12, 37.5/37.

Nice write up that Reg. We love our spring water too, delicious stuff.
Our doss was The Secret Howff in the Cairngorms. I'm not allowed to be more specific, and anyway, finding it is 9/10s of the fun. Yes there is a home made chess set there, with pieces cleverly cut from shotgun shell cases.

Will write it up properly for our blog later - it's a cracker - it had to be really special to get my grumpy teen excited about going out in the hills again.

Ta. As you know, I'm afraid with my write ups you usually get lots of terminally scarred landscapes, industrial mess, scrapyards, crumbly buildings, derelict canals etc etc. If you want fancy scenery, wild mountain tops, pretty flowers and so on, it's probably best to look elsewhere

Come to Scotland! Jump on one of those train things

Takes me back Reg. If you fancy a proper stepback in time, visit the Three Stags Heads in Wardlow mires ... don't think it's changed since the 1700's.

I actually choose to gravitate towards these places Bridg, but I don't mind scenery if it happens to be on the route . Scotland, indeed - well now that I have my Old Farts Railcard it will have to be put back on the list again. I'll drop you and Joe a line when I need a chaperone .

Ahhh yes the Stags. Heh heh, I was in there once, lots of uproariousness going on, dogs leaping about all over the tables, Pat and whatshisname holding court etc. Bloke comes in, 'pint of lager please'. Instantaneous deathly hush settles over the assembled throng. Chap sees the lie of the land, swallows nervously, but has the presence of mind to 'get his coat' before the situation deteriorates further .

Ahhh yes the Stags. Heh heh, I was in there once, lots of uproariousness going on, dogs leaping about all over the tables, Pat and whatshisname holding court etc. Bloke comes in, 'pint of lager please'. Instantaneous deathly hush settles over the assembled throng. Chap sees the lie of the land, swallows nervously, but has the presence of mind to 'get his coat' before the situation deteriorates further .

Aye, there's no lager in that place. I recall 3 pumps screwed to the bar (plank) each named after a lurcher ... I think 'Black Lurcher' was something like 8.5%.

RIP wrote:I'll drop you and Joe a line when I need a chaperone

You would be very welcome C. You should come to Scotland in may when the weather is good though and the midges aren't so bad. Unfortunately we won't be in the country then, but you should come anyway....

RIP wrote:Ta. As you know, I'm afraid with my write ups you usually get lots of terminally scarred landscapes, industrial mess, scrapyards, crumbly buildings, derelict canals etc etc. If you want fancy scenery, wild mountain tops, pretty flowers and so on, it's probably best to look elsewhere

Nah - I really enjoy those posts of yours. I can get endless wilderness easily. Seeing how and where folk lived and worked is really interesting.