Spectacular

Despite failing to get an early start again we packed a lot in!  Again riding as pillion on Biscuit with BikerBabe at the controls, we contrived another Lake District loop, heading south from Keswick and making a beeline for Coniston. For at Coniston is The Ruskin Museum and at the museum is a piece of history.

A few years ago at Loch Fad on the isle of Bute I watched the test runs of the rebuilt Bluebird K7, Donald Campbell's record setting jet powered three-point hydroplane that fatally crashed at top speed, sank, mouldered for decades at the bottom of the lake and was eventually found, raised and painstakingly restored to fully working order. The great machine now resides at the museum.  There are also many exhibits about Coniston's lost railway, its history of copper mining, and last but not least, the writer, artist, geologist and general polymath John Ruskin.

After a late picnic lunch of banana and peanut butter rolls, we rode cross-country via Hawkshead to squeeze onto the ferry across Windermere to the pretty town of Bowness-on-Windermere. We strolled around the place for a time and found a table in a hippy, groovy cafe and enjoyed some coffee.  From the cafe we wandered down to the marina and found a bench, and gazed out over the water for a while.

But we couldn't gaze forever because we had more to do! Going north from the town along the A592 takes you up the magnificent Kirkstone Pass. It starts out as winding roads with wood-covered Armco, then climbs and the Armco makes way for stone walls and precipitous drops. Little Biscuit chugged and popped and motored her way up to the very top, and parked next to the Kirkstone Inn, now sadly very much closed.  The view back down the valley was just incredible, views for miles and miles.

Dropping down to Glenridding we met Ullswater, and were having such a good time on flowing picturesque road that we quite forgot where we were going, or if we were even going in the right direction, which we very much weren't.  By the time we'd reached the northern end of the lake we were nearly at Penrith, and hadn't had tea yet.  After a quick confab, we decided to 'make hay while the sun shines', and backtracked a touch and rocked up at the Pooley Bridge Inn for food.  We could ride home in the dark.  I had a very well filled chicken burger and chips that certainly filled a spot!

As the light and the summer warmth was beginning to go, we set off for the A66 and sped westwards back to Keswick for milk and back to base for a good old pot of tea and to close out our 80 mile day.