Scotland, Mabie-baby!

Hmmm Scotland beckoned us this weekend... stuck out it's tight little fist and with a single finger suggested we come hither... and hence we obliged, an early Saturday morning wake up no problem for seasoned adventurers such as ourselves.

Didn't actually make it onto the Phoenx trail till like 2pm thanks to some incidental shopping at a retail outlet megastore thingy in Gretna which is always good for a bargain... went looking for new shoes for mez, mez came out with still more lingerie, socks, pyjamas and a singlet, at 23 pound, to my trackpants at 4.50. I win the fight for most scottish when in Scotland. Gretna has some interesting history... must date back a bit, but used to be known as the place to elope to from England (being JUST inside the Scottish border) True to form you drive past a sign saying welcome to Scotland and there is a sign telling you to pull off the road to your right for the marriage house! Nice!

Bit of crazy weather - we drove most of the day in brilliant sunshine, hit some really dense fog just out of manchester, then back into sunshine, then back into fog in Scotland. In fact the start of the trail was still in fog and bits of the track still had iced over puddles and grass on either side, but get up onto the ridge and we were again bathed in sunlight. Pretty cool really. Beaut views from the top which the photo's don't fully do justice to (they never do) and nice to be out in the fresh air and away from any people. In fact only saw two other people the whole 17km of the track and they were walkers, not bikers... Final wee bit of sunshine sees mez looking a little jaded and me far too smiley having just completed about three quarters of the track - had a go at fixing the camera to my chest and videoing part of a couple of the downhill sections which was fun but unfortunately one's chest looks pretty well straight down between the handlebars at the ground so doesn't give you much of an idea... might try again next time we go riding and maybe even look at strapping the video camera to my helmet... would work well as long as i don't come off!!! Really cool downhill section though with loads of berms in it (sloped corners to lean into) and a few drop offs and boardwalk sections (see below!)

So then saturday night we stayed at this quite cool wee place which was a bunkhouse (we had a whole room to ourselves which was nice) right in the middle of mabie forest (we had to drive on forestry roads about a mile into the forest to get to it) - really cool place and they had an outdoor hot tub which was mandatory on a frosty saturday eve after a decent ride (the paddle is to stir it - has a fire basically underneath to warm it up so you got to keep the water moving or you get hot spots!). Following a leisurely bathe, we toddled our warm selves down to the local hotel for a great dinner, including (for me at least) a trial of the local fare, namely Haggis (when in Scotland, eat as the Scots do...) Didn't even taste too bad, for what is essentially leftover bits of animal... didn't ask what was in it. it's generally not a good idea if they have to use strong flavours like garlic and pepper to get it to taste ok!!! After a nice glass of port by the open fire we (actually we is not exactly correct there, Mez is more truthful) drove the mile or so back through the forest and slept like bears (hibernating ones, as opposed to angry ones!). Sunday morning came as so did the mist again so we went for a bit of a wander in the forest only to stumble on an iron age dwelling... ok so we didn't exactly stumble on it, we followed the track to it... interesting point there was that the iron age (2500BC - 500ADish) was thought to be still a time of hunter gatherer types (much like the stone age which preceded it) and they thought that the dwellings were very temporary ones... until they built some replicas and found that they were still very much standing solid 30 years later, really cool and clever design too which i could describe but it would take too long. Clever though how you have a fire inside to heat and the smoke just filters out through the thatch roof - which you can kinda see in the photo on the left... looks cool eh?!

Onwards went we, deciding against further riding (was a bit uncomfortable for mezzy who now assures me she can feel this small lump in her belly!), and instead opted for a drive throught the scottish countryside. This is us on the shores of none other than Loch RYAN!!! Interestingly Loch Ryan was used as a major military station in the second world war, it was thought that in the event of heavy bombing to Liverpool or Glasgow, the Sneaky Loch Ryan (sitting between the two) would remain unnoticed, so it was home to about 4000 troops who were stationed out on farms around the area... also was where the majority of the american troops came to prior to d-day invasions in northern France. Interesting slice of history there. Scottish driving easily beats English for beauty me thinks, reminded me a little of home - some great wee coastal stretches along the edge of the Irish sea. Wonder if the Scots are at all bummed about it being the Irish sea as opposed to the Scottish sea?? Scottish towns all have this nice wee saying as you leave and locals seemed pretty friendly when we stopped... And that was pretty much it - nice pink sunset to farewell us as we crossed the border back into England. Great weekend away, ridiculous number of miles, but then, you only live once hey? Hope your weekend was swell!