Day 1 - Saturday 3rd September
I had been packed for a few days - I couldn't wait to get off.
Nig was riding to Bradford over from Scunthorpe and then we were both setting off from my house. He arrived around 10:30 and we set off at around 11 after a quick coffee. We had just under 100 miles to do so we were in no hurry.
The weather had been mixed all morning, very cloudy with the odd shower, but that was fine with us, we could handle the odd shower. As we set off it looked to be brightening up a little, and the riding was very pleasant. It was nice to be touring again!
We made very good progress part Skipton and towards Settle. Just after Ingleton I saw that one of the rain covers on Nig's panniers was starting the flag a lot. I was about to flag Nig down when it popped off and flew off. I flagged Nig to pull over but by the time we stopped we were quite a way from where he lost it. All the contents were bagged up so Nig wasn't too bothered about retrieving it, so we carried on.
We had decided to head into Windermere and over the Kirkstone Pass rather than head up the M6 as it is a much more interesting ride. The weather had stayed kind to us up to Windermere but as we headed up the pass the weather deteriorated fast. By the time we got to the top, it was heavy horizontal rain and we were both wet through. We had decided to stop at the Kirkstone pass inn for lunch and it was nice to be in the dry.
We had a burger each. We had a bit of a debate about putting on our waterproofs as we were already wet through, but after checking on the still dreadful weather I decided to waterproof up. This turned out to be a very good move, I was a lot happier and more comfortable once we got moving again.
It was a short and very pleasant ride, despite the weather, to our accommodation. Originally we were going to stop in the Youth Hostel in Keswick but I had cancelled it after discovering they had no parking facilities. A quick search for motorcycle friendly accommodation with parking facilities turned up Stafford House in Greystoke. Well the place was amazing. Set in the ground of Greystoke Castle - you actually ride through the entrance to the Castle. The guest-house itself is a stunning listed building.
We pulled up dripping wet and wondered around to the entrance. We were greeted by the very friendly owner who showed us to our very nice room. She also said if we had anything that needed drying to let her have it and she'd get them dried for the following day. The interior matched the stunning exterior, it was definitely one of the nicest places I've ever stayed.
We unpacked the bikes, got changed into nice warm dry clothes, and let the nice lady have all our wet gear. We relaxed in the wonderful surroundings for a little while and then headed into the village. I'd made a reservation at the Boot & Shoe in Greystoke and it was a very good job I had as it was very busy. The pub was very lively, our food was very nice, the beer was good, there was a live band and everybody was very friendly. We had a fantastic night, and will definitely return to Greystoke as soon as possible.
