"Left to Live" - A 23-Day Motorcycle Adventure Around UK and Ireland...

[TravisGill]

Day 21 - Thu, 13 Sep:


300 km of riding today. We left Scotland to return to England and enjoyed Holy Island (B), Northumberlandia (C), Angel of the North (D), and North York Moors National Park (E).

We woke up at 7:38 AM and got our camping equipment and bikes packed up by 8:00 AM. A record for us!

We took the freeway in order to make good time to Holy Island. This small community is isolated from the rest of England twice a day when the tide raises. Access is via a causeway that can be driven at low tide. We just happened to luck out and were able to visit from 10:05 AM until 15:50 PM today!


The entrance road into Holy Island. This causeway is the only way in and the only way out for motored vehicles. Plan your route because twice a day, during the high tides, the road will be covered with salty ocean water. Salt water is not good for our mules, even if they are adventure mules.


The island’s website lists the safe times to travel across the causeway for each day. Although the website said it wasn’t safe until 10:05 AM, these folks are already on their way at 09:50. I think we’ll wait a bit...


... and take pictures of this guy chilling just behind a concrete barrier. Aweeeeee!


Crossing the causeway was no problem; although there was a short section of about 6 inch deep salt water to cross. Just before entering the town, you must park in a large paid-parking area. I imagine this keeps traffic within the small community to a minimum and provides a bit of income to a town that seems to flourish because of visitors.


A small bird sits on the cross inscribed with the Latin abbreviation “Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm” or "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."


A nicely decorated window sill in the village of Holy Island.


A nature display showing that there is more to the island than just the village and castle.


Bird stickers hopefully keeps folks (and birds) from bumping into the glass.


The flooring in the visitor’s center challenges you to find the bird that matches the “foot” print.


The extreme tide not only effects access to the island but access to your sailboat as well. These boats have specially designed twin keels to support the weight of the boat as it sits on the muddy bottom.


Boats, a small village, walking trails - my kind of place.


Just up the road is the Lindisfarne Castle, a 16th-century castle built on a hill overlooking the North Sea.


Fall flowers in full bloom, a nice breeze, sunny skies – a perfect day!


A small garden provides a diversion from the hustle and bustle of tourists at the castle.




A sculpture of a Snipe made from twisted branches.




Flying with the Snipe.


The rocky beach is full of hundreds of cairns.




Many folks place the round rocks, from the beach, to form all kinds of shapes.


Next to the castle are the Castle Point Lime Kilns that were used for the calcification of limestone to produce the form of lime called quicklime. These kilns have not been used since the 1880s but are surprisingly well preserved.


A recycled boat hull is cut on half to produce the roof and walls of this storage shed.


Lindisfarne Castle from the rocky beach.


Seaweed with its pods is exposed at low tide.




On our way back to the parking lot we walked through town...


...and enjoying a lunch of some creme of celeriac soup at The Ship Inn.


Some artwork and trinkets above the fireplace at The Ship Inn.


A scarf with the UK flag hangs from a coat-hook at The Ship Inn.


A lion head door knocker in the town of Holy Island.


Local venders were selling fresh fruit and vegetables along the road.


We left the island well before the tide started raising so that we wouldn’t be like this poor chap.

[TravisGill]

Day 21 - Thu, 13 Sep (continued...)

After Holy Island, our next stop was Northumberlandia. Northumberlandia? Sounds like a ferry-tale kinda place!? What is it? It’s 1.5 million tons of earth from a neighboring mine formed into the shape of a reclining female figure.


A small cafe and visitors center are at the entrance area. There is no cost to park or visit the park.


The sculpture is is 34 meters (112 feet) high and 400 meters (1,300 feet) long.


From the parking area you walk through a small forest.


The trail has some surprises like this tiny home for Smurfs.


The Lady of the North! Her face and chest are visible from the viewing point.


Chantil standing on the... (get your mind out of the gutter!)...viewing hill, located next to the Lady of the North.


On her forehead is this sculpture of a hand and pointing finger. What does it mean? What is it for??


Picking your nose, I guess?!?


View of the Lady of the North looking down from her forehead. You can see her nose and eyes in the foreground.


On her chest is a small plaque pointing to another sculpture – The Angel of the North. Hmm, we’ll have to look that one up.


A section of her hip is sculpted with a sitting area to enjoy the green grass and blue sky.


The visitors center has an overhead view of the lady. Drones are not allowed due to close proximity to a nearby airport.


A mosaic of the Lady of the North.

After exploring the hills and walkways of Northumberlandia we made our way a bit further south to this sculpture titled…


Angel of the North; a contemporary piece, designed by Antony Gormley. Chantil is as the base of the statue for size comparison.


The area is also an informal memorial with items hanging from nearby trees that were placed in memory of those who passed on.


The problem I had with this sculpture is the location. From the freeway, you only see the very top of it over the treeline...


...I wished it has been placed on top of a mountain and visible from all compass directions. Even so, it was worth the short stop.

We continued south. Found a Chinese takeout place. Ate it in the parking lot; something homeless people and motorcycle travelers seem to do.


For dessert, we shared this Snickers bar and learned a new British word. Faffer: A fussy, indecisive individual, prone to procrastination, dithering between tasks, and who is easily distracted and achieves very little. In-two-minds, he/she flops from one thing to another and starts all over again.

We entered the North York Moors National Park where I was expecting a forested area but was surprised by the beauty of the wide-open plains.


Watch out for sheep! Initially, Chantil would call them out via the Bluetooth headset, but after a km of this, we realized it was futile - There were just too many sheep. At least sheep are not skittish like deer; they seem indifferent to passing vehicles.




Enjoying the sunset and gorgeous views. North York Moors NP, you surprised me!




I even found a trail that was a bit fun for riding my off-road mule through. I wanted to take it down the hill a bit more, but it looked like it didn’t go anywhere that we could camp for the night.


A stone cross just off the road at North York Moors National Park.


We rode until just after sunset and found a place to camp in a field next to the White Lion Inn. Cost £5. One of cheapest places we’ve camped the whole trip! It also came with some great views once we found an area for the tent that was clear of sheep crap. Dumb sheep seem to crap everywhere.

Tomorrow we continue south through England. I’m starting to feel a bit saddened that we only have two days left of vacation…

[TravisGill]

Day 22 - Fri, 14 Sep:


261 km. Our trip through England continues south. From North York Moors National Park (A) to York (B), Needles Eye (C), Nottingham (D) and camping at Kelham Hall Camp Site (E).


We packed and left early enough to spend all morning in York. A little wet this morning, but not too bad.


Good morning random sheep chilling on the side of the road!

We arrived in York early enough to see shop owners getting ready to open their businesses for the day.


York Glass provides a fun way to see York and provides a free map for finding the 22 lucky cats York. Gotta’ catch ‘em all! They also sell a bit of luck in the form of a glass cat.


Here is the map. Two routes are offered; one for an easy walk, and another for a longer walk. We ended up doing both routes – after all, isn’t it unlucky not to find all the cats?


Here’s one climbing the side of the wall! Spider Cat!!


A hand-drawn map shows the town of York, unfortunately without the cats, however there are two dogs.


Another cat! This one is a bit ghostly!


A lady with a cool hat caught the attention of my camera. She was just sitting next to a storefront window taking notes or drawing.


Some of the bright artwork on the market window.


Another cat! This one is on the hunt for a pigeon.


The town has a great Victorian feel to it with artwork on the stone walls.


The York Cathedral is never too far away and provides bearings through the curvy streets.


This is a bronze cat with his own ledge.


Another colorful map of York, UK.


NOT one of the cats. This one is NOT LUCKY. If you see this one stab it in the brain with the largest machete you can find.


Clifford's Tower. Built originally in 1068, on the orders of William I, to dominate the former Viking city of York.


Geese enjoy grazing on the green grass at Tower Gardens.


Ferry boats pass each other on the River Ouse.


A cat peering over the edge of one of the stores entrances.


A bright and cheery street where shops of all flavors are selling their wares.


City of York Coat of Arms decorates a street corner.


The stained-glass window in the St. Martin le Grand.


Close-up of the stained glass.


A reminder of those who bravely took to the skies to protect York from Luftwaffe bombers during WWII.


Krispy Kreme donuts in England! A bit of Americana here in the UK! We asked the cashier if there was a place nearby that had freshly made HOT LIGHT Krispy Kremes. He didn’t know what we were talking about. Brother, you are missing out if you’ve never experienced a freshly glazed Krispy Kreme!


I only ate two! Promise.


These small bronze studs marks the wall trail - another interesting way to explore York.


The walls of York have stood since 71 AD when they were built by the Romans.


The Stonegate Devil is a reference to the printer’s apprentice and assistant, who was responsible for carrying hot metal type. In printing folklore, a particular type of demon haunted every print-shop, performing mischief such as inverting type, misspelling words or removing lines of completed type. Over time, the source of these errors was transferred to the printer’s assistant, who retained the nickname ‘the printer’s devil.’


An interesting orange color of paint made the French based L'OCCITANE EN PROVENCE boutique stand out from the rest.


The York Minster is so large that it’s difficult to take a picture of the entire thing. The best I could do was these smaller sections.


The church and cathedral were finished in 1472.


We didn’t go inside but I wish we had after finding out the Great East Window is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the country.


Much of the medieval York still remains.

After York we rode to an interesting site that we discovered on the Atlas Obscura website called the Needles Eye. A fun story behind this creation.


What would you do to save face after making a £10 wager that you could drive horses and a wagon through the eye of a needle?


If you were Marquis of Rockingham in 1730, you would have had Mason John Carr built this 46-foot-tall pyramid...


...just so you could prove to your friends that you could indeed drive a team of horses and wagon through “the eye of a needle”. All this for a £10 bet!

Our next location was not planned until last night. I remember watching Walt Disney’s Robin Hood as a kid but had no idea that a place called Nottingham and Sherwood Forest were real places! Off to see Major Oak and perhaps Robin Hood as well! Unfortunately, by the time we arrived the visitors center and access to the park was closed. I suppose if we wanted to live the spirit of Robin Hood, we would have defied the law and rode our motorcycles into the forest and camped by Major Oak. Going to jail or being fined in a foreign country is not my idea of a vacation, so we ended up camping nearby at the Kelham Hall Camp Site.

Tomorrow is our last day in England…

[TravisGill]

Day 23 - Sat, 15 Sep - Final Day:

Our final day of a spirited motorcycle adventure through England, Whales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, and Scotland comes to an ending today. Of course, we are saddened by this, but we are also extremely grateful for this opportunity. As my late father-in-law always said "Remember the good." It’s been a great adventure!!


A final 310km push! A morning of Nottingham Forest (B), followed by a Land Rover convention, Ely Cathedral (C), and finally ending the trip at the Harwich Ferry Dock (D) to return to mainland Europe.


As close to camping in Nottingham Forest as we could get - camping in a small forest at Kelham Hall.


The current Kelham Hall was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1863.


The Kelham Hall stands on 52 acres of land that includes Victorian gardens and statues.


Many consider Kelham Hall to be a masterpiece of high Victorian Gothic architecture, entirely asymmetrical, with a gloriously irregular skyline, and crowning 'grandiloquent' towers.
*Wikipedia words - not mine.


We walked around the entire residence and enjoyed seeing some of the less frequently visited sides of the hall.


The Union Jack, the national flag of the United Kingdom.

We left Kelham Hall to Sherwood Forest to see Robin Hood - the animated, talking, red fox of my childhood memories. I wonder how tall he is?


A clear, blue skies day, without having to wear rain gear!

We parked (motorcycles were free) and hiked a short distance to see the elderly lady known as…


…Major Oak! This legendary 800 to 1,000-year old Oak Tree looks a bit aged with braces to support her sagging limbs. Major Oak is rumored to be a hangout of Robin Hood and his Marry Men.


Chantil stands next to a sign explaining the short history of Major Oak.


Acorns from the Sherwood Forest!! I know, it weird that I’m fascinated with Sherwood Forest being a REAL PLACE. I just had no idea until a few days ago!




A cluster of unique mushrooms.


Fun signs indicate items are hiding throughout the forest path...


...like Robin Hood’s hat.

Although Sherwood Forest and Major Oak are real, it’s seems that an animated, talking, red-colored fox, named Robin Hood is not. Big childhood let-down folks!! In fact, no real record of a “Robin Hood” even exist and it’s been debated since the 13th century.


The new visitors center was recently opened to the public just three weeks ago and features fun drawings of Sherwood Forest.


Kids draw and display their own versions of Robin Hood. After learning about him, I feel he was more of poacher than a charismatic leader running around the forest in attractive green tights.


I still think the talking and animated red fox is as good of a guess of who Robin Hood really was.
*Picture from Disney’s Robin Hood


A fun Lego figure of the famed Robin Hood! Although, I still believe he was a talking fox.

After we left Nottingham Forest, we made good time on the freeway but were distracted by signs pointing to a Land Rover convention.


These are some of my favorite vehicles, so we stopped to admire rows and rows of custom Discoverys and Defenders.


Fun vinyl stickers.


Riding through the grass field where thousands of custom Land Rovers are parked!

We continued along on a beautiful and sunny-day. Actually it was beautiful, until we ran into a traffic mess on the A14. It turns out that southbound traffic on the A14 was completely shut down! Who shuts down an entire freeway on a weekend? It was a mass of metal and frustrated drivers. We had to find a way around and this delayed us for about 30-40 minutes. Such is life...

The small city of Ely’s crown jewel is the impressive Ely Cathedral. Its origins date back to AD 672 when St. Etheldreda built an abbey church. The present building dates back to 1083, and cathedral status was granted it in 1109.


An impressive cathedral that stands 66 meters (216 ft) tall at its main entrance and west tower.


The delay on the A14 freeway turned out to be a blessing because just as we arrived, a new bride and groom were leaving which allowed us to capture this memory. We wish them the best!


The cathedral is quite impressive considering the relatively small size of Ely with a population of just 20k.


The octagonal tower forms the most distinctive and celebrated feature of the cathedral.




The impressive Octagon as seem from inside looking towards the Choir.


The Octagon was actually born out of an accident; in 1322 the central crossing tower collapsed. It was enlarged to form the octagon instead of being restored to its original size and square shape.


A modern sculpture of Jesus Christ hangs from the Nave.


Some of the amazing detail and biblical stories told via the stained-glass windows.


A weeping cherub mourns the death of a prominent religious leader.


Looking towards the West Tower from beneath the Octagon.


A modern statue titled Christ and Saint Mary Magdalene by sculptor David Wynne, depicts the moment when Mary recognizes Jesus on the morning of the resurrection.


The detailed roof artwork of the nave section of the cathedral.


Meridiana by Heleine Blumenfeld. An exhibition titled “Tree of Life” by nationally acclaimed artist and contemporary sculptor Helaine Blumenfeld was on display throughout the cathedral.


Prayer candles flicker inside the vastness of the cathedral walls.

After the Ely Cathedral we did a bit of walking around the shopping square nearby.


A memorial to soldiers who fought for England’s freedom and way of life. The red poppies on the lapel of the soldiers marks the 100 years since the end of WWI.

By now it was late afternoon, and many of the shops were closing for the evening. We continued along two-lane roads to Harwich where we would be catching our ferry to the Netherlands.


We came across this roadside table selling pears (not apples?) where you select a bag of fruit and then leave the money in a jar. I love when the honesty system works! By the way, the pears were delicious!


This large and powerful Clydesdale came to the fence to see our funny looking mules.

We made our way to the Harwich Ferry Dock where we received our boarding passed for us and the mules. Unfortunately, we had to wait in the parking lot for 1 hour, 20 minutes before boarding.


Time to board the MV Stena Hollandica for an overnight crossing of the English Channel to the Netherlands.


We had a private cabin with an outside view way up on the 10th floor for this 8-hour journey back to mainland Europe.


The many stairways and artwork showing different European destinations.


A nicely appointed ferry.


Here’s our room!

We quickly unpacked and then made our way to the dining area for a final meal of our grand 23-day UK and Ireland adventure.


We enjoyed a great dinner with excellent food and service.


The next morning, we awoke to this amazing sunrise as we entered Hoek van Holland.

More of Europe awaits exploring. I can’t wait until the next motorcycle adventure in 2019....

[herman]

Thank you.

[IanB]

Thanks very much for a wonderful story.

I hope you enjoyed our wonderful country.

[boboneleg]

Absolutely fantastic

[kev.t]

brilliant. thank you for taking the time to post.

[Weealwyn]

Really enjoyed following your ride report, thank you!
Alwyn

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Thanks...going to miss these.

You can always come back and do some of the bits you missed.;