Steve T
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
- Messages
- 1,426
So, the plan was to head south on Thursday 26th Sep. for the ABR Ecky Thump Rally at Goathland, on the North Yorkshire Moors – neither place visited by me, so a new bit of the island to discover & enjoy . . .
. . . but the weather gods had other ideas, dropping nearly a months worth of H2O onto the area in a day apparently.
So, Plan B it is then, check out the campsite in Dumfries & Galloway for the BT 2025 National.
LargewayRound (LWR) was joining me on the North York Moors trip and he felt it only right and proper to keep me company on Plan B.
This is us stopping for a brew at one of LWRs favourite coffee stops on the south side of Edinburgh, on the side of the A702
Some ancient iron clads had surrounded us when we emerged from our tea & coffee sipping experience, trying to prevent us from escaping onto the wonderful roads that head south from the capital. They failed!
A piccy for me as I love the roads that take you to & from this place . . .
Setting up camp at Balloch O Dee (BOD) campsite – a rural and very quiet place that calms the soul from the second you arrive to the moment you leave . . .
Even the weather gods saluted our arrival with a colourful picture show . . .
Later, once the stars in their billions had been released from their daylight cage to display their collective splendour, a fire was lit and much chatting and banter was exchanged with like minded campers – weegies, Welsh, Czech and Aussie made for an interesting evening round the fire . . .
Sunrise the next day . . .
. . . and LWR basking in its growing warmth . . .
LWR had kindly taken it upon himself to plot a kind of route/itinerary for the Saturday, starting with the Mull of Galloway light house and its loverly café . . .
From there we headed around Luce bay to the village of the Isle of Withorn
The Steam Packet Inn does a luverly lunch time menu
Next it was my turn to pick a location, so the Big Water of Fleet Viaduct it was then . . .
A couple of random scenic views as we headed for my next choice of road . . .
. . . which just had to be the Raiders Road through Galloway forest
These are the Otter pools, about half way along the forest drive . . .
. . . with the “Otter” wondering what the feck a bike is doing loitering next to its feeding spot
Bikes looking like they’d been sat under an emptying cement mixer, from the Raiders road we took the rather splendiferous Queens Road back to Newton Stewart in search of fuel for the machines and us.
Bikes fueled, we went is search of supplies for ourselves. Being dead posh, we found the local Sainsburys and who should have beaten to their door but Austin
I had messaged Austin a couple of days prior to the ride south, asking if he’d like to pay his old stomping grounds a visit? He did
HOOORRRAAAHH, my pathetic negotiating skills would not be required to help sort the possible use of the BOD campsite for the 2025 BT National – Thanks Austin for popping north, fixing a puncture and for using your charm on the sites lady owner.
Needless to say, Austin did what he does so well and, if the massive is happy with the choice of location, we as an aging (not Jack), quiet!!!! group of motorcycling alcoholics (not Me or Lowflyer???) can use as a base for the 2025 BT National!
. . . but the weather gods had other ideas, dropping nearly a months worth of H2O onto the area in a day apparently.
So, Plan B it is then, check out the campsite in Dumfries & Galloway for the BT 2025 National.
LargewayRound (LWR) was joining me on the North York Moors trip and he felt it only right and proper to keep me company on Plan B.
This is us stopping for a brew at one of LWRs favourite coffee stops on the south side of Edinburgh, on the side of the A702
Some ancient iron clads had surrounded us when we emerged from our tea & coffee sipping experience, trying to prevent us from escaping onto the wonderful roads that head south from the capital. They failed!
A piccy for me as I love the roads that take you to & from this place . . .
Setting up camp at Balloch O Dee (BOD) campsite – a rural and very quiet place that calms the soul from the second you arrive to the moment you leave . . .
Even the weather gods saluted our arrival with a colourful picture show . . .
Later, once the stars in their billions had been released from their daylight cage to display their collective splendour, a fire was lit and much chatting and banter was exchanged with like minded campers – weegies, Welsh, Czech and Aussie made for an interesting evening round the fire . . .
Sunrise the next day . . .
. . . and LWR basking in its growing warmth . . .
LWR had kindly taken it upon himself to plot a kind of route/itinerary for the Saturday, starting with the Mull of Galloway light house and its loverly café . . .
From there we headed around Luce bay to the village of the Isle of Withorn
The Steam Packet Inn does a luverly lunch time menu
Next it was my turn to pick a location, so the Big Water of Fleet Viaduct it was then . . .
A couple of random scenic views as we headed for my next choice of road . . .
. . . which just had to be the Raiders Road through Galloway forest
These are the Otter pools, about half way along the forest drive . . .
. . . with the “Otter” wondering what the feck a bike is doing loitering next to its feeding spot
Bikes looking like they’d been sat under an emptying cement mixer, from the Raiders road we took the rather splendiferous Queens Road back to Newton Stewart in search of fuel for the machines and us.
Bikes fueled, we went is search of supplies for ourselves. Being dead posh, we found the local Sainsburys and who should have beaten to their door but Austin
I had messaged Austin a couple of days prior to the ride south, asking if he’d like to pay his old stomping grounds a visit? He did
HOOORRRAAAHH, my pathetic negotiating skills would not be required to help sort the possible use of the BOD campsite for the 2025 BT National – Thanks Austin for popping north, fixing a puncture and for using your charm on the sites lady owner.
Needless to say, Austin did what he does so well and, if the massive is happy with the choice of location, we as an aging (not Jack), quiet!!!! group of motorcycling alcoholics (not Me or Lowflyer???) can use as a base for the 2025 BT National!
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