We are back closer to home territory this time, with a short ride commencing in Lauder. We could have started off from home, but that would have added another 30 miles to the ride, and then we couldn’t do it in a morning, which was our plan.
Having parked and got ourselves ready, we set off south out of Lauder on the A68. Turning first left after leaving the town, we freewheeled downhill, past the grounds of Thirlestane Castle, feeling a little chilled in the cold, still morning air. Luckily, the road then turned uphill, giving us a chance to warm up.
Fairly soon, we were turning right onto the A697. There was a fair bit of traffic but we kept up a good speed on this section (must have been downhill!) so it wasn’t long before we were turning off onto a minor road, signposted for Legerwood.
If it wasn’t for the signpost, I would have sworn this was just a farm entrance, the road was so narrow. However, as we made our way up the moderate gradient, the road opened out a little, as did the view. The scenery on offer was quiet autumnal countryside. The early morning mist had lifted, save for the odd pocket, but a slight trace was left in the still air which muted the colours of the landscape. In other words, it wasn’t the best for taking photos…
We arrived at the crossroads at Legerwood to find a small hamlet, but it did seem quite busy, in contrast to the previous few miles of countryside. By busy, I mean we saw two vehicles driving off to the east and noticed some building work going on in one of the old farm buildings.
Our route took us west out of Legerwood, and after leaving it behind, the countryside fell silent again. It was almost an eerie silence, as if preparing for something momentous to happen. Even the crows were silent. Perhaps I’ve been watching too much Game of Thrones, but I couldn’t help thinking “Winter is coming!”.
After turning right at Birkhill and going past a lovely entrance gate, we began to get close to the busy A68, which we joined for all of about 100 feet, before taking the left turn for Blainslie.
If you were to drive north up the A68 from Earlston, you would notice a road to the left signposted to Blainslie. Drive a few miles further and you will find another one. Then a few miles more, and yet another appears. “All roads lead to Blainslie”, is what we always say, but we have never, until this day, gone to find out what all the fuss is about…
It turns out that Blainslie is a collection of small places, all called Blainslie. We first came to South Blainslie, then Nether Blainslie (at least it’s called that on the map, though the sign just said Blainslie). This is the biggest Blainslie, a proper sized village in fact. Carrying on, New Blainslie was down to our right as we cycled northwards through Middle Blainslie. After that, we took a left turn and headed to Upper Blainslie, which was located, not surprisingly, up a hill.
Finally having sated our appetite for Blainslies, we carried on uphill. As our route took us past Longpark Wind Farm, the theme was going to be up, up and more up, but there was one great downhill section in there. The road on that section was pretty straight with a good surface, which meant we could let go and enjoy the ride!
Ready for some fun freewheeling action
When we reached the wind farm, we could see a team of workers doing some maintenance on the blade of one of the turbines. It was fascinating to watch how they manoevered the gondola with the aid of a hoist and a team of men on the ground with ropes. I had to drag Colette away, as I was hungrily looking forward to our planned cafe stop in Stow.
That was at the bottom of the hill that lay ahead of us. About 600 feet below with lots of 10%+ drops, it was important to keep on top of your speed. Scary, but at least it didn’t take long, so we soon found ourselves outside the Cloudhouse cafe.
It has been a while since we were there, and apparently it has changed hands in the meantime. The carrot cake was superb. We will definitely be back soon! The cake also served to fuel us on the final leg of the ride, which was going back up and over the hill to Lauder.
The hill out of Stow (on the B6362) is quite daunting-looking, with its 15% warning sign. Colette had avoided cycling up it till now, and though I’ve done it a few times, I remember it as hard. Well this time, for whatever reason, we both managed fine. I think it might be partly because I wasn’t giving it everything, just enough to keep moving and enjoy the ride. Colette managed to get all the way up and down the other side without stopping, which she was very chuffed about, so much so that she wants to do it again! There are so many interconnecting roads running through Lauderdale that we’ve got loads more possible routes to explore…