25 June 2013 – Innerleithen and back

25Jun13_mapIn an attempt to gradually increase our range, we decided on a trip to Innerleithen, which would be over 30 miles there and back. We had previously been a bit afraid of the prospect of this ride due to the amount of climbing involved, but it was about time to test our mettle on the pedal and just get on with it.

We started out by going up the A7 from North Middleton as far as the Innerleithen turnoff, turning right, then just carrying straight on along that road to our destination. Certainly no navigation worries there! As for the weather, it was calm and fairly cool, which was ideal.

The road climbed very gradually until we reached the base of the Moorfoot hills, then turned right and continued at a slightly steeper, but still pretty gentle gradient along the hillside. Bit by bit the gradient increased until by the time we had done 4 or 5 miles, we were quite high above the moorland, with a great vista over to Edinburgh, the Forth and beyond. After a brief breather, we carried on into the Scottish Borders and past the “highest point on the road” signpost.

From there, we speeded up along a flat section until we were into a fast descent. That took us all the way to the Heriot turnoff, but then started to climb again after that. I’ve learned to pace myself better now, and just went into a low gear and kept pedalling steadily, enjoying the ride. There was a bit of a nervous moment when a wood lorry came thundering towards me at high speed, allowing me just 3 feet of my side of the road. I guess I’ll get used to that sort of thing eventually!

Apart from the lorry incident, the road was pretty quiet, and all we could hear was the sounds of curlews and lapwings. At one point we passed a family of grouse hiding in the verge who all suddenly took flight as I approached, giving me quite a start.

Cycling through the Granites

Cycling through the Granites…

Descending again, we came alongside the Leithen Water to our right, past familiar picnicing places. This area, which everyone round here calls the Granites (but I have no idea why) is a popular destination on sunny summers days, and our kids have spent many a happy hour playing in the water. However today it was deserted and we sped onwards down the road, stopping only for a lazy sheep who was in no hurry to get out of the way.

...then through a golf course

…then through a golf course

A 9-hole golf course straddles the road on the final approach to Innerleithen, and Colette stopped here for a few shots before we carried on to the town centre. It’s a nice change to visit places like Innerleithen where the familiar chains are replaced by small, presumably long-established local family-run shops. So instead of a Greggs, we stopped at John Adam’s Bakery for a sausage roll (Colette), a bridie (me) and two cakes (I don’t know what they are called, but they are sort of macaroony, biscuity, snowbally things that were a complete revelation and call for a return visit just to buy more…).

We decided to follow the signs to St Ronan’s Well to eat our lunch and found a short but very steep hill to climb just before getting there. After scoffing our lunch (it was 11:15 but we couldn’t wait any longer!) we had a look around the attraction. Apparently St Ronan forcibly ejected the Devil from Innerleithen back in the dim and distant past, and this is remembered to this day in annual pageantry. What a great little place. We wandered round the well gardens, used the loo and sampled the well waters using the tap provided. If I had my head screwed on, I’d have topped up my water bottle there too.

Water from St Ronan's well

Water from St Ronan’s well

Then it was back on the road and time to reverse our route, which is never quite as satisfying as a circular trip, but we decided that 34 miles directly there and back would be quite enough. The climbs on the way back were completed at a fairly slow pace, enlivened by a bit of intimidation from lapwings as we passed closer to their nests than they would have liked. Eventually we reached the final long descent to Middleton. We arrived back in surprisingly good shape considering this was our longest trip to date, with a total of over 2300 ft of climbing, and we even went out for a short ride later, taking the day’s total to over 40 miles. So that bodes well for our goal of 50+ miles in a day.

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