Day 13 – 17th April 2007
We left the Old Vicarage at about 9.30 in bright sunshine. On crossing the river Annan we took some photographs and a local chap, out walking his dog, helpfully pointed out the Sustrans route, down a flight of steps, which took us out to the seaside. I hope I didn’t sound to ungracious when I told he we were going to stick to the road.
We hadn’t gone far when a bank of cloud appeared to the north-west and threatened rain. It was enough for us to don our waterproofs, but it was not many miles before we had removed them again.
At one point, a dead rabbit lying in the road attracted my attention as it started to move across the road towards the hedge. A stoat was attempting to drag it away. I stopped the bike but of course that scared away the stoat, but we could see it running up and down a labyrinth of tracks in the bank, willing us to leave so that it could secure its lunch.
In Bankend, we came across a “ROAD CLOSED” sign precisely where we wanted to go. We ignored it as normally it is possible to get a bike through where a larger vehicle would have to turn back. Here, though, we appeared to be scuppered as the entire carriageway was blocked by a wide trench bordered by Heras fencing. It was Chris who noticed a small footbridge over a stream so we took the luggage off the bikes and manhandled them over.
Once in Dumfries, we particularly liked the river Nith, and on its waterfront we found a basic Italian takeaway which served delicious pasta and tomato. We each had some, and some coffee, so suitably refreshed, we were ready to tackle the hills.
These were long, grinding climbs, in contrast to the repeated switchbacks of Devon and Cornwall a week or two ago, and Jan and I cycled up all of them, albeit very slowly. Our big problem was that when a downhill did appear, our progress was restricted by the strong headwind.
So we struggled all the way to Dalry, as it seems to be called. We stayed at The Porridge House, which is very comfortable. We were supplied with a pot of tea and the most excellent fruit cake, we ordered a 7.30 breakfast and a packed lunch, the shower was most refreshing and the pub only 50 yards away. It served some very tasty Deuchars bitter. Janet and Chris had lamb casserole, I had the steak and ale pie.
We had mentioned that today was our wedding anniversary and when we returned, our hosts offered us a wee dram of malt whisky. Chris and I enjoyed ours – Jan, of course, declined.