#a708

After leaving home I headed for Clitheroe, Settle, Hawes and Kikby Stephen before turning for Mickleton, Alston and Hexham. After that it was Bonchester Bridge in Roxburghshire and just for interest the name is said to come from the old Roman term on Bona Castra – which means good camp. After Bonchester it was on to Selkirk for the wonderful A708 up past St Mary’s Loch and onto Moffat and my overnight stay at Seamore Guest House.

All in all it had been a fine days riding with added benefit of not a single drop of rain. Clicking on any of the pictures below should open a scrolable gallery.

F800R

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

Settle

Settle

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

Scotland – border

On the road to Scotland

Hello

On the road to Scotland

St Marys Loch

A708

On the A708

A708

St Marys Loch

On the road to Scotland

On the road to Scotland

I had stayed at the Seamore Guest House on a previous trip and just as before the place was comfortable and the hospitality was warm (you can read about my previous trip at this link)

After a much needed shower and a change of clothes I went for a wander around the small town, a beer a bite to eat and then a decent nights sleep in a partiuculalry comfortable bed. Some more pictures below including one of the Star Hotel, apparently the narrowest hotel in the world, and one that Pat and I stayed in a few years ago when we were travelling in Scotland.

Reasonale pint

Seamore Guest House

Star Hotel

Town centre – MOffat

I was on my way for about 8.30 the following day and had planned to head back to the A708 via the small road that runs from Tweedsmuir to Talla Reservoir and then on past Megget Reservoir, and although the run up to Tweedmuir was magnificent the weather was blowing an absolute gale and as I head past Talla, on more than one occasion I felt I was going to be blown off!. The weather over the top didn’t look great, so I decided to head back to Moffat, do the full stretch of the A708 and then make my way home via Hawick, Stannersburn, past the Kielder Reservoir over the stunning Hartside Pass and on towards Penrith and then home. Despite the steel grey sky and raging winds at the start of the day – the weather turned out pretty good with ideal riding temperatures in the low to mid 20s and once again a day without rain.

I was home for about 5pm having done around 600 miles and once again having really enjoyed another (albeit shot)  trip to Scotland.

Links to recent posts below and scroll down for the final picture set from this trip:

More time on the F800R

Luggage on the F800R

Different Day/Different Bike

Out & about on the F800

First ride on the F800

New Bike Day;

Worth a stop;

On the Road;

Cumbria and the Dales;

Or check out the Lockdown Lookback – The Motorbike Years series

Road to Tweedsmuir

Road to Tweedsmuir

Talla Reservoir

Talla Reservoir

Road to Tweedsmuir

Road to Tweedsmuir

St Marys Loch – A708

St Marys Loch – A708

BMW F800R

St Marys Loch – A708

BMW F800R

Green & pleasent land

Green & pleasent land

Scottish Border

Scottish Border

Arai

Kielder Reservoir

Kielder Reservoir

Green & pleasent land

Park Village

Hartside Pass

Green & pleasent land

To be more precise the area that the A701 runs though is known as The Devils Beef Tub and is so named because of a geographical feature of a deep,  hollow in the hills north of Moffat.

The hollow itself is 500 feet (150 m) deep and formed by four hills, it’s also one of the two main sources of the River Annan.  From a bikers perspective the road is just a joy and I planned to ride it both ways before heading off. When I mentioned this to Sue – my wonderful host at Seamore House (the B&B where I stayed) she told me about a small road that ran off the A701 and actually would link me back up with the A708 (the St Marys Loch road). If you missed the frst part of this post, you can read more about Seamore House and my trip in Part One of this Blog post by clicking this link.

I rarely need much convincing to follow local advice/knowledge and when Sue told me that the scenery was stunning I decided that I would check it out. And just for information there is a web site called Beef Tub Bikers and worth checking out if heading that way.

But none of that was before packing up and enjoying a fine breakfast that Sue cooked for me. After the decent breakfast and plentiful supply of coffee, I was soon packed up and ready to go.

Breakfast ar Seamore House

Breakfast ar Seamore House

Breakfast ar Seamore House

Breakfast ar Seamore House

Sue at the Seamore

Ready to leave

I was on my way for about 09:00am and headed up an empty A701 and other than stopping to take a few pictures carried on to Tweedsmuir before turning right onto the small road that Sue had recommended.

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

I certainly wasn’t disappointed with the views as I rode past Talla Resevoir and then on past Megget Reservoir, it was simply stunning and by any measure the views were impressive. The road took me back down to St Marys Loch, and in so doing provided me with the bonus of riding another 15 miles or so of that road before turning off and heading for the Cumbria and the Lake District.

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

Scotland day 2

I made my way home via Kewsick, Ambleside and Grassmere in the Lake District, although to be honest the roads through the pretty Lakeland villages were busy and made progress slow.

I finished the final 30 or so miles of my journey home in the rain, and at one point the downpour was so heavy I took shelter under a tree until it eased off a little. I arrived home  a little wetter than I would have hoped for but my spirits were not at all dampened after a cracking short trip to Scotland.

I think it’s a fair bet that I’ll be there again if not later this year then most certainly next.

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I headed off from my home in Manchester towards Clitheroe and the Forrest of Bowland then on towards Kikby Stephen and then eventually to Selkirk before taking the A708 – the road that runs from Selkirk to Moffat.

The riding on the way to Selkirk was good – fine roads and fine weather, and with no particular plan other than to enjoy myself there was more than one occasion when I turned on to roads that I hadn’t traveled on before but that were in the general direction of where I was headed. Clicking any of the pictures should open a scrolable gallery.

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

I stopped plenty of times to admire the numerous fine views that were being presented to me – some of which are in the pictures below. Clicking any of the pictures should open a scrolable gallery.

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

Scotland trip May 2018

The A708 is a road that I have ridden on many times over the years and it’s not a road that I veer I get fed up of, in fact I probably enjoy it more each time I ride it.

I’ve done the road on a variety of bikes – a couple of GSX-R’s, a Fireblade and a Z1000 SX – but I think maybe the ride on the RnineT was best of all – the soundtrack from the twin Akrapovics as I blipped the throttle to change down was just irresistible and the bike seemed more than at home on this road, and made for a good warm up for my Spain/Portugal trip in July.

The A708 itself runs from Selkirk to Moffat and cuts a line that sort of runs diagonally across the land.

Distance wise it’s probably about 30 miles or so, and to be honest its one of those roads that if you haven’t done it then you really should add it to your ‘to-do’ list

The road offers almost a bit of everything really – generally and for the most part it’s well surfaced – plenty of easy but joyful curves and more than one or two stretches that have you flick/flacking the bike from left to right and back again.

It’s not all to be taken at too quick a pace – there’s a few stretches that require caution – at times the road dips away as it sweeps down into one bend then immediately tales you up into another.

The ride along the A708 really is a wonderful sensory feast.

The rise and fall of the engine note mixed with the bark of the cans on the downshifts are a splendid aural accompaniment to what’s going on with your eyes. As you focus on the road ahead, its difficult not to be drawn to look left, right and left again at the magnificent views on offer.

You’ve got to be careful at times – in one or two places the road narrows and stone walls serve as a stark reminder to ease off take care.

I don’t think I have been on that road and ever really seen much traffic, other than on one occasion a few years back when there was some sort of gathering of VW owners, but even then it was only in one very localized area as they pulled off the road to assemble on some open grassland.

One thing that you do need to do is to keep a lookout for the numerous sheep that live up there. On some occasions I’ve been on that road and not seen too many, on others like this trip there seemed to be lots of them, almost like a living mobile chicane – but in all fairness none really slowed my progress this time.

I stopped just opposite the Glen Cafe and rode my bike across the loose ground so as to take a few pictures with the Loch in the background … it’s a place that I think I’ve stopped at for pictures every time I have been up there, and you can find some of them in the gallery below. Clicking any of the pictures should open a scrolable gallery.

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

St Marys Loch

After my obligatory picture stop I carried onto Moffat and to my overnight accommodation, that I had booked the previous night.

I’ve stayed a few times in Moffat and on each occasion stayed at a different place – but I think I’ve now found somewhere that I will return to in the future.

The place I booked was a Bed & Breakfast called Seamore House. The property is located on the main road, and is literally just about  a two minute walk from the pretty centre of Moffat.

The accommodation was just ideal, with a welcoming owner, a decent room and very decent safe parking area, away from the main road at the back of the property.

If you’re traveling up that way and looking for somewhere to stay – I’m happy to recommend this place, it ticks the boxes for a biker.

There’s a decent number of places to eat and drink in Moffat and all within a few minutes walk of Seamore House

With my bike safely parked up, and feeling refreshed from a shower and a change of clothes I went off for a pint at one of the local pubs, a bite to eat at a local cafe type place before I returned to my accommodation for a very sound nights sleep.

Evening in Moffat

Evening in Moffat

Evening in Moffat

I’ll write more in Part Two in the next day or so and post up some more pictures of some fabulous scenery – some of which Sue (the B&B owner) had suggested to me.

Part Two to follow shortly

I didn’t  go to Tesco but did decide to nip to ASDA.

The ASDA store in Galashiels  was decent run out from my home in Manchester and I think was around 250 miles or so.

So armed with the inspiration of a shopping trip I took a pretty direct route for the first 50 miles or so to Skipton and then headed up across the moors to the Scottish Borders.

Moffatt was an easy destination for me to choose as its a place I have visited a good few times – on  various bikes with friends, on my own on the bike and with my wife when we drove up there a few years ago.

I had decided that after calling at ASDA I would stay in Selkirk, just a half dozen or so mikes away from the supermarket.

This gave me the opportunity to ride one of my favourite roads again, the wonderful A708 that runs alongside St Mary’s Loch – if you haven’t done it then I can seriously recommend it to you.

Its quite simply one of those magnificent ribbons of tarmac that seems to have been laid for bikers.

Although to be fair you do have to watch out for one or two sheep on the road …

My journey up was wonderful – a bit of a chill start to the morning, but by around 11:00am I could feel the warmth of the sun and it turned into the most glorious of October days with an evening to match.

I booked my accommodation at the The Glen Hotel in Selkirk, which has turned out to be a decent stopover. Good parking for the bike and a decent evening meal – I”ll comment on breakfast in my next post about this trip but for £55 it seems decent enough with a pretty relaxed and chilled atmosphere and decent enough service.

Ive no set plans for the trip and it’s wholly weather dependent, but with the forecast looking decent and the tongue in cheek inspiration I’m probably off to find another supermarket tomorrow to do  a bit of shopping.

Whats good for the soul?

Some people will say that music is good for the soul, and I reckon it probably is, but getting on your bike and finding empty roads that stretch off into the distance is  a music all of its own.

Not everyone gets to hear it though – but I heard that music today and I had the volume turned up to 11.

I’ve wrote about my travels in a book that is available on amazon ‘What if You Dont Break Down’ and if you are at all interested you can check it out at this link .

I’ve posted some pictures from today (below) and clicking the first will bring up a scrolable gallery