Owning a motorcycle is like owning a dog, you can get into long conversations with people who would ordinarily pass you by.
The stop at Bellingham was planned – the Yamaha has a fuel gauge but its advice is at best vague. It always pays to independently keep track of mileage and expected range – about 150 miles maximum. This is particularly so when heading north up the A68 – without diversions there are no petrol pumps between Hexham and Jedburgh. Hence the plan to fill up at Bellingham – a scenic diversion which worked well except my arrival coincided with a tanker delivery. Within minutes the driver had expressed an interest in my bike and so the fifteen minute wait was filled with conversation. The same thing happened later in the day when I made a brief detour to the Holy Island causeway; an elderly chap was keen to tell me all about the Vincent he once owned and wished he still did
I was heading for Haddington to the east of Edinburgh – first to collect some copies of David Shaw Stewart’s excellent Views from the Tee and then to meet my eldest for lunch. Rather than retrace my steps I returned via the A1. This is a longer route home but the northern stretches near the coast can be spectacular and the dual carriageway allows the cobwebs to be air-blasted from the Yamaha. These are just some images from the day – a splendid 220 mile ride out in perfect autumnal weather:
Filling up the filling station, Bellingham
Haddington in autumnal sunshine
Robert Ferguson of Raith memorial – Haddington
From the causeway to Holy Island
You have been warned
On the causeway bridge
Another view from the causeway bridge
northumbrian : light 
Ah, wonderful!
Thanks Sue – it has been a busy summer so apologies for the lack of response to your posts but no doubt I will be back as the days get shorter.
Sounds like you’ve had a good summer, Robin!
Indeed I have Sue – a lot of miles on the motorcycles and a lot miles on the fairways – even with the occasional success 🙂
Marvellous!
I telly like the renderings of the pictures of the causeway. 🙂
Many thanks Pit, much appreciated
🙂
oooops! Not “telly” but “really”
Pretty town. Nice images.
Many thanks
Hasn’t it just been the most perfect Autumn? We have friends with a caravan in lovely Bellingham. On our way to the Algarve xx
Fantastic Jo – about to set sail on the narrowboat so no doubt it will get ever colder 😦 Have a great time in the Algarve, all the best, Rx
Enjoy the narrowboat. Makes me envious. 😉
Thanks Pit – heading up the Ashby which takes you to Hinckley and the Triumph motorcycle museum! 🙂
Don’t tell me more! You’ve already made me longing for the canals enough! 😀
Oooo, you have a narrowboat, too? Delightful and this trip looks as though it was, too. I really like the last shot.
janet
Thanks Janet – to be precise, we own 1/12th of a narrowboat – I am having the engine room 🙂
😉
Superb images of what must have been a stunning ride. It is funny the things that can break the ice between strangers. Usually it’s a shared interest, but sometimes it can be something totally random. Looks like you’re having a delightful autumn there. Ours has been pretty gloomy so far.
Want to let you know that I’m taking an extended break from my online life. Something I haven’t done since I started blogging 6 years ago. I feel like it’s much needed now. I look forward to catching up with your posts upon my return, maybe in November. 🙂
It has been a great autumn here thanks Julie – still good today but turning very cold. I briefly saw your message on Instagram but then couldn’t work out how to get it back to reply to 😦 Have a good break and look forward to hearing from you when you get back. All the best, R
Beautiful images; I especially love the split-tone shot from the causeway.
I know that road as a car-driver only, but I can imagine it would be fab on a bike.
That tanker driver looks like Phil from Eastenders btw 🙂
Thanks Su – he never mentioned Eastenders which is odd when you think about it 😀
😂😂
Great photos! I used to live just outside Wark, not far from Bellingham. I had to be told it was ‘Bellin-gium’ rather than ‘Belling-um’ (the place in South London not far from where I went to school).
Many thanks and thanks for stopping by – that pronunciation sounds suitably obscure 🙂 I speak with the authority of a Mancunian married to a Geordie. I frequently visit Wark on 2 wheels – I will include some links when we return from our travels.