A1 Countryside

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Weather Report

Started gloomy but brightened up by mid-morning. Prolonged sunny spells until late afternoon when it became rather gloomy, cool and windy.

Having decided to use the car as little as possible for the ten days or so I organised the bike and was on the road by 11am. As that was something of a late start I planned only a short itinerary - some 20-25 miles. Something of a warm up for longer rides with earlier starts although having heard the forecast for tomorrow I may not be going far !

Many of these locations will be known as no more than pit-stops or sign-post destinations on the A1(M) to many of us who have travelled up and down the Great North Road. I headed south through Sawtry making for the Alconburys and then headed north west along an undulating ridge through Upton, Hamerton and the Giddings. The rolling farmland is very much like that visited yesterday to the east of the A1(M) so it seems that the road has cut this landscape in two. None of this would be appreciated by those driving manically between Northumberland and the south … (ie me in days gone by).

The Alconburys are a delight with brightly coloured thatched cottages clustered around quiet lanes with small streams crossed by romantic fords. However if I had to direct you to one place it would be Upton where a small group of dwellings cluster around the medieval church. Although most of the houses are far from old this hamlet only a mile from the A1 is so quiet and peaceful that it might as well be on a different planet. Lunched by the duck pond with a gaggle of ducks for company.

Late afternoon saw me hurtling along country lanes in an attempt to regain my camp before the rain fell. Succeeded !

Good day ….

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