Sunday was sunny so the boy and I put our new bikepacking gear to the test on a wee overnighter to Over Phawhope bothy.
Fitting the bags took me ages, mostly due to a stuck bolt on Joe's bottle cage, so we didn't manage to leave til 2.45.
Springtime in Hawick's Wilton Park....the boy is yawning on account of sneakily being up half the night on his computer
The route gently climbs for most of its length...
Well, it had to be done.... (apologies to anyone easily offended).
A more wholesome sign to warm the heart of a weary cyclist. This is the menu outside Tushielaw Inn...
Our newly bikepacked bikes outside Tushielaw Inn. I have ended up with the lions's share of the clobber once again.
By the time we had eaten and left, the light was a bit poor so I don't have any more photos from that day. We got to the bothy at around 9pm to find three retired miners from Bonnyrigg in residence, very drunk, having been there all day. The conversation was a little odd, but they had the place lovely and warm and were very welcoming. Next day they cleared out and I wandered about taking photos while the boy slept in. The famous sofa is gone, but the bothy is a cosy wee bolthole none the less.
A few snow flurries arrived, so I got the boy up and moving. This is him climbing up the short (1km) gravel section of the road with the bothy behind him.
It's a remote and beautiful part of the world, made slightly less beautiful for now by all the timber harvesting that has been going on.
The snow flurries stopped, the sun came out and our way home was nearly all downhill, with a strong tailwind on empty roads. We flew along at up to 47kmph with big grins on our faces, in a very happy place.
Ettrick Water, along the route of the Southern Upland Way.
Half-way home in record time
Getting pushed uphill by a strong tailwind is a fantastic feeling.
Bonny Roberton ahead, but with big black clouds lurking above - we arrived home just seconds before a short-lived blizzard began. We got back in just 2.5 hours - less than half what it had taken on the way out.
It was a cracking trip, 46km each way, so a perfect distance. Insiduiously uphill and into a headwind on the way out, we reaped the benefits with an easy ride home the next day. The boy started out tired and grumpy and came home grinning and saying how much he had enjoyed it. Result.
If anyone is thinking of giving this route a bash, then those of a campervan persuasion can find free designated campervan parking (yes, overnight!) in Hawick by the river. The town has lots of supermarkets for stocking up on supplies and also a Wetherspoon for cyclist-sized meals on the return.
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. I'd better point out there was no access to the house from the conservatory thingy, and there did seem to be a disproportionate number of locks and bars on the back door judging by the number of clicks, scrapes, clangs and rattles from behind it immediately after she closed it! Curry flavoured potnoodle since you ask :).
