An early departure from Durham means I’m ahead of schedule arriving in Corbridge to meet my folks & friends. We have a brief catch up and photo call, then meet again further down the road for drinks at a pub in Chollerford.

Fully refuelled, it’s back onto the bike but I arrange to see them all again this evening for some dinner at Kielder. I set off and track the late Emperor Hadrian’s wall for a few miles. Walls, roads, aqueducts – you name it, the Romans built it first and best. I find myself wondering if there is anything that can’t be achieved with vision, determination and an endless supply of free labour!

There’s a fair few hills to climb in this neck of the woods and as I push on I’m conscious I’m being watched from all sides by sheep, some of whom are laborin' under the misapprehension that they're birds!.

Back in the real world, I continue towards Kielder stopping at Bellingham to grab myself some provisions for the afternoon (blueberries and cookies). This gets me in the mood for food, so I make my second pub stop of the day for a backed potato & cheese.

They’re re-tarring the road to Kielder, east of Bellingham and I have to spend a good 15 minutes picking tar and stones out of my tyre tread! At least the steep hills have largely disappeared by the time I reach the UK’s largest man made reservoir.

Kielder village is a truly bizarre place. It looks like it was built from scratch in the 60’s to re-settle dwellings that were to be lost in the creation of the reservoir. Every house is made from concrete to the same 1960’s plan, giving an eerie, surreal feel to the place.

My parents & friends pick me up from Kielder hostel in the evening and we have a torrid time finding somewhere to eat. You see, Kielder is what you might call ‘remote’! Eventually though, we find somewhere & have a decent meal.