NOTE: This is a personal blog about a holiday, there is nothing here about NLG or AI!

I like to go on cycling holidays, and this year I decided to cycle from Perth (Scotland) to Preston (England), visiting my son in Lockerbie along the way. I’ve actually already been to many of the towns and cities I visited in this trip, for work or personal visits, but this was a chance to see them as a tourist, and also to explore the countryside in between.

Sunday, 16 June: I started my trip by taking the train from Aberdeen to Perth, which is only around 1.5 hours. Then I set off on my bike, heading for Stirling, my first stop. Unfortunately it rained most of the day…. In Scotland I’m used to showers and on-and-off rain, but on this day the rain rarely stopped. Not the best start to my trip.

Monday, 17 June: I spent the day wandering around Stirling. I’ve been to Stirling before for work (visiting the university) and family (my wife used to have a cousin here), but not as a tourist. So it was fun to just “play tourist” and visit the monument for William Wallace, who fought for Scottish independence in the 1300s (the Hollywood film Braveheart is about him).

Tuesday, 18 June: I cycled from Stirling into Glasgow. I went much of the way on a cycle path by the Forth and Clyde canal, which was amazing – I knew I was cycling though a big city, and indeed could hear the traffic, but all I saw was water and trees. A nice way to enter a city! When I arrived at my city-centre hotel, I wandered around a bit; after a few days in the countryside and in a small city (Stirling), I really appreciated the shops, crowd, people, and “bustle” of a big city. I also appreciated the restaurants, which are much more diverse than in Aberdeen

Wednesday, 19 June: I spent the day in Glasgow. As with Stirling, I’ve been to Glasgow many times for work or personal reason, but rarely as a tourist. In general my view of Glasgow has been somewhat mixed. People in Aberdeen (which is richer than Glasgow) sometimes feel that their taxes subsidise Glasgow while Aberdeen’s needs are ignored, and the Scottish government in general seems to care much more about Glasgow than Aberdeen. But anyways, I ignored the politics and just enjoyed being a tourist! I especially liked visiting the Kelvingrove and Riverside museums, which I’d wanted to visit for many years.

Thursday, 20 June: I cycled from Glasgow to Symington. Mostly a nice day, but I made the mistake of trusting Google Maps when it suggested that I take a “short cut” through a park. Well, the path recommended by Google Maps got worse and worse, until it was just a track through a meadow, which was fenced off from the road I needed to join! Fortunately I found an unlocked gate I could use to leave the meadow. Reminds me of ChatGPT – usually Google Maps gives excellent guidance, but once in a while it suggests a route which is truly crazy. Maybe this is just what sophisticated software does… But other than this a nice day. I especially appreciated the numerous wind farms which I cycled past, we need more renewable energy! The Tory (Conservative) party essentially banned building new onshore wind farms in England, but fortunately the Scottish government has been more enlightened.

Friday, 21 June: I cycled from Symington to Lockerbie, where my son lives in a residential home for special-needs adults. Lockerbie is best known as the place where a PanAm flight to USA crashed because of a terrorist bomb. There is a moving memorial to the crash victims in the Lockerbie cemetery, which I’ve been to several times. At the hotel at Lockerbie, I met a woman whose husband was killed on the PanAm flight, who is trying to create a new museum about the crash, at Tundergarth Church (where the nose cone fell to earth). I wish her luck!

Saturday, 22 June: I spent the day with my son Moshe. We took a train to Carlisle – when Moshe lived in Aberdeen we took a lot of train trips, but he hasn’t been on a train since moving to Lockerbie in January 2024. He seemed to enjoy the train and wandering around Carlisle, and hopefully also enjoyed spending time with his father! My wife Ann and I visit Moshe around once a month, but this was the first time that I visited him on my own, without Ann. We ended the day with a meal at the hotel I was staying at (along with the museum woman), which also went well.

Sunday, 23 June: I cycled from Lockerbie to Greystoke. This was my longest ride of this trip, around 50 miles; most days I aimed for 40 miles. 5 years ago I usually did around 50 miles in a day, and occasionally 60-70 miles; and 20 years ago I typically did 60 miles, and occasionally 70-80. However, my age is showing (I will be 64 in Sept) and I have had to reduce the amount I do in a day. Anyways, it was generally a nice day for cycling, where I started at the bottom of Scotland and ended up in the top of England. I spent the night in Greystoke, which is perhaps best known for being the fictional home of Tarzan. I stayed at a pub which in most respects was very nice (pleasant, live music, nice garden), but clearly had decided to play up the “Tarzan” link for tourists.

Monday, 24 June: I cycled from Greystoke to Windermere, in the English lake district. The lake district has a number of very pretty lakes, many of which are linked to literary figures such as Wordsworth or Beatrix Potter. I cycled past several of the lakes, and was especially impressed by Thirlmere, which is actually a reservoir (for Manchester) instead of a natural lake. Regardless, it was stunning; Ive always loved lakes surrounded by forests! It was also a joy to cycle past – there was a busy road on the east of Thirlmere, but the west side was very quiet, with just a handful of bikes and cars.

Tuesday, 25 June: I spent the day in Windermere, which in retrospect may have been a mistake. Windermere lake is very pretty, but the town was extremely touristy. I went into a cafe for lunch, and instead of seeing usual British cafe food (sandwiches, burgers, baked potatoes), I saw very fancy food which I didnt recognise, at three times the price I would usually pay for cafe food. I’m sure the locals dont eat this food (certainly not at this price!). However, I was very moved by a (free) exhibit at the library about a group of traumatised Jewish children from concentration camps who were sent to Windermere after WW2 in order to recover.

Wednesday, 26 June: I cycled from Windermere to a hotel just south of Lancaster. I had one bit of excitement when I was cycling on a single-track country lane, only to see it closed for road works; I guess country lanes need maintenance as well as highways! Fortunately I found a bridlepath which bypassed the road works. I spent a lot of the day on bike paths near rivers, canals, and the sea, which was great; I love cycling by the water. I was especially impressed when the Lancaster canal (and my bike path) crossed over the river Lune on an aqueduct. Road and rail bridges are everywhere, but I dont think I have ever before been on a canal “bridge” over a river. Must have been an amazing engineering achievement when it was built in the 1700s (way over budget, some things never change). The hotel I stayed at was also next to a canal, indeed right by a lock.

Thursday, 27 June: I cycled from Lancaster to Preston, and then caught a train home to Aberdeen. The best part was cycling along the canal next to the hotel, which was very quiet – I saw a maintenance worker, but no hikers, bikers, or boats. I arrived into Preston around 12 (earlier than planned, because I was worried about the weather) and got a train home. On the train I chatted to a lady who grew up in Ambleside (which is near Windermere) but now lives in Aberdeen. She thought that the huge number of tourists there was a mixed blessing, especially because house prices have skyrocketed and became unaffordable for locals as a consequence of rich tourists buying up local houses as second homes (which are empty most of the year).

Whats next

I’ve gone to 80% time at work, as an initial step towards retirement, which makes it much easier to do bike trips (amongst other things). I may do another (shorter) bike trip in August, along the England/Wales border. Next year I’d like to try cycling in Europe, vaguely along part of the North Sea cycle route. It would be fantastic to do all of the North Sea cycle route (in several trips over several years), of course this depends on my health holding up as I get older.