Familiar Roads

There’s no doubt that the Isle of Wight is great for a cycling holiday, but it is also pretty fantastic for the locals. It’s no secret I’m a fan of Island roads. Knowing its network of little lanes offers endless possibilities mid-ride, and I love to make it up as I pedal. On Sunday we headed out for a coffee and ended up riding 60k, spurred on by the last of the summer sun, and the excuse for another coffee (and cake) stop.

It’s a pleasure to know roads well enough to plan a route in your head and travel without a map. I’m a little in love with the old road names, and wonder at their origins. Our Sunday route took us up Kite Hill, through Firestone Copse, down Beacon Alley, across Bleak Down, past Thorness Bay, and over Egypt Hill. I’m not practical enough to remember useful road names, (I pity the driver who asks me for directions in a town) but these old road names are so evocative, they’re forever in my head.

Do you have a favourite road, or a favourite route? Mine always has to involve a good coffee stop!

Hello!

I’m very excited to welcome you to the new rusty rambles space. I’ll be filling this with more tales of my adventures on this small island: exploring new places, riding old roads, digging up new weeds, and baking from old recipes.

With autumn round the corner there’ll also be plenty more knitting, stitching and reading to share. So, stick around, say hi and click subscribe!

Quiet

I find myself sitting and dozing in a quiet corner of the house. There’s still some heat from the day and all the busy neighbourly sounds have subsided. I’m holding on to these quiet moments, all too aware of their impending scarcity. Tom is teaching a new class this year and soon I’ll be commuting to work on the mainland. Lots of excitement ahead, and probably a lot less stillness. So, I plan to enjoy every last minute of it and when we’re in the throes of full Autumn Term mayhem, I’ll be glad I enjoyed this moment right now.

A week in The Lakes

When we told people we were going to the Lake District, everyone waxed lyrical about its beauty. I thought there was no way it could live up to the hype. Not for the first time, I was proved wrong.

Rusty cycling Honister Pass in the Late District — Riding in to Buttermere

We spent a week making plans more ambitious than our legs could keep up with, climbing peaks and pedalling over passes. We had the odd reassuring comment from weathered old cyclists along the lines of “not bad for southern softies” and spent our evenings flaked out on the couch and poring over maps for the next day’s adventures.

We stayed in the quiet Eskdale Valley, complete with grand hills, whistling steam trains, classic pubs, and very few tourists. A week here is just long enough to fall in love with the place and realise how soon we need to return and explore more. We will be back.

PS Thank you Tom for taking all the holiday snaps! My life would be a blank memory card without you.

A handmade story

Small music festivals are often a celebration of the unique and handmade, and last year’s End of the Road was no exception. When not listening to music or enjoying all the independent food and drink merchants, we were exploring the various stalls – knitters, printing pressers, and jewellers.

This beautiful bracelet was one of my finds from that weekend. It is made from Derwent pencils and an old knitting needle, by the ever-talented and charming ZincWhite. I had a great time choosing it, chatting with the woman who makes them, and sharing our love of craft, cycling, and the coast.

Buying from a craftsman so often offers more than the item itself: a chance to connect over a shared interest, to find out more about it, and to celebrate someone’s skill. This bracelet is a celebration of two of my favourite things: stationery and knitting. It is a reminder of a very happy weekend and a chance meeting with a like-minded soul. When people comment on it, I relish the excuse to tell a story and to share with others the wonder that is Handmade.