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There was a chill wind as we set off up Wharfedale but it was dry and the scenery magnificent. We passed 'The George' at Hubberholme then headed up over the fell to Hawes and stopped in our usual tea shop for an hour or so while the rain came down outside. We had debated whether to tackle 'The tubs' today as we were meeting Trevor at Garsdale station but as it turned out the decision was taken out of our hands. Trevor had arrived at Garsdale early and was waiting for us at the bottom of the climb.

Luckily the rain had stopped and we had a bright and breezy ascent, a bit of a photo session going down the other side and the sun was out when we reached Thwaite so we could sit outside with tea and cakes, lovely.

The next climb over to Kirkby Stephen seemed very long, you never seem to be able to reach the top until at last the ground just falls away in front of you. There can be great views from here across to the Lake District but the black clouds and rain were gathering when we got there so we just hopped down to the cosy Youth Hostel (converted chapel) in Kirkby Stephen, also an independent hostel.

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We headed north again crossing over the A66 on a handy bridge and headed up on the moors again to reach Middleton in Teesdale, lovely picturesque place with a tea shop.

Alan managed to break a few spokes on the cattle grids but there was no bike shop so we just had to carry on and hope for the best.

Once again we went out on to the moor, there's a definate remote and desolate feeling by now with fewer farm buildings. Upper Teesdale is not the tourist hot spot that the Dales are.

After a quick photo stop in Blanchland we went to the delightful youth hostel at Edmunbyers, now independent and the first hostel Alan and I ever stayed at.

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Trevor and Alan had to leave us today so they headed off east to Shotley Bridge while Calum, Andy and I went back to Blanchland. The 1:6 north out of Blanchland has been relabelled as a 20% but it's definitely not that steep. When I was at school this was a fabled climb as we tackled as often as we could.

The B road down in to Hexham was closed so we had to take a detour but the signs took us back to the closed section so we ended up pushing the bikes past the road closure and gas repairs.

We had lunch in Hexham, weather quite warm by now. We headed north again and had another two road closures with accompanying detours before reaching the excellent Simonburn Tearoom. Lovely tea and a scone with jam and cream.

The weather held out for the rest of the ride up to Bellingham. It's a new hostel which is described as a bunkhouse. The facilities are excellent.