Friday 18 December 2020

Cycle across Lumsdaine Moor...

 

Since we returned from a week up the east coast at Moray the weather has just been grey, dull, and often wet, so the last few films have been filmed in black and white to reflect the greyness as we near the shortest daylight hours as we near the Solstice...

Today we drove down to Berwickshire and rode out across Lumsdaine Moor, it was as expected wet under foot/tyre and despite a bit spinning on climbs as we wheelsman if out the saddle was impressed that our faster rolling 27.5+ (G`s bike), and my 29+ wheel xc bikes did well in the gloop...




Gold rust...













On the horizon is the former WW2 RAF Crosslaw, and ,that later became a  ROTOR base from the Cold War with 1 level underground bunker with guard house above ground - now a private residence, and Radar now used by civil aviation...


We accessed there via the forest roads...




Nearby is the former St Abbs Royal Observer Corps Monitoring base...


Dropping down onto the main road we join a Heritage trail marked as `Moor road` though the going was claggy with styles and not much fun, but you never know unless you go...




Bikes were caked in sheep poo!, would soon be washed off as it was so wet...




A couple of miles west on the main road over the moor and we soon turned off in the former Drone Hill `Chain Home` WW2 radar station that is now a caravan park- closed for winter we sneaked in and went for a look around the many defences still standing...

Its all a bit `Royston Vasey` around here...lol!...


WW2 pic showing the 8 Radar towers and buildings...


Everything made of concrete or brick is still there though some hard to find in th encroaching undergrowth after 80 years...


The receiving building still remains as do the machine gun pill boxes...





Main base building, used as a bar by the caravan park...


A good wee explore...


And that's a wrap!, a fun mid winter xc cycle and another 18 miles mostly off road clocked up...


Wee film of the ride, Song is `Reach For The dead` by Boards of Canada....


More soon...








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