Pic of the Day

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Yesterday’s ride out of Old Bewick proved the theory that “ two sheep’s heed’s are better than one” when it comes to last minute ride planning. Northumberland has such a varied range of MTB riding and being so big you’re never short of something to ride. Although it was bright and sunny when I left my house, a few miles to the west it was pissing down only to be bone dry by the time we were ready to set off. As @The Hodge mentioned everywhere was dry and dusty which made the ride quite quick. The technical single track that crisscrossed the moors more difficult to navigate due to the hieght of the bracken. Easy stream crossings because of the dry conditions made this ride very entertaining.
If my memory serves me correctly the last time we rode across this way was when @Hobo Mikey joined us for a ride when he was passing through.
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The Hodge said:
Yesterday's ride was going to be a re-visit of last Saturdays Allendale ride cutting a large chunk out & replacing it with another section of exploration ..and despite telling each other via WhatsApp that we'd be wearing our big boy pants the previous evening given the non too favourable forecast...we bottled it!
Mizzling rain & high winds do not happy bunny's make which was the reality when opening my curtains at 5.00am ..but a quick check with Wayne on the other side of the County revealed blue sky & sunshine ..so we headed to Old Bewick and rode the last of the hills on the far Eastern side of the Cheviots ..which was the right choice and we even found some new ( legal) bridleways neither of us had ridden before ..along with some naughty stuff that we had that won't be found on any map .
22miles and only 1220ft ascent makes a mockery of how my legs are feeling this morning but once you've gained the height it's mainly ridge riding on heather clad moorland ...which was as dry as we've ever ridden it ..
The right choice on the day ..Allendale / Nenthead in the upper reaches of the Northern Pennines..take 3..🎬 next Saturday.
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A pint in The Tankerville Arms ( cheers Wayne) ended a splendid ride 😀
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Tick looking country that .
 
RAF Memorial to a crashed Sterling 1945 Annesley, Notts. Poor guy's were so young and only a few miles from RAF (Rolls Royce) Hucknall. Rode past this today whilst out riding in Annesley Forest/Abbey Woods and Park Woods in the Hucknall/Moorgreen/Underwood and Annesley area (close to J27 M1).Some great trails around there, worth a visit.

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Yes so many crashes back then . Remember reading about Roald Dahl going from one air station to another , just follow the railway line he was told. I always think the grass is greener looking at other people's rides.
 
Amber Valley Guy said:
RAF Memorial to a crashed Sterling 1945 Annesley, Notts. Poor guy's were so young and only a few miles from RAF (Rolls Royce) Hucknall. Rode past this today whilst out riding in Annesley Forest/Abbey Woods and Park Woods in the Hucknall/Moorgreen/Underwood and Annesley area (close to J27 M1).Some great trails around there, worth a visit.

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My uncle was a Stirling rear gunner lost over Mannheim in 1943 at the age of 21. I'm always in awe of the responsibility put in such young men, as shown in the picture posted by @Amber Valley Guy, the Halifax crew must have seemed like old men in comparison!
 
Jackware said:
My uncle was a Stirling rear gunner lost over Mannheim in 1943 at the age of 21. I'm always in awe of the responsibility put in such young men, as shown in the picture posted by @Amber Valley Guy, the Halifax crew must have seemed like old men in comparison!
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I imagine every bomber crew was constantly terrified when in the air, and not like how's it depicted in films, all full of bravado and fearless.
 
If we're doing the war, this was a famous land mark round here. It's the remains of a Churchill tank. By 1944, there were thousands of Canadian troops stationed here preparing for D day. The downs were closed to the public & turned into a training ground.

This particular tank broke down & before it could be repaired, it was superseded by an improved version, so was left behind when the troops left for Europe but not before it got used for target practice. Zoom in & you can see it's riddled with bullet holes.

After the war, the downs were cleaned up & reopened & the tank was buried where it stood. In the 1990's, it was dug up again for people to see & various tank museums robbed bits off it for restoration until only the body remained. It's been carted off now for restoration. Last I heard it was taken to France, 80 years late I suppose.

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Amber Valley Guy said:
I imagine every bomber crew was constantly terrified when in the air, and not like how's it depicted in films, all full of bravado and fearless.
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My father was a ground crew electrician in the RAF mostly in bomber sqaudrons durring the war, he rarely spoke about it beyond saying how frightened the air crews were! He never watched war films!
 
RustyMTB said:
If we're doing the war, this was a famous land mark round here. It's the remains of a Churchill tank. By 1944, there were thousands of Canadian troops stationed here preparing for D day. The downs were closed to the public & turned into a training ground.

This particular tank broke down & before it could be repaired, it was superseded by an improved version, so was left behind when the troops left for Europe but not before it got used for target practice. Zoom in & you can see it's riddled with bullet holes.

After the war, the downs were cleaned up & reopened & the tank was buried where it stood. In the 1990's, it was dug up again for people to see & various tank museums robbed bits off it for restoration until only the body remained. It's been carted off now for restoration. Last I heard it was taken to France, 80 years late I suppose.

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My uncle was a Captain in command of a troop of Churchill tanks.
 
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