Bicycle touring. the Trent vale trail and the water rail way. 2025. #bicycletouring

this is not a guide to cycling any of the routes.

A four day bicycle tour in mainly Lincolnshire and a bit of Nottinghamshire. Three nights of woodland wild camping. 167 miles done in total.
#bicycletouring #trentvaletrail #sustrans #ncn647 #lincolnshire

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Right. So, while there’s no one around around, hopefully no one will come up behind me. I’ll do a quick introduction. I’m heading out to meet Ian. In fact, I’ll stop a minute even though it’s still clear. Yeah, I’m heading to meet Ian. We’re going on a I’d say three well 4 day tour. one we’ve done before, but it’s my holiday off work, so I fancied doing it. I hope it’s not too much of a struggle cuz I haven’t done much cycling in some time. And even I tried to go as light as possible, the bike is still pretty heavy. And also about the camera, I can’t remember if I told you last time, but I’ve changed it to 60 frames per second instead of 30. So, and if I think of anything else important I need to say, I’ll tell you later. Right. So, we’re at the place. I’m going to wait for Ian. If you watch all the videos, you’ll have seen this place a few times and probably know where I am. And if you’re one of these people who just watches a few minutes of a video and turns it off, why are you even subscribed? Because it’s not going to change. I mean, there’s thousands of other channels you can pick from. Anyway, I don’t think it’ll be too long. I have to admit my mood I don’t I don’t know I don’t feel as excited as I used to be but been having a lot of problems in life. So anyway, I’ll bring you back when Ian’s there and we’ll probably get water at Trent Lock. Well, I just spotted Ian coming across a bridge. So he’s coming. Right, I’ve been here probably 10 minutes or so. That’s nice one. That’s two trains out the way. I’m always glad to get that done. Well, you you really ain’t got much. No, I I haven’t unpacked this yet from the train. I’ve just got to put a pany on and off. I my my bike still quite heavy even though I’ve tried to put light stuff in. Yeah, I got like a If you remember, I had an out kit. is called an Outkit Numo air mattress. I brought a new one of them cuz it’s lightweight, packs down small. I ended up putting a Ridge Raider in. It’s but it’s still bit heavy. You got a tarp in you as well. Definitely. I think I’ve got the seat belt small super probably the small super light tap, right? I think or one of them. It might have been a large one. I can’t remember. But I’ve I’ve gone like proper light. I’ve got well not much food at all cuz I thought I probably don’t really need much of a day. I’ve got some like cobs. I’ve got like a meal deal. Some cobs. We have loads of shops, don’t we? So there’s no point dragging it around. I mean, I’m not even like Just I might just fill that bottom one with water in by then we get the more water at the shop. We get a couple of liters at Trent Lock. But um and then yeah, get it on the way. All right, I’ll get this unpacked. I see you got the new bricks on. Yeah, it’s I tell you it’s saved my ass. that has I couldn’t get on with the shape of it on the leather because the the frame at the back. But with that on I didn’t realize the springs were going to do so much work, but save me. Anyway, we’re just having a break and this is basically all like at nature reserve. I don’t think you can. No, you can’t zoom in on this. Well, we’re just on the big track in Nottingham. Give her a look around. And we’re heading up there somewhere. That’s a bloody good shot. Oh, we’re just crossing the river Trent. There’s a tram coming. So, come back over here. Who’s written free? Placeen over there. Yeah, we’re going to go through West Bridgeford, find a way under the Grant Canal somehow. Well, we’re still on the Grant Canal if that’s what I said before. We’re glad we came this way. It’s very nice. Anyway, I best get going. Well, we stopped for a break. We’re on Cester 6. Is it 64? Yeah, I think it is. Got a bottle of wine. Salt and vinegar favorites. Just all the essentials. Yeah, good um crisps. I don’t normally drink wine, but you need to be hydrated well. I brought this on the last trip and never had it. So, I’ll bring you back later. Right, we’re about to go onto the railway trail. Yes, I know we’ve done this before, but it’s my holiday. [Music] A familiar sight. I need to put the camera in the other hand so I can change gear. Is the graffiti the same? Yeah, cuz Ian doesn’t want to stop. Yeah, this has all been resurfaced, which is better. Yeah, I mean, I said at the start of the video, I’ve not cycled this far with camping gear for a long time. I’m feeling pretty tired and need to eat and drink more. Good. I don’t mind the rest. The local Albanians have been cooking seed. Some of the some of the mimigrants like eating swans apparently. Well, we’re still on 64. I’m fl pretty damn tired, but must carry on. We get to a shop then go to the woods and I just need a good drink or something sugary or whatever. That’ll be very nice. Right, Ian’s taking more photos, which if you’re following him on Straa, you’ll be able to see. I’m just filming this tunnel cuz I don’t normally. We’re still Ancestral 64. [Music] I don’t normally film down this end cuz it gets busy with people and they’re not always well sometimes they’re ruffians and we’re moving on to get to the shop. I’m trying to film covertly. We’re at the co- up in Newark. I’ve got my shopping and Ian’s getting his now. Then we’re going to head up the hill to the woods. Right, we’ve reached the woods and I seen it on a Facebook page, but you know, someone’s been chopping trees down. So, I hope they’re going to like grow new ones cuz anyway, it’s good to get to the woods and it seems like it’s been a long day. Even though according to the timer on the GPS, we’ve only been 5 and 1/2 hours. Well, that’s since I started in will be different. So, we’re going to go up that way, find somewhere to hide. Nice stealthy hiding spot to camp. Right. So, we’re in the woods. Ian is over there sorting his stra stuff out. And I’m pretty much sure we camped in I camped in this spot last time we came here. I mean, the place is massive. Could literally go anywhere, but this is good enough. is going to be completely completely hidden. What which is what you want. So, I’m going to set the the bivvie up with the door up that end. I got the bivvie up early, but no one’s going to see it. So, we’re going to see if Ian’s got his sleeping accommodation ready. He’s been drinking a bit there. So You get in there. We’re going to go from there to there. Sleep here. Yeah. We want it more technical than you are on Dave’s channel. Yeah. temp lie down cuz I’m [ __ ] tired. What I’m going to do is stick the line up like Yeah, put the poncho up. I don’t think I need the poncho tonight, but I’ve got it. Why not pop it up? All I know I’ll have a think later if I put the tar up somehow. And then look at that for the headrest. Yeah. Right. Very nice surroundings all around. Right, it’s some hours later. Apart from like some animal sounds, it’s pretty peaceful. The camera, as I said before, the camera makes it look lighter than it actually is. Right. So, it’ll be bedtime soon and probably nothing will happen. Look at these woods, man. What a place to be. Yeah, it’s just a favorite place because I remember coming here where the school I was at school I went to and it’s just nice to get away from the concrete jungle of a place I live in. Anyway, you can see I can you can see in the shelter. It probably won’t rain. And we had some we had a deer barking. It’s I can’t believe I have heard that in the daylight. I thought the Mj in the evening. It’s gone for now. He’ll be back at 3:00, I’m sure. Yeah, we’ve had the [ __ ] Adam before. Yeah, it’s a disturbing sound to hear when you’re alone in the woods in the night. Yep. Quiet now, right? I think it’s time to go. Probably time to go to bed. So, I’ll see you see probably see you in the morning unless anything happens. from some YouTube channels. There’s always something going on in the night. Well, I’m expecting um visions. Bigfoot. Oh, 12 Bigfoots. Yeah. Trampled by deer. Person shaking. Not him either. Someone shaking on your tent. But when you go out out the tent, there’s no one there. What about uh trampled by deer? Oh yeah, being trampled laying on the floor being trampled by a deer. Hearing disembodied voices. I’m expected to be uh hit by a comet. Oh, that’s a bit severe, but you never know. I mean, yeah, we see some D stuff on other channels. I mean, I’ve seen some like van life channels where something happens like every time they go out like would that like put you off or if it was real? I don’t know. Anyway, I think it’s going to be bedtime, right? So, I’ll catch you in the morning. [Music] airplane or something. Right. Right. So, I’m just, you know, getting the torch ready if I need it. Unlikely though, cuz I’ve got the head torch. I I don’t know why, but the green light shows really clear. There’s a head touch. Right. So, good night and hopefully we’ll film some good stuff tomorrow. Right. Good morning It’s raining and I’m bloody tired still. I think it’s time to start packing up slowly. Right. Um, so I’m up. Got the shoes on. Got a bit of a situation. I don’t know where you can you probably can’t see me. So, you can see I’ve got the umbrella up. So last night night we were kind of uming and about whether to put taps up. I think Ian almost wasn’t going to but I think he made the right choice. Also, yesterday Ian realized he’s forgotten his rain trousers and I thought, you know, I’ve got rain trousers. I’m not like taking the piss, but the problem is somehow I’ve forgotten mine as well. I can’t find them. Um, it might have been because I was swapping bags around and so we’re both going to have a bit of a problem. So, I’m and I’m trying to pack the gear away. As you see, it is raining quite a lot. Yes, I am going to pick that rubbish up even though some of it’s not rubbish. There’s a couple of cans of ale there. I’m glad some of these bags are waterproof because it’s raining quite hard. See, I’ve got the rain car done. Well, I can’t ride with the umbrella. But [Applause] Ian actually went to a shop yesterday to try and find waterproofs and didn’t find any. And I think it I’ll probably be unable to find any. I’m going to I’m going to put away what I can cuz I didn’t put the tarp up. I thought I weren’t going to need it at all. Now things are getting wet. It’s not the end of the world there. So let’s get on with that. Right, it’s getting slightly lighter. And now you shouldn’t really do that while stealth camping. You may see a lot of channels that do. They’re normally showing off. Normally, we don’t recommend it. I don’t know why the red the red light looks like it’s flickering on the camera. Can anyone explain why? We’re going to go and see if Ian’s awake. I don’t think he is, but if I’m going to find a way I don’t think he’s awake. Um I best continue packing stuff up. I mean, I wasn’t going to bring the umbrella, but I did anyway. And it’s served a purpose. Now, I’ve got it just covering the door up temporary. Right, it’s a little bit later. It’s still raining. I’m got the phone on charge so we can look at the weather later. I haven’t heard from me in Well, we’re not in no rush. We’ve got to probably go to a shop to get something for a breakfast. Then I’m planning to go for another shop later. Probably pick up more water and food. Probably may go to a pub for food later, but I want to get something I can take to camp with me. And if if you invest in waterproof paners, you’ll certainly be glad of it. Is he awake? I can see a bit of movement. I can see a moving. Yeah. Nice in the woods. But is he That’s right. Yeah, he’s awake. Bloody hell. You made the right choice with a tap. Good job. And put the tops off. I didn’t think it would be necessary. I mean, I didn’t really get wet cuz I packed up early cuz Yeah, I’ll bring you back later. I know the camera’s probably a bit steamed up, but we’re getting ready to leave the wood. It’s been a long time coming to get back here. And we’re heading off to a little little village to get probably some a quick breakfast. that we’re doing hopefully doing the Trent Veil Trail, which is a relatively new trail. Anyway, I will come back later. Right, we’re just um getting ready to leave the area. There’s a dog walker up up there. But we should be gone and we’ll be up the road in a minute. I do love this wood. I wish I had something like this close to where I live. There’s there’s nothing really nothing like this. Anyway, we must get going. Right, we got a bit lost in the village, but we’re going to ride a Trent Veil trail up to Cestern 647. I just like to point out this is not a guide a guide to cycling it. So, if you think you’re going to use it to follow it, you might go wrong. It’s best to find on the internet like a GPS track. Well, we’re following a Trent Rail trail there as someone Oh, no. I thought that was someone’s bike reflector. Ian Ian spotted his pike. I was like, what? What are you on about? That’s disgusting. Oh, it’s [ __ ] real. It smells. They’ve left it there for that. We got to get through this awkward gate, but we’ll manage it. It’s a nice area. Really is. Right. We’re still on a Trent Veil trail. It’s been a bloody good trail. We’ve had to use a phone for navigating cuz the sign posting is not brilliant, is it? It’s a little bit confusing, aren’t they? But yeah, what a fantastic trail this is. Yeah, this rim. This is a Trent. I mean, this probably floods floods a lot. Anyway, we’re going to get going. It’s not that that long till we get on six or seven before we head towards Lincoln. Right. This is a really good trail. There’s a a field of flowers. Well, we’re just taking more off here. Well, we’re heading to the Lincoln along the fuzz dyke. It’s a seagull. Does that just catch a fish? Yeah, it looks like it. Yeah, we’ve been to one shop. Ian wants to go to another shop. So, we’ll do that. We’ll head through get on the water railway. Right. It fell enough on the trucker’s ties. Be careful though. Might make you need a we Yeah, I don’t want any snowflakes complaining about that. So, we’re at S local in Lincoln. I tried to get James to stop for a point, but he wouldn’t cuz it made him need a week. Yeah, that’s about it. Well, we’re still on the water railway out in the quiet countryside. I mean, yeah, it’s definitely like a different world out here to where I live. There’s a river on both sides. Right. You can probably hear the wind in them trees. Is a bit windy, but it’s not terrible. We’re still on the water railway. Right, time to get going. I think quiet out here apart from you’ll hear some airplanes as was not far from a an air base where they’ve got typhoons. I tell you what, the iPhone does not do you a damn favor. I think amazing. I think it’s starting to rain, but very slightly. Right, it’s a bit late. Still on the water railway, which is Cestern’s route one. Ian just pointing out this field with hay stacks in hay bales rather. I like the look of the field. Yeah, we’ve seen them. Something nice about hay bales. We took a photo of hay bales once on 64 towards Newick. I might get a bit of riding footage cuz I think someone will have a bit of a moon, but we haven’t really done any. [Music] [Music] Oops. That’s someone’s property for the night. Right, we’re stopped at the King’s Arms for a Well, we’ve got a P of K in each. And after we finish this, we’ll be heading off to the camps the campsite. I’m feeling tired. Yeah, we’re bit we’re a bit tired. So, I’m going to sit down, bring you back later. Right, we come off of Sustran’s Route One and a clue to where we are is called Timberland Drive. It’s still pretty damn cloudy up there. Ian is taking photos of hay bales again. It’s a really nice road this is. Yeah, when it’s not when you got uh the wind behind it. Yeah. Anyway, let’s get going. He always reminds me of that rapper Timberland. I can’t hardly remember him. No, he doesn’t remind me of that. He’s probably He can’t have had any big hits cuz Anyway, let’s get going. Still on Timberland Drive. The sky is looking bloody epic. [Music] Yeah, we got a bit further to go and hopefully we can get in the little wood. I need to change the battery soon. Right, look at the sky again. I’m going to show you something. We’re not far from what’s left of Royal Air Force Meveringham, which is out that way. [Music] I’m going to show you something. This is in memory of a crew of JB 534 ZNK. Yes. [Music] Yeah. Is it’s a memorial to a bomber crew that crashed. [Music] Right. So, welcome back. You know, you can’t see a great deal. We’re in some woods. It took a while to get in and find a spot. It is. It It’s pretty It is dark. Pretty much dark. And I’ll quickly flash a white light. I’m going to turn it off again. So, you’ve got the He’s in falling over. I feel like I’m I’m going to wait till this car goes past. Yeah, we’re near a road. See, you might hear the odd cat. I’m trying to see where your strings are. They’re a quick look. I don’t want to keep the light on for too long. Time for baby. And that is rain. That’s rain. Bloody hell. You I kicked that out the way cuz I [ __ ] I tripped it. There was a bit over there, but I [ __ ] I shouldn’t have really said that on camera, but No, I might leave it in. It’s realism. Yeah, when you’re in the woods in the dark, you tend to trip over You tend to trip over logs that have fallen off the trees. fake fake YouTube channels or just pretend this doesn’t happen. So, I probably won’t fill much more. I doubt anything will happen. So, I’ll see you later. It might be in the morning. right. So now you probably can’t see me very well. It is early in the morning. I got up early and just have a walk around. I’ll wait for Ian to get up and [Applause] it wasn’t a bad night. seemed a bit more noisier than what I remember, but it eventually kind of went quiet. And where I’m going to just slowly pack my stuff up and come back later. Right, it’s light now and I’m still pretty tired, but what’s new? Yeah, it was a good night. No rain today. No rain, so that’s a bonus. Yeah, Jack doors are I had a buzz. We could use it as a clickbait title. See, I went camping and got attacked by an eagle. If you know somebody uses [ __ ] If you know somebody who uses [ __ ] clickbait titles, write in the comment. Anyway, I don’t We’re not really not in a rush at all. I’ve got a few things to pack up. No, I really I really walk around the woods much like I did last time, but No, it’s surprising how it’s grown up, hasn’t it? Yeah. Over there last time. There’s no chance. Yeah, that sort of in the corner. Well, we’re in the small pleasant tranquil village of Kirby Green. probably where a lot of re rich people live. Ian’s gone in this little church to see if there’s a water tap. I don’t really need any till later. There’s there’s bound to be some caring in there or say, “Oh, you can’t go in a church. It’s wrong.” Well, people who like do a lot of outdoor activities will understand why. And by the way, down here is a fud. Sometimes there’s a tap, but not this time. I wonder if I can get down here holding the camera. Maybe. Sorry about the camera shake. And if I can get through here without like being slippery or anything. It was okay. Apart from where it’s like a road’s taking a photograph. I’ll bring you back soon. I’m going to take a photo. Ian’s gone in another church looking for water. And I think this little village is called Dig Bear. I can’t see it. We must have gone around the back. Well, we found a new a new shop in Darington. So Ian’s getting some water. Right, we’re in Sleeper. This is a place called Cogles Mill. It was renovated a long time ago. In taking some photos, it looks nicer than it used to. Yeah. So, this river used to be a canal and there’s like a waterfall thing and there’s some houses over there. And I think it’s the third the third one on this side was probably it. That where you used to live was it? That was I think I think it was a third one. You see the one was at an angle. Right. We’re in Sleepford and place I used to come a lot has changed. I wanted to just film some of the the differences. This is just a a trip bait. That’s all very different when I think them garages used to be there. I remember like No, never mind. But that’s totally different. Doctor’s surgery. That was there. Look at all the bloody pigeons on the roof. So, we’re gone up along the river, have another rest. We notice, yeah, there’s water shortages over a lot of the country, and this river is flipping bone dry. But I’m going to I’m going to go down there. [Music] This dried up like when I lived in sleeping. Used to go go messing about over here. Yeah, there’s a there’s a pipe up there on the right where you can’t see in. This is insane. It smells of smells like fish. Probably some dead fish somewhere. That’s flipping typical. Yeah. Nuts. Eh. You can get in. You can get over there if you wanted to cuz there’s a way of climbing up. Yeah. This It’s just crazy that that I remember last time I was here I was looking at fish in there. Yeah. like that. I’ve looked on like maps. It I don’t really know where that comes. I mean, it goes into the countryside and like disappears. You see, this used to be a railway line. It was a Cran branch line. Right. So, we’re just leaving Sleford. It was a nice visit. just taking photos of his artwork and it’s pretty flat, most of it, right? I don’t know when I’ll film next. It’ll probably be out in the countryside. Right. This is um called Kop. We’re heading back towards Nottingham. We’re going to stop somewhere near a village called Stanton. Don’t want to say where cuz we don’t have permission to camp where we’re going to camp. So, we shouldn’t encourage other people to go there. Right, we’re heading towards Stuben. We’re waiting for the cars to go past. It is a bit windy, so I don’t know why you can hear me. Yeah, I don’t know if you can see it on this camera. Quite a a view out a long flipping way. I can actually see that’s most likely a West Burton Power Station which is just decommissioned. You probably can’t see it but it’s is not Cotum because Katum Cotum was demolished a few days ago. That is one hell of a hell. Train going past. We’re near the east coast main line. We’re finally in some woods. We’re just sort of getting set up. I don’t know what he’s doing, but yeah, I’m just going to get something to drink and set the bevy up later. Put that on there. Ian’s got his camp over there. Anyway, probably nothing exciting will happen for a while. It would be nice if it were raining a bit. But it’s not. So I’ll come back later. Right. It is the last night of camping. It was only a three night trip. Unfortunately, just don’t can’t get the time to do much more cuz I do like some time at home. Yeah. So, I’ve got the bivvie and the tap over. T’s really the best I could get it. I later later on before bed, I I will close the bags up and push them underneath and I’ll probably put the bike cover on. We’ll go and see in a minute, but first of all, we’re going to see how hidden everything is. Well, I can see him from here, but I’m thinking if somebody came in the woods in this area. How hidden would they be? Well, I can barely see mine and I can see in his t, but the last time we did this trip, I didn’t bother filming it. And I camped over there somewhere. It’s changed a bit. I’m going to go and have a look out here, but I’m going to be careful cuz I don’t want to get seen. We’ve already seen some like farmers going past. One thing like if there was any if there was any game cameras around I probably wouldn’t wouldn’t spot them. I’m taking a risk here cuz if anyone comes past, I’m not going to probably won’t be able to hide in time. A field full of flowers. We’ve noticed quite a few fields of flowers. over the last few days. This is rescue. Right. Going back in. This spot here is where I camped last time cuz I matched it up for a photo. I went for a walk last time. I found like an old rubbish dump which is over there somewhere. I don’t think we’ll bother with that. Probably going to go back to the camp and maybe have a lay down. Right. Good morning. It was too dark to film earlier. I think we both had a pretty decent night. Been windy all night. I packed most of pretty much all my stuff up already. Got my bags ready to move. There’s Ian over there. Right, we’ve just come out of the woods. I see there’s some new trees being planted. We’ve seen that in a few places. It’s nice to know trees have been planted instead of more bloody houses. So, we’re both riding home today. The tour is done and it’s been nice to get out camping and I’ll probably do some single overnighters again soon. So, you’ve noticed there a sign of the National Byway. Does anyone know anything about it? So, this is Dry Dington, right where we’re passing through. We’re heading be a bit early for sneezing to be honest. Heading towards Nottingham eventually. Right. So, it’s quite a bit later. I’m on route 15 heading into Nottingham. Ian’s gone off a different route. I’m just going to show you this. You may have seen before. the [ __ ] grave colory branch line and this route is still blocked off. I mean it may get like sorted out one day. I mean it’s funny how councils can do some things but not others. Anyway, I don’t know if this will be the last clip. I’ll probably film a bit later. Right. Um, I’ve not cycled down here for a very, very long time. I may have already mentioned there’s been a new bridge being put over the Trent. So, I’m guessing why this is blocked off. And I went past a a woman who’s up there. So, I kind of said bugger. I didn’t know about that. Well, I knew the bridge of at some point was going to be put put in place, but and I said, “Oh, how can I?” So, I’ve got to work a way round to get back up there. Right. So, hello. And it’s like a day later. I think the last clip I filmed I was on the side of the river Trent in Nottingham and I didn’t film anything else. I was uh let’s just say I was I was flipping tired. So, I just rode home the quickest possible route and pretty much slept ever since. So, I’d just like to thank anyone who’s watched all the way through the video. You can leave a leave some comments. Let us know if you’ve watched it all. And the trip was pretty good. Had its ups and downs. That’s the nature of bicycle touring. You know, you’re out there to enjoy it, but it can throw up problems you have to deal with. And I don’t know how long it will be till I can do a tour like that again. And I’ll probably try and plan something totally different. And I’m going to get off now and start editing the video. I’m going to put it all probably all in one long video. So, I’ll catch you on whatever comes next and see you soon.