Lindisfarne At Last

Here I am in Lindisfarne, a.k.a. Holy Island, which is a place I really like. Sure, it's touristy but not too much and the pace is nice. It's properly spectacular and the resident community are getting the place together with the new village hall moving into phase 2 "archeology" and today turned out to be the village fete. As I left the island an Asda delivery van was driving across the causeway :) All this and you can't get there for 4 hours around high tide. Fab! I bet they're all web designers.

So, the nearly-bad story: My little bike has no front bag and I've taken this on a £30 Vivitar camera because...

Well, a bit too much excitement in the last 24 hours. Last night in Alnwick, after writing my Blip and saying what a nice town it seemed, I was surrounded by a teenage group and after some cheek one of them snatched my bag. In that bag was *everything* of value I was carrying on my road trip, so after leaving the police station at 2.30AM, as far as I knew overnight it was all gone. I had no cards and after a long conversation with RBS on a borrowed phone, it turned out I had to be in Berwick-Upon-Tweed before 1PM to get into the branch and get some cash.

So, 4 hours of fitful sleep and I was off without breakfast, absolutely fuming and really worried. As the ride continued I felt better and better of course, and after Berwick and the bank, I bought a backpack, food, a camera and set off back to Lindisfarne. No point in spoiling the remainder of the day with 8 hours until the train home.

I managed nearly 2 hours lounging by the harbour which was just what I needed.

North again to Berwick and the train home. Since my keys were stolen with my bag, I needed my neighbours to be in so I could get into the house. I couldn't call them because my phone was stolen as well. As I rode along the Sea Road path I recognised them walking with their children and - Yes! - I could get into my house - to find emails from Apple's "Find My iPhone" saying that my bag has been retrieved and it's in the police station with nearly everything in it. Wow.

I found out later that 3 lads have been arrested for the crime. I'll not be going back to Alnwick though! Well, maybe the castle but not the town. Which is really sad, since teenagers effectively mugging tourists isn't what any town wants. However several people knew exactly who the lad was, the police clearly did as well, so it's up to them to sort it out.

So, all is well, I've done over 200 miles up hill and down dale on the Brompton in the last 3 days, and I've had a fantastic time. I've seen beautiful parts of the country, spent great time with my pal Dave, and learned that the Brompton is up to the long-distance job.

I must admit I can't wait to get onto a full-sized bike though!