Writer Archives - Travelling Light UK and beyond

Trip to Germany in June

June 7, 2023June 10, 2023Posted in Health, Travel, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, bike, Biking, Bingen Am Rhine, blogger, cancer, Dr Elizabeth Johnston-Young, Germany, harley, harley-davidson, Magic Bike Rudesheim, motorcycle, Rhine, Rudesheim, Travel, travel blog, Travel Photo, travelling light, Travelling Light UK and beyond, Trip to Germany in June, Writer4 Comments

The sun is shining, the temperature is certainly on the favourable end of the scale and our dream trip to Germany in June is now a reality. Travelling on the Harley-Davidson to Hull, enjoying the overnight ferry to Rotterdam. And then travelling after a good nights sleep through Holland and onto Germany. To reach our destination Bingen am Rhine. This Trip to Germany in June is primarily to enable us to attend the Magic Bike Rally in Rudesheim. An annual event attended by Harley-Davidsons and many other motorcycle riders. Although you do not have to be a rider to attend The Magic Bike Rally. Best thing about the middle of 2023 is a Trip to Germany in June.

Getting ready of Magic Bike Rally Rudesheim

Ferry Crossing for our Trip to Germany in June

The P&O crossing could not have been better. You can book ferry crossings through Direct Ferries; this does not limit you to one carrier, they really are super to deal with, good prices too. Smooth crossing, excellent service from staff in the restaurant. We were early to bed. Early to rise. Croissants and coffee in the morning before heading from Rotterdam to Bingen am Rhine. The weather warm, roads pleasant what better for a first ride in the continent in a while.

As we arrive Helmut and Mariane come out to greet us. 4pm and we are in our beautiful apartment, taking off the bike gear and getting changed into a comfortable pair of shorts. Ready to sit down and relax after the 420km ride. Keen to plan the next few days before the Magic Rally in Rudesheim. A super nights sleep and once again the adventure restarts.

Monday

Heading to Aldi’s for some essentials to keep us going through the week. Bingen Am Rhine is well served with supermarkets, fuel stations and restaurants. To get to Rudesheim from Bingen you can either cross the Rhine by car and passenger ferry, for us it is only 5 Euro for the motorcycle and the two of us to cross the Rhine. It’s such a pleasant experience. In the summer the ferries run until nearly Midnight and start first thing in the morning. You can read all about the ferries Here. We explored beautiful Rudesheim and of coarse I got a new pair of shoes.

As we drove to Sankt Goar the memories came flooding back, I first came here as a 10 year old with my parents and two sisters, Hazel and Helen. Oh what fun we had. Crossing the Lorely ferry from Sankt Goarshausen, climbing the vines, and my sisters drinking schnapps. Yes some things have changed but not much and certainly not the beautiful scenery or the warmth of the people. We have booked a trip with Get Your Own Guide to go on a River Cruise down the Rhine. Great Opportunity to relax and take some photos. Get Your Own Guide is a super App I have put on my phone and can literally search for things to do any any place I am in. Most activities do not take your money until just before you are going to take part. And you have the opportunity to cancel. You can click on the link and have a look, it costs absolutely nothing to put the app on your phone or iPad.

Finally……

If you need any last minute bargains online or quality clothing, accessories, etc for the bike. I have found Webb Motorcycles great to deal with. Click on their logo below to get to their website, always worth a look.

Have a super day folks,

Lizbeth and Steve

A road trip to Holy Island

May 23, 2023May 24, 2023Posted in Health, TravelTagged beach, bike, bike life, biker, blog, blogger, cancer, carcinoid syndrome, causeway, Celtic, Christianity, Christin, church, day out, family, harley-davidson, harleydavidson, health, Holy Island, Island, lindisfarne, monk, Motorbike, motorcycle, nasogastric, national trust, net cancer, neuroendocrinecancer, NHS, peg feed, RIG Feed, road trip, sea, Travel, tube feed, Writer5 Comments

The sun is shining, the days are longer what better time to take a trip across the sea. R ide the red machine and take a road trip to Holy Island. As we head down the A1 the sun continues to shine. Passing the big bear at Dunbar he sparkles in the sunlight. And since we were actually crossing the sea. We checked the tide times the night before. If you don’t get your timings correct you are either left stranded on the island or carted off in the sea. And we certainly didn’t want that. On seeing the sign Holy Island of Lindisfarne made my heart skip a beat. Well on our way to a road trip to Holy Island.

All set to cross the causeway of approximately 3 miles. It is far from a straight line. Which makes it an interesting and at times eerie ride. Breathtaking views, we were lucky, no rain, sunshine, and most beautiful sand stretched out in front of us.

It is a wonderful ride and a super walk around the island. I can recommend it to anyone. There is adequate parking. Plenty of places to get a coffee, ice cream, some lunch, etc. Some examples to get you going, Lindisfarne Castle, Priory, Lindisfarne Natural Nature Reserve, and The Parish Church of St Mary the virgin, all worth a visit. On the whole the island is a great day out. We love it. Rain, hail or shine.

Why is Holy Island so called? The first abbey on the island was established around 634AD by an Irish monk. It became a centre of Celtic Christianity.

Planning for Rudesheim on The Harley-Davidson®

May 6, 2023May 24, 2023Posted in Travel, UncategorizedTagged Bikelife, biker, Biking, Biking blog, cancer, carcinoid syndrome, Dr Elizabeth Johnston-Young, Germany, harley, harley-davidson, Magic bike, Magic Bike Rudesheim, motorcycle, nasogastric, Nestle, net cancer, Neuroendocrine, peg feed, Peptamin, Rhineland, RIG Feed, Rudesheim, Travel, travel blog, travel blogger, travelblog, TravellingLightUKandBeyond, Writer3 Comments

Well four weeks today and we will be packing for our dream trip to The Rhineland. Such an exciting time to be going together on our big red machine to a country that holds dear to my heart. So many miles in France together, taking wonderful summer holidays with the children, now this is our time. Our first European trip together alone on the bike. We are going to Germany and the Magic Bike Rally in Rudesheim. These next few weeks will be the exciting ones planning for Rudesheim on The Harley-Davidson®.

We received our stickers for our numberplate this week. Every other day something else happens or arrives and brings some excitement. Turn on the computer and have a look at social media and brighten up our evening. Seeing the progress of the rally preparations.

We have our cabin booked on the overnight ferry there and back. Hoping to get good sailings and not choppy seas. Already we have sought out The Harley-Davidson® dealerships. They are nearby to the fine little house staying there the 10 days we are away. The dealerships in Wiesbaden and Frankfurt looks fabulous, so looking forward to walking through their doors.

All in the planning for Rudesheim on The Harley-Davidson®

As long as I have a notebook and pen and a camera packed I will be equipped for our holiday. I will leave the bike prep to Steve, I know the bike will be in safe hands with Steve. Its going in for a service, MOT and new tyres the run up before we go. Essentially Passports, insurance, registration document etc is all in hand. Clothes as always we won’t have much clothing with us as our web address says ‘Travelling Light UK and Beyond’. My feed is getting posted this week in good time. Most importantly it will arrive at our holiday destination, our hostess kindly said the boxes of feed and be stored till we arrive.

Bike ride to Eyemouth

April 27, 2023May 30, 2023Posted in Travel, UncategorizedTagged biker, Biking, blog, blogger, cancer, Countryside, East Lothian, Eyemouth, friendship, harley, harley-davidson, health, Health writer, Journey, motorcycle, Scotland, Tourism, Travel, travel blogger, TravellingLight, TravellingLightUKandBeyond, travels, Writer2 Comments

It’s feel good Friday I am riding pillion on our beloved Fattie. Heading for Elginhaugh Farm to meet up with a group of friends for a leisurely ride on motorcycles. Most of us became biking chums at at Dunedin Chapter Scotland HOG #9083. It is the end of the working week, the sun is shining with warm temperatures, we are in our beautiful country Scotland, the restrictions are easing and we are riding Harley-Davidson® motorcycles. What a great way to wind down on a Friday night. The suggestion for our regular weekly run is an evening bike ride to Eyemouth.

We congregate in the car park, have a seat at one of the outdoor tables. I sit down by Deke and we blethered about our trip to London and his adventures with his new controls on his bike. The waitress comes and takes orders or those who want a drink, although my feed is on, the temperature is fairly hot and I take advantage and get a soft drink. As the rest of our friends arrive I take advantage of sitting without all my protective gear on in the heat. Everyone is here and we are ready for the off, I put on my jacket and helmet. Switch on the Sena Communication Kit. Enabling me to talk to Steve on our bike ride to Eyemouth. And what a journey it was.

A trip down the city bypass

We head onto the Edinburgh city bypass for a very short distance and turn off at the junction heading for the A68 signposted Jedburgh. The most direct and quickest way to Eyemouth is straight down the A1 however we are riding bikes and its Feel Good Friday. We have beautiful roads in Scotland shame not to use them.

As the group of us ride up the A68 in convoy, we climb uphill and away from the beautiful view of Edinburgh, we turn left at the signpost for Haddington on the A6093. The lush green verges, tall hedges and stunning rolling farm fields. Fabulous scenery to ride along to after a difficult week. As we approached our home village Pencaitland, the only set of lights at the bridge changed to red, giving us a few seconds to stop, all bunch together and take a breath.

At the end of the village we took a right hand turn towards Gifford, and headed up the winding road . We headed up and drove through East Saltoun, the road to Gifford, riding along the most stunning scenery, beautiful trees overhanging the road. We took the scenic route to Spott, driving through Papple and Stenton and onto Spott. As we approached Spott at the roadside there is a witches stone. Spott plays host to the last executions of the Scottish witch hunts of the 17th and 18th centuries when several alleged witches were executed at Spott Loan in October 1705. As we arrived at the roundabout we took the A1 and headed for Eyemouth.

And onto the A1……

The ride down the A1 was fairly fast on the two lane 70 mile per hour road. Although the cool air was a welcome breeze on this very warm evening. As we approached the sign for Eyemouth we turned left and drove into the small Berwickshire town. This fine town is only 5 miles from the English border. It boasts a working harbour; fishing still takes place and has been doing so since the 13th century. Tourists visit the harbour to see the seals. With its location the small town makes a lovely holiday destination, it was evidently busy the Friday evening we arrived.

The small town of approximately 3500 people has a lovely holiday park to take a break, there are a few lovely things to do. Including Eyemouth Museum, Rib Trips ,Gunsgreen House, the beach.

When we parked up the bikes there were 32 people queued outside the fish and chip take away. Some of us went to the Indian restaurant, others bought a pizza, burger or kebab out of a different take away business. They were very busy too. Others had a pack up with them. All in all there was food for all.

Me being me I needed to go to the loo, all that soft drinks, my peg feed running, my bladder thought it was about to explode. I found a local and asked if there were public toilets. They pointed me in the right direction. Not far from where we were parked. I toddled to the loos. Open, clean, fresh paper, etc, excellent.

After food and a blether, it was time to go home. It was decided it would be straight up the A1 home.

Staying in Boggs Holdings, Pencaitland it didn’t take long to get home.

What a lovely evening.

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Have a great day.

Elizabeth and Steve