In 2019 I embarked on an epic cycling tour from Germany to the North of England. My favourite band British Sea Power (they dropped the British at some point later) had announced a festival on the coast of Cumbria at Muncaster Castle. I always wanted to see the band on their home turf, but never got the chance up to then. And I always dreamed about the special gigs and festivals they were organizing on remote islands, up bleak hill tops, at theatres, libraries and other not so common places for indie rock.

So in May 2019 I finally took my chances and grabbed a ticket for Krankenhaus Festival, as a German obviously intrigued by that unfamiliar festival name. First plan was to take the train to “Hospital Festival” in Ravenglass, Cumberland. But at one point I was wondering if I could cycle all the way to the Lake District from my home town Bonn in the North Rhine-Westphalia. I always wanted to go on a bicycle tour in the UK but it never came to happen. So I thought, this is the chance to have it both: Sea Power and cycling! And to conjure up a proper holiday adventure, I decided to give the Pennine Cycleway a go on my cycling adventures northwards ho in breathtaking mountainous scenery…

As you probably have already guessed, things didn’t go ahead as planned. I arrived really late to the festival. But maybe because of all the wrong turns and shattered itineries it was a truly breathtaking and memorable journey, which I since then have repeated quite a few times.

This blog now tries to (re)capture a bunch of stories of cycling to Krankenhaus over the years, of meeting foxes in daylight, singing songs in storms, chatting with rain and wind, crawling up English hills and getting lost on the moors or taking other wrong turns.

Right now I am on my way to lovely Krankenhaus Festival for the sixth time. And while cycling again all the way to old Muncaster Castle, there will also be new tales to tell as I progress cross country. And while I always meet so many lovely and interesting people en route, it is time to put some of these stories from past and future down.

And if you by chance meet me on the road northwards ho, say hello and buy me a pint or a mug of tea. And always watch out for foxes in daylight. I meet them quite often…

Cheers and enjoy!
Christoph x