Whoosh 2025, Day 1: Lindisfarne to Haddington

57.5 miles, 3,070 feet of climbing, Four hours 11 minutes

There comes a point in climbing a steep hill where there is no longer really a choice about whether to keep pedalling. The climbing is tough – but the hill is so steep that it would be even harder to stop and dismount with safety or dignity.

Some of us faced such a moment during Friday’s first full day of the 2025 Whoosh ride on a hill near Whiteadder Water, a reservoir in the Lammermuir Hills in Scotland’s Southern Uplands. The hill felt impossibly steep to climb. But, for those of us who had not started walking by the most challenging part, it was too late to back out. The only way was up.

That climb was part of a brutal day’s riding in which we pedalled through beautiful countryside dotted with flowering gorse – or, to Scots, whin – bushes. The standard statistics – that we rode 57.5 miles and ascended 3,070 feet – miss out the day’s defining feature. That was an utterly unforgiving westerly wind. It felt like nature’s reprimand to us for our impertinence in riding bicycles across this landscape, of pretty treelined valleys and wind-blasted upland moors.

The day was a powerful reminder that humans are relatively powerless in the face of the forces of nature. Tree Aid, the charity for which this year’s ride is raising funds, seeks to help people to manage those forces through planting trees.

Friday’s riding started from the holy island of Lindisfarne, our start delayed to give the tide time to recede from the causeway linking the island to the mainland. The wind was immediately apparent as we crossed the exposed road to the mainland then headed into the hills on the southern side of the England–Scotland border. We crossed the border just beyond the little village of Norham, the ride’s two Scots posing by the sign welcoming everyone to their homeland.

But, after lunch in the market town of Duns, the reminders of the complex links between humans and their environment began. The road wound up valleys shaped by babbling streams before going above the current tree-line. It was noticeable that at several points there were saplings planted, to shield the land from the scouring wind.

Despite the challenges, however, we eventually reached a point near the Redstone Rig hill where we had a panoramic view. East Lothian, from the Bass Rock and North Berwick Law towards Edinburgh, lay before us. The land was strikingly lush and green – a reminder that, whatever its challenges, the environment in which British people live remains relatively healthy and balanced.

Tree Aid seeks to help people, in Africa’s drylands, who look out on far less promising vistas.

There were still challenges on the fast descent into the town of Haddington. The wind made it hard to control a bike at speed on tight bends. There were sharp, sudden climbs.

But it was impossible as we slid down amid prosperous farms and well-tended towns not to appreciate our good fortune.

2025 Charity

This year we are supporting just one charity - Tree Aid, who are backed by our very own Eamonn and Adjoa and who work with people in Africa to plant trees which can provide food and incomes.

Tree Aid. Grow Trees; Grow Hope