2010-09-06 - 2010-09-10 : London to Edinburgh, with a possible favour

This autumn seems like a reasonable time for a trip that I've been considering since the start of the year.

First things first, route.
*
Mon, Sept 6th = London > Northampton;
Tue, Sept 7th = Northampton > Nottingham;
Wed, Sept 8th = Nottingham > Leeds;
Thu, Sept 9th = Leeds > Newcastle;
Fri, Sept 10th = Newcastle > Edinburgh;*

Next, accommodation.

Two things...

**1st thing: **My relying on friendly folk to put me up for the night. I'm relatively sure that I could locate someone at each destination, given a bit of time. Righty-ho, but I'm not so keen on the thought of scamming free digs.

**2nd thing: **A few people with whom I've chatted have suggested that I complete the trip for charity. I'm all for charitable events; though in my case I'd be concealing a selfish experience beneath a blanket of smug. So,

Combining the previous two paragraphs gives us this:-

I would donate £30 a night to charities selected by those who are kind enough to let me stop over.

With this in mind, does anyone know of anyone who might put me up for the night? I wouldn't need more than a shower/ bed each evening, and of course somewhere dry to store a bike. I'd feed myself, I'd say please and thank you, and I'd try to remain as discreet as possible.

I appreciate the irony of asking a London forum about matters North, but I'm dead serious and would be extremely grateful of any support.

Cheers.

Edit...

Well now, having thought further over the last day or two, I'm not at all sure of my potential plan's validity. Couchsurfing is a strong option, but even this is overshadowed by the lovely institutions that are youth hostels (I do love a youth hostel).

I originally had something idealistic in mind, thinking that a little mutual charity might be rather neat, but having given greater consideration to the possibility of dossing with strangers I'm now less keen on it as a solution. For starters, much of my early investigation was met with a perfectly understandable "You're a bit odd, aren't you mate", which couldn't really be countered by an offer to provide references. There's also something to be said for not having to egg-shell around the houses of strangers of an evening, parking up near a YHA dorm seems by far the more breathable option. While I reckon that my idea would work in Boris Johnson's cycling Utopia, in reality it's a plan ripe for mis-interpretation and mild discomfort. It's good to talk, every day's a school day, the best laid plans, and fools rush in.

So bollocks to me and my idiotic intentions. I'm going for a very straightforward cycling holiday in September. I'll prolly write summin about it here, for which I apologise in advance.