Wednesday 11th April: Widmer End
Our friend Lesley picked us up from Heathrow airport and took us back
to her and Malcolm’s place in Widmer End, High Wycombe.
Stayed: Lesley & Malcolm’s Place Widmer End, High Wycombe
Thursday 12th April: Bridgewater
We went into High Wycombe with Lesley and bought a phone card, went
to the bank and got a few food supplies.
Once Malcolm had finished his job application we headed down to
Bridgwater. Lesley had booked us into the old Gurney Manor Mill. This was a great B &
B in this converted mill with pretty gardens and wildlife on the pond.
We went into town to the Rose pub where they only served beer
and it had the old atmosphere that we were more used to from the English pubs. We followed
this by another pub where we had a good meal.
Stayed: Gurney Manor Mill Bed and Breakfast
Friday, 13th April: Bridgwater to West Bagborough - 20.9km, 20.9km
Today was the big day we pick up our bikes from SJS cycles in
Bridgewater. It had taken months of research and discussion with cycle mates to decide on
what we should get and to put the order in. In anticipation we ordered an early breakfast
8am and even managed to get Malcolm there on time for it!!
st. john street cycles
The home of THORN.
Annette &
Stephen called in here to pick up their new bikes at the start
of their tour.
Annie's smart, brand spanking new, Thorn.
And here's Steve's.
"Now, here's how this works."
Steve gets close
up, and personal, while checking some detail on his black machine.
Note the Rohloff hub at the rear, and the dynamo hub at the front.
Lesley and Malcolm came with us to the shop and waited while Steve
our SJS mechanic made sure everything was set up for us and we took the bikes for a quick
ride around the local park to see if the fit seemed ok. Steve (SJS) suggested that Steve’s
bike would the chain tightened in around 30 miles but it didn’t seem practical to do
a ride that long and back again so we decided to head off and arranged to meet Lesley and
Malcolm at a pub on the way to the B & B we were staying in that night as Gurney’s
was unavailable.
The bikes seemed to go well as we felt our way through the new hub
gears and we met Lesley and Malcolm just in time for lunch as they had ordered for us.
Carrying on we arrived at Bashfords Farmhouse after our 10 mile first
ride on the new bikes. We tried a few small hills and they appear to be running well. Just
a matter of getting the engines up to speed now.
Bashfords farm is in West Bagborough village and is a lovely B
& B in the 16th century old stone farmhouse. We have the whole place to ourselves with
3 comfortable double rooms and a lounge. Malcolm and Lesley arrived first at about 4pm and
we arrived about 4.30 and parked the bikes in a side room of the garage. Charlie and Jane
welcomed us and brought us tea and biscuits. We chatted and waited for Phil and Verna to
arrive which they eventually did on the tandem about 8pm. They had a shower and we ate
about 9pm. The B & B cooked us an amazing meal. Bread to start, smoked salmon on
linguine with vegetables, toffee pudding, cheese board, coffee and liqueurs and truffles.
All for $45.
We went off to bed about midnight when the jet lag caught up with us
or maybe it was just the day.
Stayed: Bashfords Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast
Saturday, 14th April: West Bagborough
Had a great English breakfast to start the day. It was fun with just
being us 3 couples around the table at the B & B with such wonderful hosts.
We fitted the panniers to the bikes so we will be ready to depart
with Phil and Verna tomorrow morning. Phil had maintenance work to do on the tandem so we
caught the train to Dunster and walked to Dunster castle. Phil, Verna, Malcolm and Lesley
joined us there later. We walked around the castle which dated from 979 but had been
rebuilt and extended several times since then. It had lots of interesting history and
rooms etc. filled mainly with family portraits. We then went into Dunster village walked
to the old mill and had a Devonshire tea. Phil and Verna took the steam train back and we
went in the car.
For dinner we went to the Rising Sun a 16th century pub which
unfortunately had been completely rebuilt on the inside as it had burnt down. Our B &
B host told us her husband was working in the pub which was just 2 doors down. She saw
smoke coming from the pub and tried to ring them but the lines had burnt out. At that
point those in the pub hadn't realised it was on fire. By the time the fire brigade came
all they could do was stop it spreading further. They had done a good job of rebuilding
the pub but it was not the same as the old and was now a gastro pub so basically a
restaurant. We found the food not that good and over priced.
Tomorrow first day riding and we are going to Cheddar Gorge.
Stayed: Bashfords Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast
Sunday, 15th April: West Bagborough to Cheddar Mendip - 78km, 99km
We had a late start for our first day cycling. Just before we were
scheduled to have breakfast at 8.30 Charlie said could we delay a bit as Jane had slipped
in the fields. She had a sprained ankle so Charlie had to cook 6 breakfasts for us on his
own. But again it was a sumptuous breakfast and they were so hospitable to us.We got going
about 10.45 and it was cold so we had plenty of gear on. We were cycling with Phil and
Verna on their tandem and Phil picked a lovely route for us through country lanes. We took
a route by a canal but it took longer than we expected so we didn't get to a town till
quite late. We went into a pub but as it was Sunday they were booked out and we found one
of the big changes here now is that the pubs have become more like restaurants and if they
are popular you have to book! Certainly something we would never dream on in the 80's. We
went to the next village and the pub there was closed so we ate a snack in the entrance
and carried on. We were on the road towards Cheddah before we found a coffee stop. Here we
had some nice warming broccoli and stilton soup which really hit the spot as we were still
pretty cold. We used some little lanes to get into Cheddar which was very touristy but
quiet, as it was 5.30pm when we got there. We then headed up Cheddar Gorge which was
mostly not too steep a gradient apart from one section. It was a lovely time to ride
through as all the tourist buses had finished by then. We carried on up and turned off to
our camp ground at Cheddar Mendips on the road to Priddy. As it was after 7pm by then we
quickly pitched the tents and headed off to Priddy for a pub dinner. After all we hadn’t
sweated greatly that day in the cold! We went to the New Inn and were served by a lovely
Somerset lad who told us about a cycle route called the Strawberry trail heading towards
Bristol. We walked back to the tents in the very frosty air and climbed in and snuggled
down as it was predicted to be -2 that night.
Stayed: Cheddar Mendips Camp Ground
Kitted up before leaving Cheddar Gorge
. Annie's email said, "Note the legs."
Monday, 16th April: Cheddar Medip to North Chepstow - 85km, 184km
We awoke early to find it really had been below zero overnight and we
were very grateful that we had brought our down sleeping bags. The tent and the bikes were
covered in frost. I spent a lot of time in the bathroom that morning as it was beautifully
heated. We put on ALL our cold/wet weather riding gear as we planned to go back down
Cheddah Gorge and even though we left at 9.30am it was still very cold. It was a glorious
ride down and nice to see it from the other direction and again we were early enough to
avoid the crowds. We had coffee in Cheddah at the bottom of the Gorge to warm up, and then
found the Strawberry line trail which was a lovely track along an old railway; the path was in excellent condition. We stopped for
a while at Axbridge which was a lovely medieval town where King John’s hunting lodge
was still standing. From here we linked onto a Sustrans route and then stopped for a
dinner style meal at around 1.00pm so that we didn't need to worry about cooking when we
got to the next camp site. We continued on a sustrans route and then found a fantastic
route that skirted all around the edge of Bristol. We followed this North and eventually
crossed the Severn bridge.
Crossing the Severn Bridge.
It was not too windy going over and the views were superb. It is an amazing bridge and so
wonderful that it can be cycled. On the other side we stopped in Chepstow and bought fuel
for our stove. We then cycled up into the hills to our campsite on Beeches Farm about 5
miles out of Chepstow. The campsite was down a small lane and even on a gravel road. It
had amazing views and there were walks from there to Tintern Abbey and you could see areas
where the monks walked through on Pilgrimage.
We got the tents up and had a shower and pork pies for dinner. Again
it was very cold so we tucked up into bed. Overnight we had torrential rain and a lot of
wind but the tent survived well and most stuff stayed dry. The bikes seemed quite
unimpressed at having left the nice warm bike shop to have one night in the frost and then
another in torrential rain.
Stayed: Beeches Farm Camp site, Chepstow
Tuesday, 17th April: Chepstow to Caerleon - 43km, 228km
Fortunately by the time it came for us to get up it had stopped
raining but everything was very wet. We met the owners of the farm who said the farm had
been in the family since 1945 and a camp ground since 1950. They were amazed that we had
survived the rain. We went back down to Chepstow and had to do an elaborate route to avoid
rush hour in the town. We then set off to my Welsh relatives place in Caerleon. It was
quite difficult to find the route through avoiding main roads and not going too far out of
our way. We ended heading up into the hills and found a bike trail to follow most of the
way. It was pretty hilly and quite slow going. While the Rholoff hubs are great they seem
to require some running in and in the lower ratio it feels a bit like you are labouring,
plus still being the 3rd day we were still gathering fitness. Phil and Verna were well
seasoned on the tandem, apart from breaking a spring on their brake cable. We got to Don
and Brenda's house at around 2.15 and had a very welcome lunch/dinner. Phil and Verna then
packed up their tandem and headed back to Worthing. Gemma, Don and Brenda's daughter, who
we had met in NZ came over so it was nice to catch up with her and her son Corey.
We all then went to the Wales Velodrome.There was the first Wales
Maddison championship on and we got to watch and see all around the stadium. It is an
amazing stadium all made from wood and it is where there will be some Olympic training
this year and where they also did training for the Beijing Olympics. The Maddison event
was a bit difficult to figure out at first but Don explained it and it was great to watch
the teams of two as they either raced or 'rested' around the ring, travelling at about 27
to 72miles per hour.
Stayed: Brenda and Don’s , Caerleon
Wednesday, 18th April: Caerleon
We had a great Welsh breakfast to start, cooked by Don. Then Don and Brenda took us to see the
transporter bridge built in 1907 which consisted of high towers supporting a gondola to
take 6 vehicles across the river.
We then drove to Panteg Farm in
Lisvane near Cardiff. We just arrived unannounced at this house where my
great great grandparents lived and where my great grandmother was born. My great great
grandmother immigrated to NZ with her 5 children in 1873 after her husband died. We were
welcomed at Panteg Farm by a distant cousin Rhys Lewis who gave us a cup of tea and showed
us a photo of the old farm house which unfortunately had burnt down in 1975. He had just
inherited the farm from his Aunt Maisie Tamplin although he said there was a dispute over
the will. We then went to the Lisvane Church and saw the gravestone of Evan Griffiths my
Great Great Grandfather. We also checked in at the Lisvane Baptist church where lots of my
relatives were christened and buried but the church was now converted into an odd looking
house.
Brenda and Don then took us to the St Fagans Welsh Open Air museum
which had numerous styles of Welsh houses in a large area. These had all been brought from
elsewhere and reconstructed on site but you would never know. An amazing feat. There was
also St Fagans House/Castle which the Windsor family had donated for the Museum.
We then had a walk around Cardiff Bay and headed to the Ship pub for
a dinner. After this we had a lovely drive around the countryside and headed home.
Stayed: Brenda and Don’s , Caerleon
Thursday, 19th April: Caerleon
We had a leisurely start and were on foot today as Don had taken the
car in to be serviced and get the MOT. So we had a light breakfast and then walked down to
the Roman town of Caerleon - that is Isca. It was one of the three military bases in Roman
Britain. We visited the ruins of the barracks and a large amphitheatre and then went to
see the partly constructed baths. They were great sites to see and not as crowded as some
of the more well known ones like Bath, plus they were very well presented. After that we
wandered through old Caerleon and then waited for Gemma (daughter) to pick us up to take
us to a pub for lunch. We went to The Three Blackbirds and had a fun time with Gemma, and
a lovely lunch. We then drove through Newport centre and went to pick up Don and Brenda’s
car. Newport centre had lots of not terribly attractive modern buildings and Brenda said
they didn’t like to go there as many shops were moving out and it didn’t have a
great atmosphere. We then went to Sainsbury’s and picked up some provisions for the
journey tomorrow.
Back home we checked the bikes out and made a few adjustments ready
for departure tomorrow. The weather is still pretty cold and wet but we should be able to
make the next leg of the journey. Brenda cooked us some traditional Welsh cakes on Gemma’s
behest!
Stayed: Brenda and Don’s , Caerleon
Friday, 20th April: Caerleon to Broad Heath, Presteigne - 60km, 287km
Time to start heading North. The weather is still cool with some
showers but lovely cycling weather as long as you have lots on. That is 4 layers including
waterproof coat and leggings.
I had estimated 60 miles for this leg and as the weather was a bit
dodgy and our fitness and getting used to the bikes not quite there yet, Don offered to
shorten our journey a bit so we ended up doing 36 miles to Presteigne. We started at
Pontrilas and rode through the golden valley to Bedwardine. We stopped for a cup of tea
here outside a pub and got talking to a local fisherman. We
had climbed over Dorstone hill where they say there is a burial stone for
Arthur.
We carried on to Lyonshall and stopped for a drink and snack in the
pub. The new owner there said there was a strong class distinction in the area and the
locals drank in different bars depending on their status. There even used to be a price
difference depending on which bar you bought the beer at. We ended up in the upper class
bar even though in our cycling gear.
Carried on to Andrea’s. Made a wrong turning as a piece of the
map was obscured bya page number, but we saw some more villages.
Arrived at Broad Heath House to find Andrea and a cup of tea. Andrea
then took us into Presteigne where we had a wander round this very old and attractive
village that in the past has been a drawcard for musicians and arty folk.
Back at Andrea’s place we had a look around their amazing house
and garden, partly designed by the designer of Port Merion, Clough Williams Ellis. It has
a heritage listing for this reason and dates back to the 16th century. We also met Andea’s
5 refugee horses.
We had a steak and chips dinner when Steve got back from work.
Stayed: Andrea and Steve’s, Presteigne
Saturday, 21 April: Presteigne
Andrea dropped us off in Ludlow a great town with many Elizabethan
and Georgian buildings. We started at the castle where Catherine of Aragon went straight
after marrying Prince Arthur, Henry VIII’s older brother, who died very soon
afterwards. While in ruins it had a great feel and was an excellent vantage point. We were
able to climb up to one of the towers. We then walked around the town admiring the
buildings especially the black and white timbered ones. I think these black and white
timbered buildings with barely a straight wall are my favourite!
We met Andrea and Steve and had a Thai lunch with them. Back at
Presteigne we visited the building that was the Judges quarters from 1800s. This was very well presented with a commentary
taking you through the house and chambers including the servants areas and holding cell.
You were allowed to touch and handle any items and the kitchen and servants area were very
authentic.
We came home for dinner and stayed in as Andrea and Steve had a party
to go to.
Stayed: Andrea and Steve’s, Presteigne
Sunday, 22nd April: Presteigne to Priest Western - 60km, 345km
Andrea cooked us brekky. Hugo was practicing to be a gladiator having
just seen the film for the 100th time.
We packed up and left at 11am. Andrea rode with us to Maggie and
Derek's house just 9 miles away where we had tea. They had just got back from a tour in
Africa. It was great to catch up with them again.
We carried on the cycle route which was quite hilly as it was
following a ridge. We find the cycle routes
lovely as they go through small lanes but slow as they often go over the hills while the
alternative is on the flat. Lyn and Neale had warned us of exactly this.
We stopped for a late roast dinner at Bishops Castle so we wouldn't
need a big evening meal. Carrying on from there we were in small lanes and arrived at
Church Stoke where we asked about camping. They sent us on over more hills to Priest
Western. We stopped at the Minors Arms and I went in looking like a yellow yeti sporting
rain legs and yellow jacket. I got plenty of laughs from the locals and the OK to camp
there. After putting up the tent we went back to the pub.
The locals were very friendly and two people had visited NZ so had plenty of
questions. Phil asked us back to his place for
a drink about 8pm, shared his supper with us and we met his wife Lucy. They were ex money
traders from London who had rented out their London property and lived in the middle of a
country estate in a 16th century building that they rented for a third of the price. They
claimed they loved it but Phil did say he was bored and needed an interest. They asked us
to stay the night which was hard to refuse as it was very very cold. So we stayed and Phil
cooked us bacon and eggs for breakfast and dropped us back to the tent early.
Stayed: Phil and Lucy’s, Priest Western
Monday, 23rd April: Priest Western to Egerton - 89km, 434km
We packed up and were off about 8.15am continuing on the cycle trail
44 up in the hills. There were some steep, narrow and quite muddy lanes. At one stage we
met a tanker and we had to climb onto the hedge rows and lift our bikes off onto the side
as well so he could get past.
We carried on to Shrewsbury and dropped to a more major road for the
last part of the journey. We had a second
breakfast/ lunch in Shrewsbury in a nice warm cafe and then continued on towards
Whitchurch. We ended up on the car route rather that cycle route so did some extra miles
and hit a busy road. We could not find an information centre or coffee shop so we walked
through the old town and carried on. Heading north the only road was the A49 but we found
this busy with lots of trucks and it was too dangerous so we headed off onto a side road
and managed to find a cycle way. Most busy roads in UK don't even have a shoulder to ride
on so we try to find only lanes or B roads, but it is slow going. We found a caravan camp
and as they would let us stay we did. It was a nice place to camp and they offered us
breakfast in the morning. We ate a snack in the summer house but NOT summer weather. We
are still riding in all our gear.
Stayed: Caravan Park, Egerton, North of Whitchurch
Tuesday, 24th April: Egerton to Burscough, Ormskirk - 114, 548km
The campervan park was on a private farm, Manor Farm, Egerton.
It was a lovely conversion of old barns with an elaborate garden, lots of wildlife and a
summer house. Breakfast was with the B & B guests in the old bull pen. The lady said she had stayed awake all night
worrying about us in the tent in the cold, but we were cosy. Left at 9am and went back
roads to Runcorn. We tried to find the way to the Bridge over the Mersey without success
for more than half an hour as we couldn't find the cycle route over it. Found a route on
the other side that went towards the centre of Liverpool, number 62 but we lost it as a
sign was missing (turned around) and ended up doubling back when we met a cyclist at our
one and only stop to buy food from M & S.
Val eventually led us to where route 62 was and we found it went on a lovely sealed track
of an old railway line. We took this as far as we could and then got onto the canal as we
knew JB’s brother lived on the canal at Burscough. It was 2 and quarter hours on the
canal and we didn't arrive till almost 9pm. The bikes were brilliant on the sometimes
rough canal path. They are very comfortable and a good set up, even the bum not getting as
sore now. So 12 hours on the road and no coffee or lunch stop, just a short visit to M
& S to get pork pies. Only 70 miles but it is very slow going finding your way and
doing pathways and canals.
Finally got to Allan Billinge’s place on the canal, JBs brother. He is different in looks and even
accent to JB, but very similar in personality. He informed us that in his prime he was
doing 200miles a day on his bike! We went to the pub across the canal but had to make do
with a liquid dinner supplemented with nuts, pork scratchings and chips as they had
stopped serving food.
Stayed: Allan Billinge’s, Burscough
JB's big brother Allan
Wednesday, 25th April: Ormskirk
Allan cooked us a full English breakfast and then we did washing and
had a catch up. JB’s niece Heather called in and it was good to meet her. She took us
into the village so we could get a bit of shopping and we bought a bottle of whisky for
Allan from John. Allan manages to put away about a bottle of whisky a day, but it doesn't
seem to affect him adversely.
After lunch we cleaned the bikes for the first time and checked them
over. All looking good.
Two of JB’s nephews (Ian & Duncan) came over for take aways
in the evening, to watch football and drink whisky with their Dad. Good fun.
Stayed: Allan Billinge’s, Burscough
Thursday, 26th April Ormskirk
(near Liverpool)
Caught a taxi to the station and then got the train into central
Liverpool. Walked around the dock area and saw a Beatles photo display. It was raining
most of the time and cold so we mainly went into the museums which were of an excellent
standard. In the Tate Modern we saw the original Salvador Dali for a print we used to have
on our wall. The Museum of Liverpool is a very modern and controversial building and had a
good history section.
We took the train across to Birkenhead but didn't walk around long
but stopped for something to eat and to wait for the rain to stop.
Back in the centre we had a look around the modern shopping centre,
then we ended up at the Cavern where interestingly they played Beatles music. It was great
to see the venue with all its brick arches and pillars. It is not an easy venue to play in
I imagine but the modern day sound was good. Apparently it has been rebuilt brick by brick
to be authentic. We caught the train back to Ormskirk and a taxi to Burscough.
Stayed: Allan Billinge’s, Burscough
Friday, 27th April: Burscough to Macclesfield - 90km, 638km
Left this morning for Macclesfield. It had rained so heavily the last
couple of days that we thought it would be too slippery on the canal tracks so we opted
for a road trip. We had a trip drawn with the bike hub application and tried to follow it
live. It proved impossible to use and we ended up going in a circle so we decided using
our 23 year old paper map was better, with GPS for the finer points. This worked much
better. The day was still cold and it started raining about 2.30pm. We found some lovely
roads to ride on for the first part and it is so good to see how the UK system of building
a big road through the countryside to remove traffic off the smaller roads works so well.
We even found ourselves going through the village of Billinge and saw the sign for
Billinge Family Church!! By the time we got to Alderley Edge the road system had failed
and even the B roads had heavy traffic and there were few lanes. That, the rain and road
works on the hill meant we walked a short way through town and did that again at
Macclesfield as we were hitting rush hour on Friday night.
We eventually got to Alison's place at Tytherington about 4.45pm,
after taking about an hour for the last 5 miles. Great to see her again. She cooked us a
lovely supper of lasagne, jacket potatoes, salad etc. Had a good catch up and off to bed.
Stayed: Alison’s, Macclesfield
Saturday, 28th April: Macclesfield
Had breakfast with Alison and she supplied me a change of clothes so
I could wash my winter civis as I only had one set of warm stuff. I had loaned Alison
clothes for a business interview when she had visited us in NZ about 15 years ago, so we
knew the fit was ok.
Steve and I caught the train into Manchester for the day. It was
bitterly cold so we dressed warmly. We had a good walk around; saw the Royal Exchange
Theatre, that is the stock exchange building converted to a theatre. It's a beautiful
building but inside is a bit hard to visualise as they had put a modern structure inside
it to be able to use it as a theatre. We then tried to find some bike maps for the trip
South but to no avail. We walked to the Cathedral where my grandparents were married in
early 1930's. Apparently you didn’t need to be really posh to be married there as it
was a Parish Church as well as a Cathedral!
We carried on walking and I called into the library and looked up the
addresses they had listed for my family’s fruit market which used to be based at
Smithfield’s market in days gone past. For late lunch we found a steak meal at a pub.
The fire alarm went off while we were in there but no-one moved!! We hoped it wasn’t
them burning our steak. We then walked to the art gallery and had a nosy around there. By
this time it was getting REALLY cold so we walked back to the station via China town and
caught the train back to Macclesfield. It was only 2 miles back to Alison’s but we
opted for a taxi as the wind was so cold as well.
Alison was out at the opera so we caught up on computer
correspondence.
Stayed: Alison’s, Macclesfield
Sunday, 29th April: Macclesfield to Cotgrave (near Nottingham) -
16km, 654km
10 miles. 2 miles to station at Macclesfield and 8 miles from
Nottingham to Cotgrave.
We awoke to a wet and windy day with a storm warning on orange. Apparently we have hit the wettest April since
records began. We decided to explore catching the train to Nottingham. Alison took us to
station and we were able to book tickets to Nottingham from Macclesfield changing at
Stockport. They quoted 71.60 pounds but by booking singles it ended up 41.60 pounds for 60
miles.
We cycled the 2 miles to Macclesfield station in the pouring rain and
cold and caught an earlier train to Stockport. At Stockport we used the lift and had
plenty of time for the change. We then caught the train to Nottingham and arrived at
3.40pm.
This is Annette’s full wet weather riding gear. Steve’s is
similar with obvious exceptions.
Head scarf, Crop top, Merino short sleeve , Thermal long sleeve ,
Long sleeve cycle top, Wind vest, Waterproof jacket, Underwear, Bike shorts, Full
leggings, Rain legs, Socks, Wind socks, Plastic bags over socks, Cycle sandals.
We donned all our gear and rode from Nottingham station to Cotgrave
through the town but we found a good cycle route for most of the way until it lead us to a
dead end where we had to double back to the main road and use the footpath. We then turned
towards the village and stayed on the footpath till we got to Zoe and Jim's cottage. We
arrived totally wet, bedraggled and cold, and must have looked a sight as Jim told us to sit by the fire and deal with the bike and gear
later. He feed us soup and tea.
Their cottage was very cute and had a large vege and flower garden. It was a tied cottage, that is, owned by the local
landowner and in the past used by workers on the property.
Zoe came home later. She works as a Ranger at Rushcliffe park which
is a 200 acre
developed park which used to be an industrial park used for making bombs in the war. We
had a lovely evening with Zoe and Jim who also feed us and dried out our clothes.
Stayed: Zoe and Jim’s, Cotgrave, Nottingham
Monday, 30th April: Cotgrave to Great Doddington (near
Wellingborough) - 67km, 762km
Had stopped raining when we left the next morning and Zoe and Jim
wished us luck getting up the steep hill at the end of their village. We managed OK and
carried on having fun with head winds and lots of ups and downs for the rest of the day.
We found some lovely tiny lanes through farm lands which included going over lots of
cattle stops. We met quite a few horse riders who we always gave a wide berth in case they
took exception to our high vis clothing. At one intersection we met a sustrans route
planner who explained the route he had designed so we followed his number 64 route to
Market Harborough stopping for a pub lunch at Welham. We then joined route 6 down an old
railway line towards Northampton. It was pretty muddy after all the rain and there were 2
long tunnels like the Karangahake tunnel which we walked through as they were unlit. We
left the railway line at Brixworth and went
down some small roads to Great Doddington. The traffic was quite busy as we hit rush hour
around 5pm. In some places the roads were very narrow with not a lot of room for cyclists
and cars.
We got to May's place about 7pm. She had been wondering what had
happened to us and was pleased we had made kit. We had a cup of tea and then went to the
Stag pub for dinner which was across the road. We had memories of going there with Cliff
and Doris when we use to visit in the 1980’s.
May is a distant cousin of Steve’s but the family has always
kept in close contact since Steve’s Dad was stationed nearby in WW2. May now lives on
her own at Top farm since her younger brother died in Thailand and her mother died in
August 2008 aged 100. She actually did receive a card from the Queen congratulating her on
making 100. May runs livery stables and looks after her animals.
We slept in the downstairs lounge on the floor as May had had pipes
burst upstairs over the winter and the repairs were not completed.
Stayed May’s, Great Doddington. Northamptonshire
Tuesday, 1st May: Gt Doddington
Our bikes had their own stable to sleep in at Top Farm, Great
Doddington. In the morning we went out and gave them a clean as we had picked up a lot of
mud on the rail trail yesterday. We also cleaned the panniers and sorted out our gear.
We met Zelda, May’s latest alsatian who was not too sure of us
so we each had to give her a bone to make friends. At one stage Steve and May popped out
of the room and Zelda who is huge decided to give me a kiss which was pretty daunting. She
never got used to Steve and jumped at him a few times. A lovely dog but a real handful.It
was nice to catch up with May again and she talked of when her and Peter visited New
Zealand in the 1950’s.
After lunch, Peter picked us up and we went to his farm, Manor Farm
in the centre of Moulton, which was bought by his grandfather in 1926. It is a lovely farm
house with parts that were 16th, 17th and 18th century. After Peter went for his trip to
New Zealand he decided he would like to shift to New Zealand to farm there, but his mother
Doris didn’t want him to go so she persuaded her father to turn the Moulton farm over
to Peter and John. John built a house on the land too but that has been sold since he
died.
Peter and Chris have some Grandchildren who will head to NZ some day.
Their son lives on the farm too and has built a plant nursery
business there. One of the daughter’s lives in a converted barn with her family too
so they are all close together.
Peter dropped us back to May’s and she told us about her
numerous pets.
May's pets:
1 German Shepherd, 2 donkeys, 1 Shetland pony, 8 chickens, 1
tortoise.
May loves her pets. Her dog Zelda is only 18 months old and still
acts as a puppy except that when she jumps up she could bowl you over. But she only wants
to kiss you but a bit daunting as she looks like a friendly wolf.
May also had pet donkeys that they transported home by taking the
back seat out of the old Ford Zodiac. They
were bought to keep the Shetland pony company and as the two were brother and sister they
didn’t want to be separated.
Oats the tortoise is over 70 years old and lives in the front garden.
He hibernates into the back shed every winter and then gets covered in blankets. May took
him to the vet recently to see if he needed his toe nails clipped but all was fine and he
should survive for a long while yet. He may need to pass to the next generation for his
care! Had ham salad for dinner with May.
Stayed May’s, Great Doddington. Northamptonshire
Wednesday, 2nd May: Gt Doddington to Botley, Oxford - 98km, 860km
In the morning we cooked bacon and eggs for us and May. We loaded up
the bikes and managed to get a photo of Zelda from a safe distance. She was still not
convinced about us. We set off to Oxford and again found lovely lanes to ride down and
finally got some tail winds that made a huge difference.
Stopped in Winston for tea and sandwich at the Bell. Strange sort of
pub as it was trying to be a cafe and a hotel as well. It was not one of our best choices.
We later found out that Lesley had grown up in this area and this was she opened her first
bank account a few doors away from the pub. We continued on through country lanes and as
we were passing through Boarstall we spied a medieval tower that was National Trust and
only rarely opened, but it just happened that we were there at the right time. The guides
were a bit bemused when the yellow yetis arrived but we had someone to look after our
bikes so were had a look around the medeival tower including a residence and banqueting
room. In September it will be 700 years old as they have documentation to show it was
built in 712.
We carried on into Oxford and cycled right through centre of town
past the universities and on to Sue and Richard’s place in Botley. This is an amazing
cycling city as all the students and others get around on bikes. They ride very
assertively and as we rode it with our panniers we were passed by a steady stream of
cyclists in a hurry to get home.
Stayed: Sue & Richard’s, Botley, Oxford
I'll hold the bikes - you take the pic.
Annie -cam view!
Thursday, 3rd May: Oxford
We caught the bus into Oxford and went into the university hall and
up the cupola for a view over Oxford. This was a Christopher Wren design and it was
interesting to see the wooden struts in the roof space.
We walked around some of the colleges and went to a display of
original books on medieaval tales at the Bodleian Library. After coffee and a sandwich we
went to the History of science museum. This had an amazing collection of navigational and
mathematical equipment from years gone by.
We walked around more and then met Sue at the Ashmolean museum. We
had a look at the Roman statues there and some of the art works and then Sue took us to
the Natural history museum which had a fabulous collection in a fantastic Victorian
building. At the back of this was the Pitt Rivers room. This was a private collection that
was donated in the early 1900's and had been housed in old Victorian show cases. It had
been kept in this format since then and the cases were stuffed full to bursting point. A
lot had been added to it and donated and it included a collection of Maori memorabilia.
We headed down towards the river and stopped at a BRAND NEW Japanese
tea shop that gave us versions of green tea to try. We followed the river down to Iffney
lock and went to Isis pub for drink but a lot of the beer was not available and they only
had cold food so we decided to move on. The river Isis (changes to the Thames nearer
London) was very high from the rain in the last few weeks and had obviously flowed over in
quite a few places. We had to wade through some boggy fields to get to the next pub which
was interesting in socks and sandals.
We got to Sandford Lock and met Richard and had dinner in the pub
there.
Stayed: Sue & Richard’s, Botley, Oxford
Friday, 4th May Oxford to Widmer End (near High Wycombe) - 61km,
921km
We left just before 9am and had a nice run through Oxford town. It's
great riding through the High St past all the colleges. We managed to pick up Cycle route
57 which we knew went most of the way to Widmer End. We followed the route through nice
countryside to Thame where we stopped for a drink and scone. Here we picked up the Phoenix
trail which was another old railway line that took us through to Princes Risborough. The
trail, like most, started as a sealed trail and deteriorated a bit at the end, but apart
from a few puddles it was great. From Princes Risborough we climbed up into the Chilterns
and once up we had lovely views across the villages. We headed down and then up again over
Cryers Hill and into Widmer End where we found
Malcolm and stabled our bikes. Lesley arrived back from Stratford not too late about
4.30pm.
Stayed: Lesley & Malcolm’s Place Widmer End, High Wycombe
Saturday, 5th May: High Wycombe
We went to Hughenden Manor which had an interesting history as it was
Benjamin Disraeli’s country home. We had an interesting tour around giving a lot of
history about Disraeli and seeing many of the gifts that he had from Queen Victoria. The
house was also used in the second world war as place where they made maps of bomb targets
in Germany.
From there we went to Claydon House which had amazingly high ceilings
and very elaborately carved trims around doors and ceiling etc. This is also where
Florence Nightingale spent a lot of time as her sister married a Lord Verney so there was
some of her memorabilia.
On the way back we called into the Red lion pub in Little Missenden
and had dinner. It was a lovely country pub of the old look and where Prince Harry had
reputably called in for a pub meal a few months ago.
Stayed: Lesley & Malcolm’s Place Widmer End, High Wycombe
Sunday, 6th May: High
Wycombe
Had a leisurely start and managed to chat to Jordan on Google hang
out. We met Marion at the Ivy House pub had had a long catch up and lunch with her. Then
went back to Lesley and Malcolm’s to get ready to go to London tomorrow.
Watched Gosforth Park movie.
Stayed: Lesley & Malcolm’s Place Widmer End, High Wycombe
Monday, 7th May: London
Went to Streatley Rd and met Hannah, Laia, Steve, Justin and Kk. The
place looks good but could benefit from a few
repairs but not too major.
We had lunch at Indian local in Willesden Lane and caught the bus
into Oxford street and wandered around Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden. Then we caught
the tube to Hammersmith and walked to Ang and Alan’s place.
We had a lovely roast dinner and catch up with them. So nice to catch
up again.
Stayed: Ang and Alan’s, Hammersmith, London
Tuesday, 8th May: London
Walked past Shepherds Bush market to Hammersmith and had a quick look
at the huge Westfield mall there. Then we caught the tube to St Pauls and then went to the
Guild Library and looked up to see who had lived in Streatley Rd in 1891 and 1901 fro the
censuses. It was hard to find the 1901 record as it had been transcribed badly as Sheatley
Rd. We walked down to the Millenium Bridge and over it and past the Tate modern and
GlobeTheatre but as the weather was improving we carried on walking for a bit looking for
a lunch place of which there weren’t many but we found a kebab shop. We then caught
the tube to Tower Hill and walked down to the see the Tower of London but decided not to
go in as still sunny. We hopped on the DLR system and headed out to Jubilee Park and
Canary wharf etc. It was amazing what had been
done since we last went out there about 13 years ago. It’s a whole new city now but
very clinical and not really alive.
We hopped on the Jubilee line and then got off at Regents Park and
had a sit in the park in the last of the sun and read the Standard. Then carried on on the
Jubilee line to Kilburn. We stopped at a Chinese Buffet place for dinner and then went to
the Black Lion and met Hannah and Laia. Afterwards we went back to Streatley Rd to check
on the shower and met Anne which was great as then we had met all the Streatley Rd
residents, Hannah, Laia, Anne, Justin, KK and Steve. Home to Hammersmith from there.
Stayed: Ang and Alan’s, Hammersmith, London
Wednesday, 9th May: London
We walked along the river and through Chiswick with Alan and then
caught the tube to Victoria and train to Denmark Hill station. We and a wander around and
met Adriana for lunch in the upstairs loft of
the converted railway station. We saw around where Adriana works, that is in
administration for the Psychiatry area of Kings College Hospital. We then caught the train
and tube back to South Kensington and went to the Victoria and Albert museum. Absolutely
incredible!! We walked around South Kensington and then met Christine outside the station.
We went to a pub for a drink and then to an Indian restaurant for
dinner and a French cafe for dessert and coffee. At home we had a chat with Alan
Stayed: Ang and Alan’s, Hammersmith, London
Thursday, 10th May: London
After Alan put in a quote we drove to Richmond Park and went for a
walk with Tizzy and then
we caught the tube in from Hammersmith to Faringdon. We had our
favourite English breakfast for lunch then eventually found the Sustrans office but they
had no maps for the area we needed. We caught the tube to Covent Garden to Stanfords but
they had no suitable maps either. From here went to the British museum but it was
very full as the top floors wre closed because of a public servant strike. It was pouring with rain so we called into pub for
coffee and met a local to chat to. Then we
caught the train back to Ang and Alan’s place. Ang got back from Sardenia and we all
had dinner together. We left at 9pm and caught the tube to Sue and Tony’s place. Tony
picked us up from the station and we went to their place for a chat and a drink.
Stayed: Sue and Tony’s,
Totteridge, London
Friday, 11 May: London
We walked to tube station with Sue and caught the Northern line to
Kentish Town and walked to Kentish Town West to catch the overland train to Brondesbury.
We called in to Eco bathrooms to talk about work at Streatley Rd. and arranged to meet him
at Streatley at 5.30pm. We called in to a real
estate agent and caught the overland to West Hampstead. We caught up with Alex and Ian at
their house and had a Greek lunch with them in West Hampstead. We then caught the overland
to Hampstead and walked to Tom Merrifield’s house to find he no longer has a studio
there. We caught the bus back to Hampstead and visited 3 and HSBC. Then we walked around
Hampstead Heath and to Elizabeth Phillips place. I had not seen her for 45 years as she
had been my Aunt’s bridesmaid and I was the flower girl. We then caught the
overground back to Brondesbury and met eco baths to discuss the Streatly work. And then
back to Sue and Tonys.
We walked to Whetstone with Sue and went to their local pub and then
to a Greek restaurant next door for dinner. We
met Tony there and walked back home.
Stayed: Sue and Tony’s,
Totteridge, London
Saturday, 12 May: London
We went for a walk with Sue and Tony through some country paths near
them.
After dinner we went with them to see a band play at the local scout
hall. They were raising funds for the Scouts. They were an excellent band and played a lot
of great rock covers so we had a good dance and met some of Sue and Tony’s local
friends.
Stayed: Sue and Tony’s,
Totteridge, London
Sunday, 13 May: High Wycombe to Bracknell - 40km, 961km
Back on our bikes again!
Sue and Tony dropped us up to Rickmansworth as large sections of the
metropolitan tube line was closed for work. We had breakfast there and then caught the
train to Amersham where Malcolm picked us up from the station. He had been following us on
his Latitude phone app so could see where we were on the train as he drove to pick us up.
We went back to Lesley and Malcolm’s place and packed up our
gear and set off on the bikes again. It was significant as it was our first sunny cycle
ride where we didn’t need to wear rain
gear for the cold. We cycled to Gill and Michael’s which was 25 miles. We found nice
routes through small roads and got to Warfield Park, near Bracknell. Gill and Michael met us at Tescos and guided us
through to their place as it’s in a park with mobile homes and is a very intricate
route to get to them. It was a lovely spot in the park and very quiet.
We stayed the night and had dinner and a catch up with them.
Stayed: Gill and Michael’s,
Warfield Park, Bracknell
Monday, 14 May: Bracknell to Basingstoke - 40km, 1,001km
It started off a sunny morning but by the time we left at 8.30am it
was raining steadily. The route was somewhat difficult as it was hard to find small roads
so we had some quite busy sections. In several places we rode on the footpath. We
eventually found some small lanes but it rained most of the way. We went through a road
with a 2m ford but fortunately we could get over the foot bridge. We found our way to
Chris and Karen’s place and surprised the cleaner who wondered if we were breaking
in!! Chris turned up later and we had a good catch up and arranged to go to Oxford
tomorrow to see Grace.
Stayed: Chris and Karen’s,
Basingstoke
Tuesday, 15 May: Basingstoke
It was a cloudy morning when Karen dropped us to the Basingstoke
station to get the train to Oxford for the day to meet up with Chris and Karen’s
daughter Grace who was a student there. We didn’t expect to get back to Oxford again
but the attraction of a day there with a guide to the colleges, as opposed to a day in
Basingstoke, was too tempting to refuse.
Grace met us at the station and took us firstly to see her college St
Peter’s. It was one of the smaller colleges and central to town so good for partying
in, apparently. Even though it was not one of
the famous ones it still had some lovely buildings and Grace who is studying PPE
(Politics, Philosophy and Economics) tells us that she has only 10 people in some of her
lectures but more where the colleges join together. This is a course that many of the
famous politicians do including, David Cameron. Grace however would like to end up in the
United Nations.
Next she took us to Christ College and because she had a magic pass
we were able to go right inside and see the hall where they filmed the Harry Potter movies
and the famous cathedral. It was fantastic to walk through it and then into the meadows.
After this we went past the Bodelian library and down the High St to have lunch in the
Grand Cafe, the oldest cafe in Oxford set up in the 17th century. Grace then left us to
get back to College to go to her tutorial.
Then we went back to the Ashmolean Museum to see the Egyptian
displays and moved on to meet Willow for coffee at a great little coffee place within a
book shop. It was great to catch up with her as she is planning her move to Dunedin.
Chris picked us up from Basingstoke station and we went to Elliot’s
school to pick him up and have a look around. It was very rural as it was a former
agricultural college. Back home we had dinner with Chris, Karen and Elliot.
Stayed: Chris and Karen’s,
Basingstoke
Wednesday, 16 May: Basingstoke to Slinford (near Horsham) - 90km,
1,092km
Woke up to a sunny morning but everything was still sodden. It was a
beautiful riding day, sunny and cool. Steve
navigated us a route through minor roads skirting bigger towns. A direct route was
probably around 40 miles but we ended up doing 56 miles. It was well worth it as we passed
through forests by lakes and pretty villages. We
had said to John and Lucy we would arrive late afternoon and ended up arriving at 4.45.
Google had shown us a picture and located the spot for where the rectory was but this was
the old rectory not the current one, but we found the new rectory after asking a local.
We had dinner with John and Lucy and had not seen them for around 25
years as they had shifted to France while we were living in London. It was great to meet
their two adopted children from Ethiopia who are very lively lovely children. Mihiret is
14 and Dagme is 11.
Stayed: John and Lucy’s
Slinfold, Horsham
Thursday, 17 May: Slinford to Guilford Return - 50km, 1142km
We decided to have a pannier free ride along the Downs link trail
towards Guildford. Where we are staying with cousins John and Lucy at the Rectory in
Slinfold is just a few minutes from a dedicated cycle way from Guildford to Shoreham on
the South coast. We will take this route down to Worthing on Saturday but we decided to
have a look at the Northern part of the route as well.
It was beautiful traffic free cycling with the only hill to go over where
there was an impassable tunnel. We went almost to Guilford but stopped when we hit the
roads. We then went back down the trail and visited some of the villages just off the
trail. We rode through Bramley and stopped at the pub in Cranleigh. They had a sign on the
cycle trail saying that if you arrived at the pub on your bike and said Okey Dokey you
would get a free pint. We put them to the test and also ordered some food as well. It was
a very nice friendly pub. We then cycled back to Slinfold.
Stayed: John and Lucy’s
Slinfold, Horsham
Friday, 18 May: Slinford to Stormwater Return - 18km, 1,160km
We went for a walk around Slinfold village and even met the Reverend (John Gay) coming along the road so we had a
personal tour of the church. It's a lovely church that was founded in 900 but rebuilt in
Victorian times.
We then went for lunch to a lovely country pub, The Limeburners, just
out of Billingshurst. It was a great pub with excellent pub food. We had our first ploughman's lunch. The owner was
there and told us the pub had been in his family for 56 years. It was built in the 16th
century as 3 cottages and the original pub only held 10 people. When they applied for a
licence to allow children under 14 to come in with their parents they had to remove the
dart board from the pub, so no children got hit!!
We came back home and when Mihiret arrived home from school John,
Mihiret, Steve and I went onto the downs link cycle way down to Southwater. It’s such
a lovely track and we were able to sus out the first part of the cycle route for tomorrow.
At home we had dinner with Mihiret and Dagme entertaining us. They
are very bright cheerful children with an answer for everything! they certainly keep John
and Lucy on their toes.
Stayed: John and Lucy’s
Slinfold, Horsham
Saturday, 19 May: Slinford to Worthing - 60km, 1,216km
Heading off to Worthing it was a lovely riding day, probably our
best, sunny and still cool.
Mihiret rode the first couple of miles with us, nice to have an
escort. We went all the way to Henfield on the downs path. Apart from a couple of detours
it is all on the old railway line and through pretty wooded areas. We often pass horses as
it is a combined bridle way, so we go slowly and carefully in case our bright clothing
scare the horses. We got to Henfield earlier than our meeting time with Phil and Verna but
we wanted time to look around. Not long after we arrived Malcolm arrived from High Wycombe
to cycle with us so we went back to the trail to meet up with Phil and Verna coming up
from Worthing.
After we met up the 5 of us went back to Henfield for a pub lunch. On
our way into Henfield we came across 2 horses who we needed to pass. There were also
motorists behind us and approaching us. However everyone was patient, we were given space
to pass the horses while the cars waited. The motorists certainly are more considerate to
cyclists here.
We cycled the rest of the way to Worthing with Philip and Verna as
guides plus Malcolm came with us. It was a
lovely route through the downs then past Shoreham airport and along the coast into
Worthing. Had dinner with Phil and Verna.
Stayed: Phil and Verna’s,
Worthing
Sunday, 20th May: Worthing
We went to the National Trust property, Petworth today. It is a huge
manor house with 250 acres of land around it. In
the morning we looked around the house then we into Petworth village and had lunch at the
Angel pub. The house features a significant Turner collection and many other artists and
sculptures. We then went back to the house and did a tour of the kitchens and did a 5
mile? walk around the grounds and deer farm.
Stayed: Phil and Verna’s,
Worthing
Monday, 21st May: Worthing/Chichester
We took the train into Chichester and met Auntie Fran and Uncle John
from Southampton. We had a walk around the town which is lovely and looks to have had very
little war damage . The cathedral was lovely and interesting in that it featured some
modern religious art and sculpture. We had
lunch at the refractory and then did another walk around the town and headed back to
Worthing on the train.
Stayed: Phil and Verna’s,
Worthing
Tuesday, 22nd May: Worthing to Angmering Return - 25km, 1,240km
We cleaned and checked bikes over this morning. They have done almost
800 miles now and we haven’t had to do anything to them which is as expected. The steel frames make them very comfortable to ride
and the hubs cause no problems once you get used to the noise in the lower gears and that
you must have NO pressure on at all when changing down. The 14 gears give a good range and
the bottom gear is low enough for most hills that we meet.
We then cycled over to Angmering to visit Anne and Ian Toms, Steve’s
relatives without the ‘h’. We had a nice walk around the village and lunch at
their local pub the Lamb. We cycled over in civis as it was only 15 miles so felt more
like locals than tourists.
Back to Worthing for our last night before we start cycling to Dover
to catch the ferry to Dunkirk. We had a lovely
last meal and then went to a jazz band at the local Hare and Hounds pub in Worthing. Nice
to be able to just walk into town.
This was the best day we have had so far weather wise, lovely and
sunny and even warm right into the evening. We will be on our own from tomorrow without all the wonderful support and hospitality we have
had from family and friends on our tour!!
Stayed: Phil and Verna’s,
Worthing
Wednesday, 23rd May: Worthing to Bexhill - 89km, 1,328km
We left Worthing in lovely sun wearing summer gear for the first
time. Taking our time around the coast we stopped for a look around Brighton. It is such a
classic English seaside resort. We wow at the architecture but the English come for the
beach. We followed cycle route 2 to Bexhill and then cycled up to Kloofs campsite which
was up a small road and nice and quiet. We didn’t arrive till just before 7pm and
couldn't raise anyone in the office although they are supposed to be open till 9pm. We
found a tent site though and set up assuming we could sort it in the morning.
Stayed: Kloof’s
Campsite, Bexhill
Thursday, 24th May: Bexhill to Lydd - 58km, 1,386km
In the morning we found condensation can be as wetting as rain, but
we are loving the sunshine, the constant head wind is less appealing. We headed off back down to Bexhill on Sea and
around the coast. Had brekky in Bexhill keeping a
sharp eye on the bikes. Carrying on to Hastings we went slowly along the coast and then
detoured into the old town. There is fantastic history here relating to the Battle of
Hastings of course. We managed to find a nice chap in the tourist information office and
museum who let us wheel our loaded bikes into his office and leave them there while we had
a look around. The town had lots of higgledy piggedly old buildings that looked great. We
also went to the Stade where there were all the old tall black wooden fishing buildings.
Had a quick look in the marine and shipwreck museums and went back to collect the bikes.
We carried on national cycleway route 2 and it took us down some amazing tracks and almost
totally avoided any busy roads. The beginning of one track was labelled Dumb Woman's Lane,
shame I couldn't get to the camera in time to capture it. I assume they mean she couldn't
talk. This cycle way is really excellent and mostly well sign posted better than some of
the others we have tried to use. We cycled for a while beside a dyke obviously put up to
protect reclaimed land. We got to Lydd and as it was around 6.30 we decided to eat so we
wouldn't have to do that when we found a campsite. We cycled on and found Romney Farm Camp
recommended by Lynn and Neale which was exactly where they said. Nice camp and we could
get a good distance from the fairly busy road.
Stayed: Romney Farm Camp,
Lydd
Friday, 25th May: Lydd to Dunkirk - 76km, 1,462km
Woke to no rain but lots of mist and condensation on the tent. As
there was plenty of wind we left the tent and gear to dry while we had breakfast. We
continued on to New Romney and got a few supplies from the supermarket. Then following
Lynn and Neale's route we went out to the coast and found an amazing route following the
sea wall. We started on the rough track to the left of the road but when that became bog
we lifted the bikes over to the footpath which was much easier riding. We had to detour off the sea path at Hyde but got
back on and then went all the way to Folkestone where we stopped for a bacon and egg butty
and tea. An interesting advantage with High Vis cycle clothing is that it doesn't matter
when the egg squirts randomly; it just blends
in .From there we climbed up the hill towards Dover. At the top the cycle path took us up
an extra climb but we ended on a little farm track right on the top of the cliffs of
Dover. At times you could see the massive motorway beside us. Well worth an extra climb.
The cycle route lead us safely right to the ports but we were too
late for the 2.00pm ferry however decided to go for the 4.00pm even though it meant having
to find a campsite quite late in France. We changed our tickets, had a cup of tea and then
headed to the ferry, and boy it was a long journey about 1.5 miles past customs and check
in all the while following the red line for bikes. Eventually we got to the right lane and
were thrilled to find the first lot of touring cyclists we had seen; 3 heavily loaded
French girls on the last leg of their journey. In total there were 6 bikes and 3 motor
bikes waiting for the crossing. Then the ferry man told us cyclists to go first and we all
had to cycle up the steep ramp in full view. Fortunately everyone got up comfortably. We
stowed our bikes and we wre amongst the first on board to get seats.
It was a nice gentle crossing.
We got to Dunkirk to find that the port was about 20 km out of town.
We headed in with the 3 French girls as they were meeting someone at the station and we
thought that would be a good place to head to and from there go North to find a
campground. The girls saw a map at the bus stop and we then followed the route into town.
We made quite a sight the 5 of us together as the girls had all sorts of gear hanging off
their bikes and we probably looked like Ma and Pa. We eventually got to the station at
about 8.30pm still light but getting late. We tried for the first campground Steve had
marked but it turned out to be a church and not open for business. We carried on North and
finally arrived at the campground at 9.30pm. We had to convince the security guard to let
us in and my rusty schoolgirl french was very handy. "Je suis fatigue” etc.
Great to have made it to Europe. We did around 1440 km in UK.
Stayed: La Licorne Campsite, Dunkirk
Photos : Annette (unless someone else took them)
