For the fourth consecutive day I was treated to glorious weather and amazing cycling. What a coast to coast journey this has been. It went beyond all expectations on both fronts. Today was like a summer day, warm enough for shorts and, if anything, too warm for much else! You would never believe this was […]
Month: October 2022
Across the road from the Stonehenge Inn is a miniature replica of the real thing. I have visited the famous big version before, once back in the days when you were allowed to get right up to the stones (you can’t any more); but if you want a really personal experience of an ancient stone […]
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Maps 182 to 184 – Avalon
It is very handy for the long distance adventure cyclist when all of the rain falls overnight. Thus it was that I set out from the charming small Somerset town of Wiveliscombe in a newly washed world, with the promise of another fine day of cycling. And so it proved. It would be hard to […]
If you are making trips from west to east, it seems only right that you should start one of these coast to coast journeys at Westward Ho! It’s all in the name. For starters, what other place can boast an exclamation mark in its correct spelling? So, having transported myself in the morning from Exeter, […]
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Maps 178 and 179 – Down to Margate
There are days on this adventure when I truly venture into unchartered territory, and today was one of those days. With the exception of one trip to Rochester as a child, everywhere was brand new to me. In truth, this was a day of 2 halves. I was not terribly enamoured with north Kent until […]
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October plans – part 4
I’m not doing the greatest job of keeping you all informed of my plans; but I’m not doing the greatest job of planning, either. I am at that stage in the adventure where everything is done ”just in time”. This is partly because of the unpredictability of the weather in late October, which – although […]
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Maps 176 and 177 – London and the Thames
One of the most frequently asked questions I get about my adventure is ”what will you do when you get to London?”. There were many possible ways to approach crossing the capital – and it had to be done – but in the end I made a success of it by adopting two solutions in […]
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Maps 173 to 175 – Box to Cheapside, Ascot
Having forged my way across South Wales in great weather, it quickly became apparent that the following day was not one to be cycling. The forecast, and indeed the weather that followed it, was very unpleasant and I was lucky to be with friends Matt and Hazel who more or less made the decision for […]
I’ve never been to Swansea before. I managed to make it through the first 55 years of my life without finding a compelling need. That makes it part of an elite club of British cities that until recently included Dundee and – just for the sake of clarity – NOT Brechin (although I had never […]
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Maps 167 to 169 – Ware to Walton Pier
Every day of this adventure is now restricted by the amount of available daylight; but some are even further constrained by public transport options to get me back across the country. Today was such a day, the last of five continuous days of cycling in my longest coast to coast crossing (all thirteen OS maps […]