Hovercraft and ferries wait for no man; but sometimes the adventure cyclist has to wait for them. Today was always going to be a long day; but when I saw a hovercraft leaving Ryde beach for Portsmouth a few minutes before I arrived at the check-in building, I knew there would be consequences. But, like […]
Author: ridealltheosmaps
It is a long way by train from Hathersage to Poole at the best of times, but it was a journey I needed to make after repeatedly putting it off due to wet weather. Now, however, there were no excuses. It was time to pick up where I left off in May after the first […]
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Day 6 – Colyton to (near) Poole
I had to be at home by tomorrow evening; but there was still time for another glorious day of cycling before then, and I was keen to get as far as possible along the south coast. I had an offer of accommodation near Poole, and that made sense as a next step. For one thing […]
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Day Five – Plymouth to Colyton
I wasn’t doing things by halves on this leg of my journey: yesterday I dealt with most of Cornwall, and today I would be crossing a great deal of Devon. Both of these large counties are known among cyclists for their relentless hills. It’s not simply height, it is the fact that you rarely get […]
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Day 4 – Falmouth to Plymouth
I had a big day ahead of me, during which I would be traversing most of the south coast of Cornwall. That meant more hills – lots of them. There was also a frisson of excitement because – to get across the natural barriers of wide river estuaries – my day would include no fewer […]
My second extremity of this journey was Lizard Point, the most southerly tip of the British mainland, and it featured half way through my first day of cycling. If you thought Land’s End was the most southerly point, then think again. I won’t be needing to visit John O’Groats either, for the record. Lizard Point […]
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Day 2 – St Mary’s to Penzance
Unless you are part of the Tresco elite, your entry and exit point to the Isles of Scilly will be the largest island, St Mary’s. It serves as a transport hub, including the main harbour and the location of the only airport. Most of the services you might need are also to be found here. […]
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Day 1: St Agnes
First day and first extremity – the most southerly inhabited place in the United Kingdom The archipelago of the Isles of Scilly is made up five main inhabited islands: St Mary’s, St Martin’s, Tresco, Bryher and St Agnes, as well as many smaller, uninhabited islands and rocks. They lie about three hours by ferry west […]
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Introducing: Going to Extremes!
Welcome to my new cycling adventure for 2026 – “Going to Extremes”: a ride from the Isles of Scilly to the top of Shetland via the most easterly and westerly extremities of the UK – and (additionally) the cardinal extremities of the island of Great Britain. The British mainland is surrounded by a myriad of […]
It was my final day of cycling; the very end of a long and wonderful summer of adventure. It began in early June and I had imagined it would be over before now. But in a way, I was happy that I was able to enjoy cycling in the Hebrides in November. That in itself […]