Ride all the OS mapsHaving 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 […]
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 […]
Bourton-on-the-Water is undeniably a pretty place. The wonderfully named River Windrush glides alongside the main street and there are a handful of small, arched stone bridges that cross it between the buildings on either side, as well as a ford. On either bank are achingly pretty Cotswold stone buildings, including a generous supply of pubs […]
After a stormy night, the morning began optimistically early (for me). After a breakfast stop in Brecon, I set out on another lovely day, the roads and the trees all freshly washed and sparkling in the sun. I followed the rough course of the Brecon Canal heading west and was doing quite nicely until I […]
It rained hard overnight in Pembrokeshire, but by morning everything had settled down nicely and I was treated to another fine day. I had largely empty straight back roads for an hour as far as St Clears and made good progress.This was handy, because when I came to leave my very comfortable lodgings, I discovered […]
I am about 2 days behind in my blogging, so let me update my current plans before I post again. Then you might not notice! Sat 15 Oct – cycle to St Davids and then back to Narberth Sun 16 Oct – cycle Narberth to Brecon Mon 17 Oct – cycle Brecon to Bourton on […]
You can’t get any further west in Wales than the peninsula that has Britain’s smallest city, St Davids, at its tip. It marks the start of my longest coast to coast crossing of the country: fully thirteen OS Landranger Maps from 157 to 169. A horizontal line from the cove of St Justinians, where the […]
I had everything worked out today and it was going to be a rare day off from the serious cycling. All I had to do was visit the seaside at Aldebrough, cycle back to the station in Saxmundham (no more than 15 miles in total) and then ride all of the trains I had booked […]
Today I had a morning meeting, then I cycled 96 miles, and then I was reunited with a second cousin whom I haven’t seen since we were children. Not for the first time in this adventure, I am discovering (and rediscovering) not only wonderful places; but also really great people in some unexpected places. It […]