Lost in Bristol

This morning Dad offered to cycle the next leg.  It lasted one lap of the park before he returned and normal service was resumed!

Another long leg today. A particularly beautiful route from Tewkesbury to Gloucester.  I spent some time in Gloucester admiring the beautiful buildings.

On the way out of Gloucester I suffered a puncture. sadly, for the inner tube, it proved terminal and really held me up!

Puncture!

I then took the A38.  I climbed some big hills on the way to Bristol, although this was made easier by the stunning views over the Avon estuary.

Gloucester Cathedral

Dad and I almost raced each other into Bristol which was rather hilarious... until we both got lost.  Dad found his way out really quickly, but for me it was like they'd hidden the A38 completely.  This added a few miles to the journey!!

Having finally found my way out, we met up with Auntie Sue and Uncle Richard in a layby just beyond Bristol Airport.  Then I flew down to Burnham on Sea home of my good friends Charlotte and Jake and their daughters Naomi and Harriet.  We had a lovely evening with them, and enjoyed a quick walk to the wooden lighthouse which is simply stunning.

Gloucester

I feel absolutely shattered now, so I'm off to my tent in the garden!!

Stunning Burnham on Sea

On the road again...

Mum and Dad organised a brilliant fundraising event come birthday party for me in Stafford. Introduced by the town crier and involving line dancing, a country and western band and a very large cake, the evening was great fun and a pivotal point in the whole trip. Time with my family and time to rest.

Stafford Town Crier

I decided to head back on the road a day early so set off this morning for Tewkesbury.  My brother and his children came to wave me off as I headed South once again.

Making friends

I took the A449, skirting Wolverhampton, and went as far as Kidderminster. Life on the road gets lonely at times, so I was pleased to make a new friend.  Her conversation was a bit wooden however, so I left her and the squirrels and carried on.

Bike and Worcester Cathedral

I then carried on all the way to Worcester, I had to do a few chores such as banking but also took the time to admire the cathedral.



Passing the Avon through Tewkesbury

From here, it was a short ride to Worcester to Tewkesbury - quite possibly the most beautiful stretch of road I have ever cycled on. The views were fantastic - particularly the Ketch viewpoint, just short of Worcester.


Tewkesbury Town Centre is stunning and the Campsite had great views of the Abbey.  I went to Evensong with Mum and Dad - a wonderful way to end the day.




View from my tent: Tewkesbury Abbey

Home to Stafford!

Denzell Gardens

Not one to complain about the weather... but now it's too hot to cycle!

To be honest this was a greta way to travel.  The heat meant that I had to take frequent stops where I could watch the world go by and wait for the weather to cool a little.

Christ Church, Alsager

The first was Denzell Gardens near Nutsford where I stopped for Half Past Tensies.  The lake was tranquil and I watched Dragonflies dart about. Bliss.

From here I cycled to Alsager where I had studied.  The small village had barely changed and I popped into my University Church - Christ Church.  It was here that I held my first Youth work job.  Sadly the college site where I had studied is ina  terrible state.  It is closed and overgrown. However, it was nice to go back and remember the happy days I had studying here.

George and the Dragon Pub

Later on I stopped in the George and the Dragon Pub for Half Past Twosies, waiting for the day to cool a little.

And then finally through Stone (where I was born) to Stafford where I grew up, where I received a phenomenal reception from my nephew and niece!

STAFFORD!

I'll be stopping here for a few days to let the legs recover before pushing on to Lands End.

Here is the last Jelly Baby of the Northern Leg - a little graphic, but one for all the Boxhall Cycling Babytarians out there!

Blood, Sweat and (almost) Tears

Still no sun, although the horizon was always tantalizingly bright.

Morecombe Bay

I started the day by heading to Morecombe Bay and cycled from there.

I faced the ineviteable puncture, followed almost immediately by a second.  This eventually ended in lots of literal blood, sweat and almost tears (well, lots of drizzle anyway!)

As I came towards Manchester it was great to cycle along the canal of the A6.  The views were lovely.

This leg has been a little more like what I expected, where I have had the chance to chat to a lot of people.  There weren't too many people to talk to in the remote Scottish highlands in the driving rain!  We're staying tonight with friends of the family Wendy and Dennis.  So lovely to be invited into someone's home and to have a little more luxury than a campsite for a change.

I only have one more leg until I reach my home town of Stafford and have a much needed break for a few days.

Engulfed in mist.

There was a misty start to the day which gave a promise of sun which unfortunately never materialised.  Dan came with us a little way and even took a few action shots!

Today was another long leg of over 70 miles and I had to travel over Shap Fell, which was very steep, extremely exhausting, and swathed in mist which meant that there wasn't even the payback of a view from the top.  To be honest I could only see a few metres in front of me.

By the time I reached the summit, I was soaked again.  Thankfully Mum and Dad had waited in a lay by at the top to ensure that I did emerge out of the mist.  I then headed downhill into Kendal.

I got very cold on the run down, and having had a large lunch, I wasn't feeling too good.  That said, it did give me the energy that I really needed in order to continue.

With five miles to go until Lancaster, I could see the sea again and the sky seemed to brighten on the horizon. 

The campsite is stunning and a warm shower has really eased my aches and pains.  But to be honest, I feel a bit shell-shocked after today: I'm shattered, sore and achy, and everything I own, including the tent are soaking!

However, I have now passed the half way mark and I only have two more legs before I can have a welcome break in my home town of Stafford.  When I look at the map I can't quite believe what I have achieved so far.

Thank you so much for your generous donations to date.  If you haven't sponsored me yet and would like to the link is below:

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A rainy day to cross the border!

Whilst I understand that the weather down south has been glorious today, the sun did not reach the Scottish Borders. 

This has been the worst leg so far.  I cycled 45 miles across the Scottish/English border to end in Carlisle.  However, I was cycling into a full on head wind with driving rain.  Despite my waterproof clothing, I was soaked through to the skin.

The views were great, at those few moments when I was able to look up, but the rain kept my head down on the road.

Bike with a wheel in each country

Tired Face!

The only moment when I was not dogged by driving rain and high winds was as I crossed the border.  By this point I was extremely tired.

  

On a positive note, my old school friend Dan Ewing who I haven't seen for ages, came to join me in a borrowed campervan and we enjoyed catching up over tea and a bottle of wine in the warmth of the van this evening.

Dan Ewing

Just hoping for some drier weather tomorrow as apart from being miserable cycling conditions, the wind slows me right down!

A very blustery day...

I am absolutely shattered after another long, hard day, not made an easier by the strong winds. However, I did get to spend some time in my beloved Edinburgh where I studied for my Masters.

Edinburgh Castle

 Leaving Kirkliston, I headed into Edinburgh and down Princes Street.  The pipers were playing, although the high winds made it a risky day to be wearing a kilt!  Being back in a city where I have so many happy memories of studying made me rather emotional.  I made it down to my old church, although as the doors were locked and everyone was singing, I only managed to get in for the last five minutes of the service.  This did, however, give me chance to sing the "Amen" as a I used to, a treasured memory of the services there.

The church I attended whilst studying in Edinburgh

I managed to have a walk around Macmillan Hall, although didn't get a chance to revisit the Art College where I had spent so much time, as I needed to get back on the road again.

The wind today was immense, to the point that trees were bending over in the wind.  This meant it took about six hours to travel 40 miles and was a massive physical drain.  I did however manage to adjust the saddle in order to ease the pressure on my knees, which thankfully no longer hurt.

We have deviated slightly from the intended route, as we couldn't get a campsite in Biggar.  So I headed down the A7 past Stow. The route was hard with a long climb into the wind.  However, a highlight of the day was the most incredible caramel shortbread I have ever tasted (probably made all the better owing to the fact I hadn't yet had lunch!).

From here I headed past Galashiels to Hawick.

We've had a delicious tea in the van and we've been invited to the tent opposite for a beer, which will be most welcome after such a long day. 

They say these sorts of trips teach you about yourself and I know that I have always been determined.  At times today however, I'm not sure where I've found the will to keep going.  My reserves are far deeper than I realised.

We're now in the Borders country and will be crossing back into England tomorrow. I have now covered 1/3 of the country and I'm over  halfway through my northern leg.  I can't quite believe how much ground I've covered when looking over the A to Z!

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An epic day: Pitlochry to Kirkliston

Today has been a very long day!

Dunkeld  Town and Cathedral



I left Pitlochry and headed down the A9 to Dunkeld.  It was a stunning town with a picturesque town centre and beautiful cathedral, with wonderful views of the River Tay.



River Tay



Pitlochry Resevoir



From here I headed to Perth... which to be honest, is not that attractive. I had a choice encounter with a local resident who limited his directions to the one word response of "Aye!" in a deep and gravely voice, which was quite amusing, if not particulary helpful!

I took the A912 towards Glenfarg, before taking the B996 which proved to be a solid uphill struggle with no payback at all. I climbed and climbed all the way to Kinross where I should have been staying, however, as it was still fairly early I decided to push on to go south of the bridge.



Forth Bridge

I passed glorious views of Loch Leven, down to Kelty and on to Inverkeithing.  The last five miles were a glorious downhill stretch to the Forth Road Bridge.  This was every bit as beautiful as I remembered it, although I had never cycled across it before.  The views were simply breathtaking. 

Campsite at Kirkliston

I've really struggled with my knees today, which must be something to do with either my saddle or my cleats.  So I'll have to watch that tomorrow and try and sort it out.

From here I headed to Kirkliston.  I'm just outside Edinburgh and the campsite is high up offering views over the city.  It is a stunning campsite as it is set in densely packed Pine forest which I love.  The trees are so dense you can't hear a thing.

 

Scottish generosity and an uphill struggle

Loch Insh

We camped last night in Culloden, known for its famous battle in 1746 between Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Royal troops of George II. Thankfully ours was a much more peaceful encounter!

We drove back to Moy, where I had finished cycling last night, and I set off on what would be an epic climb up and over the Cairngorms.

The A9 was a pretty ugly stretch of road with the vans and lorries, so I took a B road and was glad to reach Aviemore. The town is rather like a ski resort with lots of shops selling outdoor equipment.

I got a lovely photo of Loch Insh viewed through a stone railway arch. The scenery up here really is fantastic and well worth the effort of cycling.

The next stop was Kingussie. It was fantastic to revisit the Highland Folk Museum. I had come here many years ago to study the vernacular furniture as part of my studies, so it brought back a lot of happy memories. However, this visit to Kingussie also involved a more embarrassing incident.

I had stopped off at the Spar to get a sandwich, having locked up my bike outside. Somehow in the three steps between the shop and my bike, I seemed to have misplaced the key to my bicycle lock. 45 minutes of searching ensued, involving me stripping down to practically just my shorts in the high street! Eventually the key was located in the lining of my rack pack. Good job I won't be back here in a hurry!

From here I faced a huge climb over the Cairngorms. It was stunning scenery although extremely hard work as I had a horrendous 17 mile sheer uphill climb to the summit.



The view from the top was worth it, however. As was the knowledge that I was at the highest point and now had a twelve mile free wheel down, which I completed with many a whoop and holler. The difficulty was getting my legs going again at the bottom. The wind had stiffened my legs somewhat, so getting back into a rhythm of pedalling proved tricky.



Idyllic Killercrankie

I went off the main drag and came into Blair Atoll. The stone buildings and sculptures here are beautiful, and I stopped to see Blair Castle. Next was the idyllic town of Killercrankie, before heading on another high speed road to Pitlochry.



The people at the campsite kindly waived the fee as I am cycling for charity, and again, people have been adding donations to the bucket.  I was even given some inner tubes for the bike!



On top of that, I got to watch a stunning sunset, as Otters played in the water.  A worthy reward for a long days cycling.