Cycling to the top, with stops for cake - Part 3

This is part three of the day by day account of our trip from Lands End to John O'Groats.

Day 9: June 21st

Bishops Castle to Chester

Bishops castle to chester - 114k. climbed down from hilltop camp then steep climb into shropshire hills then grey sky and flat roads! tiny campsite tonight

We're at a tiny campsite at the back of a farm south of Chester. There are three other cyclists here, a father and adult son who have camped under the trees and are finishing a round of beers and a young lad who is dropped off by his family who also has a Thorn. All three have cycle covers which makes me feel a little less ridiculous about lugging our half broken piece of plastic around.

The campsite is really tiny and gorgeous – there are cows sitting just across a simple wire fence, a family with young children in an antique caravan and a little brick facilities block with just one shower and toilet for each gender.

Today we left the expansive Foxhole Castle Campsite, a huge site on a hill with gorgeous views - then climbed another hill, the very steep Stiperstones. Another wild and moody hilltop with wild sheep, but this time hampered by the threat of rain which also obscured the view. Whe the rain became a bit more serious we were further down the ridge. It seemed like a good time to stop for tea and cake and we were warmly welcomed into the Bog Visitor's Centre. The centre sits in an old school house and was run by two volunteers who had a whole kitchen filled with cakes.

A fast afternoon on flat farm roads. Lunch in Ellesmere where there is a food festival divided between opposite ends of the town. We settle outside the Co-op and are joined by a solo cyclists who is doing Lands End in a few less days than us. She's doing it fast and on major roads, she says because the Pyrenees defeated her and she still had some holiday time left. We're impressed.

Three cyclists and all of our stuff attracted a reasonable amount of head-turning and three small children stop to look over our bikes. I tell them that the one they're looking at is mine, and the other black one is my boyfriend's and the most inquisitive one relays the information to the rest of the group. She is determined to unravel what we're doing. “Where are you going?” “North of here – to Chester.” I say. “And then you're going home?” “No, we're going to camp.” “And then you're going home?” “and then we're going further north, to Scotland.” “And then you're going home?” “...in a few days....”

The other question the girls have is slightly less predictable. They spot an old toothbrush through a clear bag on the back of my bike. “Why have you got a toothbrush there?” they point. “Its for cleaning my bike.” They are goaded away gently by parents and I hear the same child saying to the others: “She uses her toothbrush for cleaning her bike,” with a certain amount of awe in her voice.

We find our campsite after a few false turns. I see a guy walking two llamas down the road of this tiny village while Justin is inside asking for directions, and then spot a family we saw cycling the other way half an hour ago. I get directions from the family and we roll into our campsite at 6pm, making a proper stirfry for dinner. Yum!

snack patrol: another day another selection of homemade cakes sold by nice volunteer ladies. today ginger cake and coffee at the bog visitor centre - nice!

Day 10: Jun 22nd
Chester to Ormskirk

Chester to ormskirk: 100k. wildly underestimated todays distance so off mersey ferry and into after school rush hour! warm evening for cycling at least

We misjudged today's distance by at least 40k and due to difficulty of navigating across the wirral we only caught the ferry across the Mersey to Liverpool at 3.30. The morning's cycling was a jumble of industry and forest tracks until the waterfront with windmills in the distance and gorgeous views across the water. Justin and I take turns to be in foul moods – we weren't going to get to Liverpool in time to catch up with some of my old workmates and I took offense to something Justin said early on which coloured the day a bit grimly.

Before the ferry we went off-route to find a bike shop to fix a squeak in my chain and so I could try on helmets. Bike show was on the edge of a big dock area in Birkenhead. Nice shop, not sure I'd recommend hanging out in the surrounding streets.

We had to wait 40 minutes at the ferry terminal before we could go across and then the short distance took a frustratingly long time – great if you want a view of this magnificent city – not so great if its almost 4pm and you're about to hit Liverpool rush hour.
The weather brightened in Liverpool, and apart from Justin scraping his hands when falling off a canal path (second fall of the day for him – served us right for arguing) we made it through the grimy northern suburbs without too many scars.

It was a beautiful early evening for riding once we got back into open countryside but we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Ormskirk rather than the detour that we thought we would take past the town. We stopped to stock up on food and realised that we wouldn't make our scheduled campsite.

We cycled to a nearby park intending to eat dinner in the last of the sunlight, but just as I was pulling out burgers Justin walked over to a family to asked for directions. The father brought one of his children over, just at the point that we were keen to be done cycling for the day and weren't really up for conversation.

While I rudely scoffed my hamburger, Justin held up our end of the conversation and the man explained he wasn't really a local but had moved to the area because his brother had a church nearby a few years ago. He did tell us that he thought there was a caravan park just outside town and gave us accurate directions to it, but he wasn't sure if it would accept campers so we were keen to move on.

After reaching Abbey Road campsite and establishing that there was a camp field and settled in just after 8:30pm.

I was slightly suspicious when I came out of the shower block and spotted the man and his brood of children walking towards me in the late evening light. He said hello and went on to explain that someone had asked the wife (carrying the smallest child) if there was a campsite nearby just yesterday, and they had come to investigate. Odd, but harmless enough. I wished them well but didn't invite them over to our tent. Our day had been long enough.

Day 11: Jun 23rd
Ormskirk to Hawkshead

Ormskirk to hawkshead. 140k and 8hrs! cycling through the friendly north. small boy said hello as cycled past and asked are you exercising? sunshine hurrah!

139k.
Another long day – longest yet, Cycled out of Abbey Farm Caravan Park at 9.45 and had flat country roads for most of the morning, skipping across the M6 (first motorway in the world!) several times.

Morning tea at a proper northern greasy spoon in Leyland where we also posted a couple of maps home. Lunch was grabbed at a supermarket of a farmers shop – like a rural delicatessen – and eaten in a spot by a stream where a bunch of kids and their teacher were hanging out, some even swimming. Justin had spent the morning speeding off and was a bit disgruntled about being told off for going too fast all the time but I was insistent that we should pause, especially in the middle of a hot day when it seemed that everyone else was. Plus the ham was fantastic.

Leaving Preston later in the afternoon, I'm a fair bit behind Justin on a fairly busy road when a small child of about 4 yells over to me from a park which overlooks the street I'm cycling on. “Hello! Are you exercising?” he asked. “Yes, I'm exercising,” I grinned back at him. Later still we ride along the canals out of Lancaster, a wicked way to get north of the city and big stretches of the sea to our left again.

Its getting late as we approach the lake district, 6pm or so but roads are fantastically quiet and the light was pretty special and as we debated how far we should go (alway... “shall we keep on going?” “Yeah, we might as well...”) the hassles of the morning starting to fade away.
We had no idea when the last ferry across to Hawkshead would be and were riding against the clock winding up and down some impressive hills when Justin suggested that we cut across to a more main road which clearly be flatter sitting in the valley we could see below us... although it definitely wasn't and two steep hills almost defeated me.

Fantastic light for riding, views for miles and we made it onto the ferry just after 8pm, and even better we were never asked to pay for the journey (thanks ferry men).

The hill up to Hawkshead isn't as steep as I remember but its a long way to the village. We pull into the first campsite we see in Hawkshead just before 9pm. Its still really light and there are birds everywhere. An eccentric cyclist fixing his bike talks to anyone who will hear him out and himself when no-one else will. He rides away in a tailors shirt and trousers in the morning. Birds everywhere, bird song and ducks wandering around. It doesn't stop all night.
We nip down to a Hawkshead pub after dinner and have last drinks with the locals.

Can't believe we saw so much in one day.

Snack patrol: found a truckers diner in leyland yesterday. served proper mugs of instant coffee and spoke a dialect i couldn't grasp. very cool

Day 12: Jun 24th
Hawkshead to Threlkeld, 42k to camp then 14k unloaded to Keswick for supplies.


Still in the lake district: 40k. meant to be a rest day but headed north looking for a nicer campground. now a few steep hills east of keswick

Today was meant to be a rest day but we decided to make some headway into the lake district hills as it was a beautify and sunny day. Leisurely start to the day with bacon and mushrooms on bread followed by cereal for breakfast.

Meandered up to Ambleside to go to a shop for a promised birthday present. but alas, they were sold out so no yellow inflatable camping pillow for me. Coffee and cake in a cafe by an old watermill we had been to on our last trip to the district. Ginger shortbread from Grasmere – then a slow climb up hills around Thirlmere lake (I hoped we could swim but turns out its a large and precious spring water reservoir).

Camp was on a sheep farm just one big hill out of Keswick. We went down to the township for groceries and got quite lost on the way out, ending up on a busy duel carriageway for a bit, before returning to big horrid hill which most cyclists were walking up. Lazy late afternoon at our campsite, surrounded by hills which turned amber in the dusk.

Laundry done, and BBQ dinner though this was somewhat spoiled by midges which attacked us as soon as the sun faded.

Cycling to the top, with stops for cake - Part 2

This is part two of the day by day account of our trip from Lands End to John O'Groats.

Day 5: Jun 17th
Holmen Clavel to Priddy (Mendip Hills)

to priddy in the mendip hills. 77 k waited out the rain with 90 mins in wells. flat roads of somerset lovely. camping in the clouds tonight.

Ah down hills and flats! Bum complains of injustice today, but the riding is easy – we don't pass a major town all morning and soon finish most of our supplies and two pork pies brought at a village butchers.

Stop for coffee at a silver trailer home cafe, which sits behind a forest park visitors hall due to be completed in 2010. Rain starts and we go inside and chat with the cashier about one of her regulars who is doing LEJOG in a week. Nice rolling countryside through marshes in the afternoon – flat for miles either side of peat ditches and swans floating in canals. There is a little rain, but it doesn't settle in until Wells where we stop for a late lunch anyway. We wait it out for 90 minutes and as it looks like it will clear we climb the short but steep hill past cheesy Wookey Hole and into the Mendips in low cloud (not too bad a climb either) then book in at a campsite. Its then that it starts pouring with rain. Small arguments about sorting out the tent in the rain ensues but the downpour stops before dinner – gourmet style pasta and local bacon and cider and nice changing weather on the hills. Another cyclist is camping beside us and tells us he's done a 16k walk today. We think he's keener than us.

Snack patrol: proper somerset pork pie. can't remember which village butcher we brought it from but eaten outside the church at muchelney.

Day 6: Jun 18th
Priddy to Llanthony via Bristol / Severn Bridge, 122km

Long downhill from Priddy down past Chew Lake, then seems like forever picking through Bristol before the Severn Bridge which is 4 miles with a sharp wind threatening to throw us off– great views but hard cycling. We see a couple of cyclists we'd seen in Launceton and Padstow as we're heading into Chepstow. They stop and chat – and we're not surprised that they're doing the same trip. We're fed and stocked up on food by 3.30 and head into the Welsh hills. Its immediately stunning – lush green, great cycling even though we've a long way to go into the evening, and the hills aren't helping. A lady stands at the end of her drive watching us cycle past her up one of the first hills out of Chepstow – I smile and say we're nearly there, she laughs at me and says there's another hill the same to follow.
It may be slow going but its beautiful out here. We finally arrive in Llanthony at just after 8pm, which means a very long day of cycling. Our campsite is a field with one other tent in it – hills crowd around us and its not raining! £3 per person, bargain. Hopefully full rest day tomorrow.

Wales! 122 k the day before yesterday with 50 done before we crossed the severn bridge into wales. finally at llanthony at 8pm but glorious hills

Day 7: June 19th
Llanthony – Break day

Quiet birthday filled with chores – cleaned bikes, clothes. Treats in the way of cake and beer, pub dinner at the Priory, music. Climbed hill in the afternoon. Wish it was slightly warmer for swimming. Sat in fast changing weather and read and ate.

yesterday: rest day in llanthony. thought we might have campsite to ourselves but it filled up after noon. hill walk in pm but mostly chores and not moving!

Day 8: June 20th
Llanthony to Bishops Castle

llanthony to bishops castle: 94k. over the black mountains to hay on wye is the most stunning route ever cycled. pm back in england farmland again

Early morning bacon sandwiches then a climb out of the valley to the ridge top where sheep are roaming free and it felt incredibly wild and like we had somehow climbed to the top of the world. Stunning views – well worth the climb, and a gorgeous descent – I took it slowly as I wanted it to last forever.

Stopped at Hay-on-Wye for charity cake sale cups of tea and muffins (using first cake vouchers provided by Justin!) The ladies running the tea shop asked how long we had been riding and we had to admit, just a hour or so, and mostly downhill. I felt it wasn't right to leave Hay-on-Wye without spending some time in the bookstores, but we had to barreled out of town and head on our way.

A cloudy afternoon and pedaling into the wind through big industrial farmland, no towns through the greater part of the day. Ate a quick lunch on the edge of a driveway of a farmhouse as nowhere particularly nice to stop.

It took a long time to get to Bishops Castle and its small town civilisation and then it was slightly disheartening that we had to leave immediately to find a campsite. Now we're on the top of a hill with beautiful views of other hills on all sides and at least half a dozen cars with paragliding equipment on top. Had a BBQ with wild boar burgers and sausages. Mist clouded over the hills (one of which we'll climb tomorrow).

Snack patrol: hay on wye charity cakesale - what were we thinking? should have brought a whole teacake instead of two slices.

Cycling to the top, with stops for cake - Part 1

What follows is a day by day account of the 1740 kms Justin and I cycled between Lands End to John O'Groats in three weeks between June and July this summer.
(ps The badly punctuated gray bits at the start and end of each day are from twitter)

Day 1: June 13th
Penzance to St Ives via Lands End

easy 2pm start from penzance then to st ives via lands end today- easy and beautiful 56 k. have been warned about coming days hills!

Our train gets into Penzance at 3pm so we're not sure how far we'll get past Lands End before wanting a campsite today. Our first serious hill is out of the tiny fishing village of Mousehole and reminds us it won't all be flat. Legs shake, breathing gets hard, walkers heckle. In all of our planning from the comfort of our living room, I forgot about the hills.

We get to Lands End smoothly enough – sign visitors book, take photos, talk to an old couple one of which did the ride a long time ago and head on our way. The road between St Just and St Ives is stunning and quiet in the late afternoon. The sea is really vast and we wonder if we're already on the best piece of road of the trip.

We stop for cream tea in Morvah at 5.55pm. The nice man who runs the place is just pulling in his sign as we pass and is one of those who left London in the 80s for this lifestyle. We sit in his quiet garden watching birds and eating fresh scones, instantly envious of the lifestyle (well at least these scones heaped with clotted cream and jam).

We reach St Ives and Ayr Holiday Park at 7.10 and its lucky that the owner of the campsite has come back to the campshop to pick something up so we are able pay and stay. Meet another Thorn bicycle owner – third person we've talked to about the trip today already. Clear skies and a beautiful evening – we walk down to St Ives in cycling shoes and back up via the beaches watching a 10pm sunset. We spot a seal in the harbour. It's an easy first day.

Snack patrol: cream tea at morvah at 6pm - nice man feed us cups of tea and scones even though closing time!

Day 2: June 14th

St Ives to Padstow

87 k - St ives to padstow. found the hills today. some beautiful views of the sea. most friendly campsite last night - tonight we're on a hill!

Good intentions to leave 'early' but by the time we've made a trip up to the Spar for breakfast supplies and started packing up its just past 9, then an inquisitive baby wanders over to try on our helmets (too big) and we talk to its parents for the next half hour or so. We finally roll out of the friendliest campsite in the South West just after 10am.Its a very hilly day interspersed with beautiful views of the coast.

We stop for real coffee at a cafe nestled in the dunes. The cafe's carpark is full of campers who stayed overnight after a gig last night – judging by the number of surfboards, most are here for the waves as well.

Further on in Perrenporth, there are big waves and lots of surfers in the water, but we decide its not warm enough to swim.

We stopped in a tiny village called St Agnes for lunch supplies and with the nearest beach down a big hill we didn't want to climb again, settled for a dusty lane which had its fair share of flies to eat stale bread tomato and salmon sandwiches. Better stop would have been the next town along which was full of shops selling pasties which we were by then too full to try.

Reached Padstow by 5:30pm. Rick Stein's fish and chips eaten on the waterfront under the watchful eye of massive seagulls for dinner. Warnings in the town proper suggest not eating fish and chips outside as the seagulls will steal them. Too knackered to catch up with my workmate Jon who's holidaying in the town, its an early night.

Snack patrol: no cornish pasties today but rick stein fish and chips in padstow for dinner. worth it for the view alone but stellar feed as well

Day 3: June 15th

Padstow to Okehampton

padstow to okehampton - 87 k. rain clouds threatened out of padstow then drenched us for 4 hours. hills again today. wet gear and shoes hung out in bunkroom.

We're ready to leave, almost earlier than yesterday, but by the time we unpack the tent again (bike computer left in it!), purchase coffee and pasties in Padstow, bump into Jon, then miss the ferry... its 11 before we've left Rock behind.

Unfortunately rain clouds catch up with us fairly quickly and from noon we're treated to a four hour downpour which drenches our shoes before we can find shelter to dig Justin's overshoes out of his bag. We were coasting downhill most of the time and I'm sure the morning's riding was spectacular but I couldn't see a thing through the rain pouring onto my glasses.

We climb the giant hill into Launceton needlessly but at the top are bakeries and a bike sized space outside the supermarket where we hang out for a sodden lunch of pasties and hot cups of tea. We head back down the hill seeing two cyclists climbing up in the rain, looking like a mirror of us an hour ago, though maybe better prepared. We make good time to Okehampton on some straight as an arrow roads. Rain is threatening again as we look for a campsite and the near empty campsite at Betty Cottles also has a bunkhouse room for £12.50 a head which we wisely decide is a good way to dry our gear.

Doom Bar beer from Rock on tap in the bar, which we have all to ourselves to plan the next days travel. Bunk house reminds me of remote bunkhouses in middle of New Zealand. Though we screw up lots of Dartmoor hills brochures to fill our shoes with so they can dry, no walkers join us in our room and we hang wet clothes over every inch of space. Early night and sound sleeping!

Snack patrol: cornish pasties from padstow far superior to those from launceston. lukewarm pastie unforgivable when have spent 3 hrs in rain!

Day 4: June 16th

Okehampton to Holman Clavel (Blackhill Downs)

oke to Blackdown hills. 92 k! lost in the hills for 2 hours before stumbling upon campsite. was meant to be an easy day! nice rolling devon.

Too good to be true - ready to go at 8:30! But then as we're putting panniers on bikes an unfortunate bump from Justin's bike topples it over, and we rolled out at 9am, still quite good going, though Justin a bit annoyed that he had scratched my bike up.

Aside from the hill out of Okehampton it was a nice day of meandering around river valleys and quiet country roads, a beautiful sunny day. Stopped at Crediton for lunch supplies then lunch at 1pm at a small village green, complete with babbling brook and someones forgotten sandals. I foolishly said we'd be at the campground at 5pm but then we encountered the Blackdown hills and got sucked into the vortex of small country lanes which ensured we were lost for the next two hours.

We stumbled into the campsite we were aiming for completely by accident and I check its name with disbelief against our master list of campsites. And a flat pitch! Tired legs from a longer than expected day. Must remember to fuel Justin more. Expect my butt will be sore tomorrow but tonight we have a £10 campsite with free showers and nice wee pub just down the road.

Snack patrol: crediton has best bakery of trip to date. chelsea buns for 40p and large pickle and beef rolls for 1.40. yum.

Truck Festival and LEJOG writeup update

I forgot to tell you that we survived our LEJOG cycle trip. And it was damn good fun.
I've been down with a cold (or possibly the flu?) all week since attending Truck music Festival last weekend (I'm not convinced the two aren't related).

Truck was pretty good fun, but one night camping mistakenly in the 'Party camping' area of Truck (read: 16 year olds throwing raw bacon on our friends tents at 4am) wasn't nearly as exciting as our three week cycling and camping trip the length of England and Scotland. The trip report is one edit away from being publishable, so if you're like to live vicariously through us instead of cycling more than 1000 miles yourself you may well be able to do that in the next few days. No promises now.