Day Eleven - Hatchmere to Preston

Mick had put his foot down about the tour of the Wirral and the Liverpool option.  He felt it would be time wasted which would be much better spent touring Scotland later in the tour and on reflection I agreed.  I have realised that what seems like a smallish detour on a road atlas is in fact quite a different prospect when one has already cycled 500 miles and have another 500 to go. Even a five mile detour is subject to much debate and usually discarded as too far out of the way.  So instead we decided to make a run for it through Runcorn and Warrington and up to Preston.  Runcorn is a dump. Our guidebook advised looking for signs to “Shopping City” and then Old Town.  We got lost almost immediately in a council housing estate, one of those with alleyways and pathways which never seem to go anywhere.Finally we found a cycle sign for the Old Town, and with several more pauses to ask directions, we finally came in sight of the Runcorn bridge.  We were by now going against the traffic on a fast road, using a very narrow pavement next to the railings.  Suddenly in front of us were two walkers, with large rucksacks, a guitar and a camera.  Our enquiry confirmed our suspicions, they were indeed also headed for John O’ Groats.  We promised to get the beers in at the John O’Groats Hotel.  Suddenly I was very glad that I was doing this by bicycle and not on foot. 





Things got better when we and crossed the Bridge and entered Widnes.  We immediately picked up the Sankey canal and a path which went all the way to Warrington and on to Newton-Le-Willows.  The first part, past the power station was grim but it then turned into a very pleasant greenway, some of which was navigable, some not. 



It was still raining.  We had a stop for a cup of tea (on the house when we told them what we were doing) at a chuck wagon and had a chat to the guy behind the counter.  A double amputee, he had opened for business only the week before with his partner.   Business was a little slow but they were hoping it would pick up when the weather improved.  Give him a try if you find yourself on the Sankey Canal at Fiddlers Ferry Yacht Station.  Eventually we started to pull out of the conurbation onto more rural roads, and the rest of the day passed uneventfully as we plodded from town to town  - Haydock, Garswood, past Wigan, Eccleston (a quick pint here), Leyland and finally, at last Preston.  In Preston we once again got lost and found ourselves on a major through route.  It was also getting late and we had no idea where we were going to stay.  Eventually on the way out on the horrendously busy A6 we spotted a budget hotel and we booked in, ate the bread, cheese and olives we had bought earlier and with relief settled down in front of the telly. 

Stats:
Miles: 53
Pints Drunk: 1 (!!!!)

Route here

Day Ten – Ratlinghope to Hatchmere

I had wanted to see the Stiperstones,jagged pinnacles of quartzite standing up against the sky at the top of the hill.  But the weather was misty and wet and we could not see anything.  My right knee throbbed and I was struggling up the hill. For the first time on the trip I was having serious doubts about whether I was capable of finishing it.  Banishing such thoughts,we called into the village shop and bought the only item we could see which would serve as breakfast, two tins of chunky soup which we drank cold from the can.



  In an effort to get the last dregs from the tin I tipped it up only to drop potato and tomato on my nose.


.  It was a lovely route through the lanes of Shropshire and soon the rain stopped and the sun made some feeble efforts to shine.  We cycled through Melverley and stopped to look at the St Peter’s church, a 14th century building of wattle and daub, and which used pegs rather than nails throughout.




Just before Ellesmere I took a last minute decision to detour via Frankton to get a look at the Shopshire Union canal.  As we stood on the bridge Mick realised he recognised a narrowboat moored on the opposite bank, and sure enough it turned out to be the boat of someone he knew through a canal users forum. We spent a very pleasant hour on their boat Marmaduke drinking tea and biscuits and it was with some regret that we heaved ourselves up to cycle on, as it had started to rain again.




But we wanted to get a reasonable amount done after our rest day yesterday and we cycled on for a good few hours.  There was a marked lack of B&B’s along the route.  After four nights in the tent and in wet weather we really wanted to be indoors this evening. Finally we found a B&B at Hatchmere and booked ourselves in.




We repaired to the Carriers Inn for an excellent mixed grill, deciding that after the trials of HMP Ratlinghope we deserved some spoiling.

Stats
67 miles
Beers: 3

Route here

Day Nine – Rest Day at YHA Ratlinghope

We had really been looking forward to this rest day.  We had arranged to camp in the grounds of Ratlinghope Youth Hostel. This meant we could use the facilities but save money. (A double room with bathroom was £48! In a Youth Hostel! A waste of vital beer money.)



We had also arranged to meet family who were coming up from Bristol to give us some moral support. The Hostel was pretty full – The Malvern Hash Harriers were staying for the weekend. The pub, The Horsehoe Inn, had transformed itself, no sign of any musicians and the food was fabulous.  Five o’clock saw us stood outside the hostel with our towels, and when finally given admittance to the building, the showers, if not hot, were at least warm this time.  We had got our laundry done in the sink (no washing machine or indeed any other mod-cons here!)




Stats
Miles: 0
Pints of beer: 3

Day Eight – Bucknell to Ratlinghope

Today was billed as an easy day, only twenty one miles to Ratlinghope on the edge of the Long Mynd.  It didn’t work out quite like that.  Ten minutes after leaving the Baron of Beef we realised we were on the wrong road, heading West instead of North.  Rather than turn around straightaway (mistake), we continued to the interestingly named New Invention.  We made enquiries as to how the place got its name but all we could discover was that it was “something to do with a waterwheel”.  From here it was a steep climb all the way to Clun.  At Clun we headed back East, parallel with the road we had travelled an hour earlier.  Things looked up when we found the Hundred House, an excellent pub where we spent an enjoyable hour, before heading on to Bishop’s Castle and two more excellent pubs both with micro-breweries, the Six Bells and the Three Tuns. 


Near Ratlinghope we got hopelessly lost and for the second time that day found ourselves toiling up a hill which we should have cycled around.  We were still tetchy when we arrived at Ratlinhope Youth Hostel, hours later than originally planned.  Mood did not improve when we repaired to the pub next door, the only one for miles around, only to discover that there was a very loud Dire Straits tribute band playing.  We drank a beer then back to our little tent in the grounds of the Youth Hostel. 
Stats
Miles: 29
Beers drunk: 4 pints each

Route here

Day Seven - Grosmont to Bucknell

It took us longer than we thought to pack off the tent but by nine we had got everything stuffed back into the panniers, had a quick look around the castle and then set off.






We cycled through Golden Valley which was lovely cycling country, not too many hills and unbelievably the weather was still fine. We had a little detour into Dorstone to find a loo so Mick could reapply Sudocream (the ride was taking its toll). We found another community coffee lounge, which the locals had opened after they lost their post office. When they heard what we were doing they refused to let us pay for the tea and biscuits we had enjoyed and wished us well.



Up thorough Eardisly and then through the lanes to Brampton Bryan and the A4113. Soon after we turned up to Bucknell as we knew there was a pub there. We hoped they would be able to tell us whether there was any camping or bed and breakfast nearby. Eureka! The pub had a camping field at the back, an excellent pint of Twisted Spire from the Hobson's Brewery, good food and WIFI. A result!





Stats
Miles: 52
Beers drunk: Four

Route here

Day Six - Bristol to Grosmont

Well, we had been warned that going home might not be a good idea. And true enough, it was hard to leave this morning. We both felt weary and apprehensive of the miles ahead of us. So we had another row which cleared the air and then we set off.

We headed out through Hambrook and then to Olveston. We had, for this part, at least thought of writing on our cycling jackets our destination and the fact we were fundraising for BRACE. At Olveston we stopped for a coffee at the Olveston Stores (it has a community coffee morning from 10-12 every Thursday - fortuitous or what?) No sooner had we stopped than someone gave us a fiver to the cause, ad when we got inside were were positively feted and collected more sponsor money. We left half an hour later in fine mood for the ride over the old Severn Bridge.




We skipped Chepstow and cycled up the hill to St Arvans, then eschewing the high road, dropped back into the Wye Valley and the Tintern Abbey.

The ride along the Wye to Monmouth was amazing, bluebells and primroses adorned the hedgerows along the route and the weather was perfect for cycling, April sunshine glinting through the trees.

I was thoroughly enjoying myself.

We cruised into Monmouth and decided to stop for tea and cake at the Whole Earth Ce Bistro in the town.
I foolihly had thought we had left the hills behind when we left Devon. Not so, we were now skirting the edge of the Black Mountains and the terrain was getting hillier...

We stopped for a pint at The Bell at Skenfrith This was quite posh - there were proper towels rather than paper ones in the toilets, a sign of class, but we didn't feel inclined to stay. But it was getting late and we had no idea where we were going to stay for the night. On to Grosmont and a monster of a hill into the village. It accosted us just after a bend, and it felt like we were cycling into a brick wall. We could hardly walk up let alone cycle up. Mick as usual was miles ahead of me up the hill and as I gasped my way up, he appeared out of the doorway of the pub, beaming and with both thumbs up. There was no answer from the lady who owned the campsite at the bottom of the hill (which I was slightly relieved about, once up that hill was enough), but we had been offered the use of the village playing field to pitch our tent.

We repaired to The Angel and had a fantastic evening. The locals were really friendly and made us very welcome indeed. The food was good too and we wandered back to our little tent feeling extremely content.

Stats
Miles: 48
Pints of beer: not sure but at least 5 each
Hills pushed: 2

Route here

Day Five – Cheddar to Bristol

This was an easy and familiar ride. We took the road to Axbridge and stopped there to stock up on scotch eggs.We have been to Axbridge quite often on training rides, it’s a lovely little town.

Up the lovely Strawberry Line again to Yatton, passing Thatcher's cider orchards on the way.



At Yatton we had a brief argument about nothing in particular (we were both very tired) before heading down the A370 back to Bristol.

At 2pm we were sat outside the Knights Templar pub at Temple Quay enjoyin a pint of Ruddles, exactly 96 hours after we set off from Land's End. We thought we had done rather well.

Home then to do the laundry and meet some friends to bask in the glory of our achievement so far before the off on Thursday morning.

Stats

Miles: 28

Beers Drunk: 2 each

Hills pushed: 0 (no excuse for getting off on this run)

Route here