< LEJOG – Getting to Penzance
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We woke to a damp and misty morning and after breakfast got ready for our first day’s riding – out to Land’s End and back. We had booked the room in our Penzance B&B for a couple of nights as we’d be coming back this way and it meant we could leave the bulk of our stuff in the room.
From Penzance we headed for another two night stay at Gweek. This allowed us to ride out to the Lizzard and again leave most of our luggage at the B&B. It may not have been wet, but boy was it windy! It was hard and slow going to get out to the Lizzard. Karon had a job standing by the sign and had to hang on to the bike to stop that toppling. The upside was a lightning ride back to Gweek with cruising speeds of over 20mph.
From Gweek we headed for Truro then cut across Cornwall towards the north coast, stopping overnight at St. Newlyn East. Spent the evening in the Pheasant pub which had a great atmosphere. Onwards for the Camel Trail, through Wadebridge and to a B&B near Blisland. I had picked this place as I wanted to sample at least a couple of the 14 ales on tap at the Blisland Inn.
The climb up onto Bodmin moor was hard but once up there, it wasn’t too bad and though damp, the rain held off. By the time we had crossed the moor we were both desperate for some lunch and just when we needed it, a pub came into view. That night was spent at Forda Farm B&B near Holsworthy.
By jove Devon was lumpy! After a night at Exebridge the first hill away from our pub B&B was a killer!
On then, to a nice farmhouse at Creech St. Michael near Taunton, after which we hit the Somerset levels.
Near Weston Super Mare we were met by a couple of Tandem Club members who had offered a room for the night. From there we stayed fairly close to the Severn Estuary through Bristol and on for Gloucester, stopping overnight on the way at Alveston near Thornbury. At Gloucester we had to take refuge in a fast-food place as the heavens opened and dumped a huge amount of water in a pretty short time.
With all the rain, the Severn was pretty high as we followed it along quiet country lanes to its east as far as Tewksbury where we stopped overnight. On again, heading for Stourbridge where we picked up the Worcester and Stour Canal as fas as Kidderminster and our next stop. The hotel restaurant being closed we took a walk into the town (further than we thought it would be) but found a great Balti place to eat.
At Ironbridge we had time and it was dry enough to sketch, but just to keep up what was fast becoming the norm, it did rain in the evening. Next morning was ok again and Karon found a lovely pie shop so we bought a packed lunch for later.
Our route out of Ironbridge took us between Telford and Shrewsbury then on to Bridgenorth. The climb into the town was hard going and a coffee break was much needed. At Moreton Corbet the ruins of the castle provided the perfect backdrop for a picnic of pies.
After a night in Whitchurch we passed through Chester along the canal then a cyclepath along a disused rail line took us to the base of the Wirral. Typically, our hotel was on the highest point of the whole spit of land.
In Liverpool we had booked a couple of nights as I planned a day off to do ‘The magical Mystery Tour’. Shirley, our B&B landlady obviously took pity on the drowned rats that came knocking on her door, for she took all our soggy cycling gear (all that we had), and said she’s wash and iron it all! The tour the following day was great fun. The MC on the coach knew his stuff and was very funny as he recounted stories about the fab four. We took in the houses of George, Paul and John, the gates at Strawberry fields and eventually ended up at the Cavern for a drink. After the tour we headed for the port area, took a ride in a big wheel and found the Apple shop where I bought a new phone, downloaded the back-up onto it then sold the old one in a second-hand shop.
