UK Bicycle Tour

  Southern UK Bicycle Tour. Summer 2016. Tintagel, Umberleigh, Minehead, Wells. May 19, 2016 I stayed at a free campsite that has a shower room. The deal was to buy a drink in the bar or some food from the kitchen. I had already bought my food for tonight but I put my cooking on hold until tomorrow and enjoyed a sausage and chip basket special. The following morning I did my exercises and headed to Tintagel. Honestly if you have never been then I highly recommend it. In fact £50 to join the English Heritage has been a bargain and i have already saved more than that on entrance fees. The ruins, cliffs and paths were stunning. My ride after that was up and down but that's normal in these parts. I clocked over 70 miles and made it to my hosts farm. I put the geese away for the night and listened to a bit of Neil Young. https://www.strava.com/activities/579382610 In the middle of Exmoor I came into Withypool. A very quaint village with a beautiful bridge and picnic area. The days ride

  Southern UK Tour. Summer 2016. Plymton, St Austell, Lands End. May 15, 2016 I had a warmshower host for a night in Plymton. I was her first guest so she was a little bit on edge at first but after a chat over a cup of tea we seemed to hit it of ok. She was thinking about a bicycle tour and was happy to chat with someone who had done a few. My host the following night lived in St Austell on a farm. The only room for me was in a caravan in his garden. This wasn't a problem but it did drop a bit cold in the night. I could hear his 2 pet sheep outside scratching around eating a few times but I was pretty tired after a hard day so once I was asleep it was all good. The hills in this part of the world are not big but they come thick and fast. Every village is at the bottom of a hill so it's down to get but up to leave. After about 6 villages it gets a bit of a mission. https://www.strava.com/activities/575388666 I made it to Lands End the next day after another bout of hill madness

  Southern UK Tour. Summer 2016. Exeter to Plymton. May 12, 2016 After leaving the park in Burton Bradstock I had the best text for a long time. Richard, my old cycling partner from my New Zealand sent me a message saying that his parents who live in Exeter would be able to host me for a couple of nights. How amazing that I get to spending a night or two with the parents of my cycling mate. By early evening I had washed my clothes, showered and was about to be fed with something that was smelling awesome. https://www.strava.com/activities/572630863 Two days later after having a great time in Exeter looking around the city I made my way to my cousin Joanne's guest house in Paignton. I hadn't seen her and her husband Tyrone for many years so it was very good to catch up. https://www.strava.com/activities/573912363

  Southern UK bicycle Tour. May 2016 Amesbury to Burton Bradstock. May 8, 2016 What a great day. 82 miles of beautiful countryside. Gorgeous weather. Stonehenge was stunning but the best sight was the amazing Salisbury Cathedral and the Magna Carta. I also fell lucky as choir practise was on and it only added to the splendour and majesty of the occasion. I later tried 3 campsites with all saying they were not open yet so I called on the Great British public and knocked on a door. Perfect choice as they were a family of cyclists and had no problem with me camping in their garden. All devices fully charged and morning coffee delivered to my tent by the owner. I love this country. The road from Weymouth to Abbotsbury was stunning. Amazing view of the Jurassic coastline as the sun was setting. To finish the day I sat in the pub waiting for it to go a bit darker so I could sneak my tent up. I was camping right by toilets in the small park in Burton Bradstock so no piddling in the bushes was

  Southern UK bicycle Tour. May 2016 London to Stonehenge. May 5, 2016 After cycling the north I thought it only right to cycle the south so I worked out a route that would take me from London to Lands End then along the coast towards Bristol and over the Bristol channel into south Wales. Getting out of London was quite difficult but once I picked up the Thames cycle route it was all easy through to Windsor. I had a night at my Aunt's house then the next day I had a nice ride in the countryside, heading towards Stonehenge to camp in the circle if possible. No luck camping there though as you can't actually get close to it. No bother though as I wild camped in a farmers barnyard. 

  Northern England Bicycle Tour Spring 2016 April 26, 2016 After buying my new bicycle I thought it best to give it a run out across the north of England from the West coast to the East coast with a trip up to Berwick then down to York. I camped on my first night after leaving Preston. Luckily it was a £5 campsite called the Crossfell Caravan Park in Ousby which had a pub just outside the gate. I set up the tent and went in for a beer and some food. Once in my tent the temperature really dropped so it was good that I had some winter camping equipment. The next morning I woke up to a snow covered campground so taking the tent down and packing away was a bit cold.   Once on the bicycle I took on the Kirkstone Pass down into Hexham then on into Newcastle Upon tyne to stay with my cousins. Over the next few days I cycled north along the coast following the route called the Castles and Coast tour route. I stayed with warmshowers hosts both nights. The first in Alnwick and the second just ou