Day 6: Cheddar to Arlingham

Decent Breakfast, but a late start after a late finish the previous night and feeling pretty cream-crackered. Nice accommodation though. The proprietor explained over my 2nd bowl of cereal that they were unfortunate that two couples who were due to arrive last night weren't able to make it due to flooding. I didn't pay too much attention to this at the time.

A good day overall, involving a fair amount of luck.

From Cheddar I followed the cycle path from Cheddar through to Winscombe as best I could - there was a fun section along a disused railway line and through an old tunnel lit only by small lights along the floor. The route then wiggled up towards Clevedon. I managed to lose the route for the 2nd time at Sandford, and was getting a bit annoyed and depressed.

A few miles my luck turned, as a cyclist caught up with me. We got chatting and he explained that he'd done the trip the previous year. He commented on how he developed all sorts of aches and pains which never seemed to go away, but which he just got used to. This gave me heart, as I've developed a whole range of odd niggles - including dodgy Achilles - which aren't getting any better, but which are bearable once warmed up. We talked about the reasons for doing the trip, and it turns out that he was diagnosed with Parkinsons a couple of years ago. Cycling was recommended to him as a means of helping the brain to compensate for the problems that Parkinsons can cause with balance. He was quite inspirational, and as a bonus he was heading my way across the River Avon on the M5 bridge, so I didn't have to fanny about trying to find my way around the Bristol Suburbs.

After picking up my cheapset lunch yet at a service station in Long Cross, Bristol, I made my way across to the Vale of Berkeley. This was a fine and peaceful run across thorugh Berkeley and Slimbridge to my accommodation for the night in the village of Arlingham with friends.

It was only that evening that I learned that I'd been lucky getting through to Arlingham at all. The village sits on a peninsula in a large bend on the Eastern Bank of the Severn and the previous day the single road out to the village from the A38 was flooded. I also learned for the first time about the massive flooding in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire - the two counties I'd be passing through next. Oh dear. My hosts for the evening very kindly went to every effort to try to work out a route which would enable me to get around the floods.

The accommodation was of course brilliant !

Stats of the day:

Flapjacks 2
Friendly Cycling companions 1
Days Mileage 65.1
Total Mileage 319.3

Cheers,


Mat.




Amusing Sign spot:

Yet more Ham ...