29 July 2016 (morning rain, afternoon cloudy with sunny patches, mild) 32 km

Today marks the end of our 5300km cycle ride. Over the past three months we have travelled from Munich to Merseyside, via Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Rep. Germany, Netherlands and across England. As I write this entry, we are sitting at the kitchen table of David Mann, in Chester, virtually a hop, skip and a jump from our final destination, in Little Neston on the Wirral.

The past week has been very much one of winding down, with our pace and distance showing as much. At David’s house over the last day and a half, we have been able to relax, contemplate on where and what we’ve seen and enjoy conversation with a fellow cyclist, who understands exactly what life on the road has to offer, both the good and bad.

The forecast today was for rain clearing, but as is so often the case, the elements are something that we have no control over, so we are not surprised that currently it is raining. Whatever it decides to do today, we will take the easy ride to Peg and Andy’s house where the cycling part of our travels will finish. To me, it’s a bit like Chris Froom cycling along the Champs-Elysées. The race has been won, there are just the final procedures to go through to achieve the desired goal.  There is much catching up to do with friends and relatives over the next week, which will be fun.

You know you're getting close to Liverpool when even the monuments are missing a wheel!

David was in the Crown Court today sitting with another magistrate and a judge. We said goodbye to him shortly after 9am as we prepared our gear for the ride. He said there was no need to rush off ourselves so when the rain started again we lingered and had some coffee and toast even though we’d shared breakfast with David earlier over more fascinating conversation.  Now that we were clean and dry, we were in no hurry to get cold and wet and the forecast said the day was supposed to clear up. Uploaded the blog and caught up with some other messages and info from home, before the skies cleared and we felt it was safe to head off.  

thanks David for welcoming us into your home.

We had found a traffic free cycle path on the Sustrans website that would take us to Neston and the easiest place to pick it up was Chester, so that was where we headed first.

Chester is a hugely historic town, so there are always tourists roaming the streets or walking the Roman walls. It was nice to be in a city that I used to come to as a teenager and it felt comfortable being there. The hustle and bustle, the chatter, in the distinct scouse-like way of talking. The weather was now fine with sunny spells. After buying a pub lunch, two steak and Guinness pies, mashed potato and peas, with gravy…delicious….we had a little wander around the shops before making the final ride to Little Neston. 

Conditions were now great for riding and we were able to take the traffic free cycleway at the river Dee, around the racecourse and out toward Queensferry. This was so relaxing with no traffic to contend with and a great way to finish our journey. I’m not sure when this route was established, but it’s a huge asset. There were plenty of walkers and cyclists on here even at 5pm on a Friday evening. Stopped near Deeside to munch on some wild blackberries growing at the side of the path, before travelling through an industrial area and then onto the marshland track…all sealed…heading past Burton and Ness, toward Little Neston.  It was the perfect way to end our trip – we even passed the sewage works in outer Chester and had a headwind all the way, just so we knew we were on the right track!

We even managed a brief stint in Wales!

As we approached The Harp pub, a lady walking her dog struck up conversation with us. She was amazed that we had travelled so far by bicycle and been on the road, living in a tent, for so long.  Up Marshlands Road, recognising now, the familiar streets from so long ago. In 1986, when we made our first cycle tour together, Peg and Andy’s house was our base where we could feel totally at home and relax. Julia had been sick on the first stages of that trip and I thought at the time that there was no way that she would resume the tour. But after a week of care by Peggy and a comfortable home in which to recover, she was keen and eager to go.  She has never looked back.

As we neared the house, there was Peg, standing outside. She had seen us coming. Soon Andy was with us and although we’ve seen them in New Zealand, this was our first time back at their house since 1989. It was much the same but the gardens have matured into a lovely area. The house was still as welcoming as it ever was and soon we were ensconced, enjoying the conversation that always flows freely when we get together, wherever that may be.

The finish line......and what an amazing ride it has been!  Thanks for enjoying it with us!!!

So, once again, our trip is at an end. The time has flown and now it’s back to resume our lives in NZ, with our families and Rufus, our dog. Really looking forward to seeing everyone again, but as with every tour we’ve done, we leave a piece of us, on the road. (In Julia’s case, the skin of her left knee and in mine, part of my chin and both knees!) For the next week, we’ll be enjoying time with these guys and meeting up with my old friends from teenage years. Relatives across the water are also on the list and I can imagine that time will pass quickly, before we journey to London, by train, to fly out of Heathrow, having caught up with friends in the capital.

I will be writing my reflections on the tour over the next week just to put the finishing touches on the blog. But for this journey….as that famous cartoon character Porky Pig would say…th th that’s all folks…!

28 July 2016 (cloudy with rain and patches of sun, mild) 10 km

What a great sleep….in a huge bed. Last time we slept in a bed that big was on our wedding night. I know most people are probably thinking….there wouldn’t have been much sleeping done on that night….but there was…we just crashed after a great, but exhausting wedding day.

Julia brought up a cup of tea initially, before we wandered downstairs to have breakfast with David. Once again the conversation flowed freely about an array of topics, but a lot about our business, Face to Face and how we began.  David and Jane also have a fitness business, but they used to own twenty one sandwich shops around the country and employed three hundred staff, so we pale into comparison and I felt a little silly discussing how we began, with someone obviously so experienced.

The plan today was to go into Chester and have a look around, both at the city itself and for some clothes….for Julia, I don’t require anything….perhaps my tailor would disagree…?  David left before we rode in, to go and help Jane’s mum, who was struggling with a problem. He is a very generous person, both with his home, in our case and with his time, as in hers and also as a Magistrate.

We spoke last night about putting out good vibes to people and good things coming back and Julia and I are firm believers in that respect. Today was a weird one weather-wise. One minute it was raining, next full sun, then cold, then mild…good old English summer.  Rode into Chester under overcast but dry conditions, until we reached the outskirts of the city centre, when it began to rain. 

Chester Cathedral

Had a wander to the Cathedral and was about to part with money….yes that’s right folks….pay to go in…(No set fee, just donation…so you can imagine how much……or little..?) when we were stopped in our tracks. An organ recital was about to take place, so no visitors until 2pm. I see it as a sign !!!  

After a walk around we decided to pop in for a pub lunch, so into The Red Lion for a nice meal and whilst Ju had a coffee, I had a Guinness.  The weather was still rubbish when we emerged, so into the shops to look for some gear for Julia. 

That took a couple of hours….the result being….nothing…not one item… but I must admit, some of the clothes were very average.  Apparently there are always more shops…? Not for someone who has spent his whole life in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Sometimes I feel like I must be related to Angus Young…out of AC/DC, except he plays guitar and is exceptionally talented, whereas I don’t…..and am not…

It was time to take ourselves back to the house. David, who is sixty-seven, plays bicycle polo. Tonight he is playing in Manchester, an hour away. Apparently it’s played in other countries, so perhaps NZ will get something going.  We used to play a similar version with bikes and a football when we were teenagers.  He left about 6pm for the hour long journey and we made ourselves an omelette seeing as we don’t get to consume many eggs on the road.  Then we checked directions for a cycle path to Neston, checked emails and loaded photos and wrote blogs. 

David returned from bike polo around 10.30pm and we sat in the kitchen relaying tales from our lives. He has led an amazing life and he had us captivated with some of the stories he had to tell. We have had a fantastic stay here and have met a person with a great outlook on life, a true gentleman and someone we hope to be able to remain in contact with. 

27 July 2016 (cloudy and mild) 57 km

After a night of gentle, but constant rain, we woke to a dry tent, at least on the inside. Our little dome had come through when it counted as there were no pergolas or overhangs to shelter under at this campsite. In fact, this was a pretty crappy site. Only one shower from three was working and costing a pound each, the smallest of toilets and still charging ten quid to pitch in a farmers field….oh and no bloody service on internet either.

Probably the last time we will use our tent.

After a cup of tea we got stuck into some cereal before packing up the tent. We didn’t have far to go to Chester, but without a map, we definitely dragged it out. I could remember the larger towns, but  little ones like Bickley, I had no idea where they were in relation to where we wanted to go. Hence, we followed the Cheshire Cycleway, which inevitably took us in a circle around Chester. However, the riding was easy, the scenery beautiful and the country lanes at least initially, free from traffic.

beautiful country cottages en route

Church at Malpas

Stopped for a coffee, pork pie and kit kat at Farndon Sports and Social Club. Eventually rode the old Chester Road into the town and as it was already 2pm and we didn’t have a place to stay, that was priority. Saw a Premier Inn, so went and checked it out. As the saying goes…”there was no room at the Inn “ and for eighty five pounds, even if there had been, I’d rather have slept in a manger…

Into the town centre to a Costa coffee place. We don’t realise just how lucky we are in NZ as I had to get a bridging loan to buy two cups of coffee and two of the smallest cakes you’ve ever seen. But, this wasn’t the issue, we still didn’t have anywhere to lay our hat, so onto Mr Google, after a load of hassle to get online and the hunt began. Didn’t take long to realise that all accommodation in Chester was full….but from people we asked, no one could think of anything special that was on. Julia sent off a couple of requests to stay on the Warm Showers site, but nothing at first came up. It was now late afternoon and we were looking at the only option being to cycle South, the opposite direction that we wanted to go, to get a campground outside the town about 10km away. However, a lot of camps in England are members only, so we had that to consider. At the final hour, Ju received a Warm Showers reply from a man called David, who very kindly offered to host us. Grabbed the bikes, which contrary for this North West regions reputation, were still there…tee hee including the wheels and rode out to his house.

Followed the canal system until a lady suggested we go another way and then a guy suggested we go another way still…..eventually we found our way to David Mann’s home.  

A lovely home with nice grounds in a pleasant setting.  He was on his own for a week as his partner Jane, who happens to be a fitness trainer, was staying at their daughter’s house in Spain. David was extremely welcoming and we spent the rest of the evening talking about our cycling adventures, over a drink and then he cooked a delicious meal, during which we carried on the conversation with a glass of wine. We had a beautiful bedroom with a king size bed and ensuite as well as a garage for our bikes.  Our luck on this tour has been astounding and the people we have met have been amazing.  It would have been really nice to have met Jane as well, but David was the perfect host and we spoke freely about a range of topics, before calling it a day around 11pm.

26 July 2016 (cloudy and mild) 62 km

Today our target is a little pub campground in a place called Wrenbury, about 50km from Telford. The weather is overcast and rain is forecast, but I think for tomorrow.  What we intend to do is to stay one night at the campsite and then get a hotel in Chester for the next three nights, giving ourselves a chance to look around this beautiful old town as well as check out some of the numerous bike shops as we think we will buy new gear for our next trip – yes that’s right, next trip.  We are still loving it and think cycletouring is THE way to travel. 

We were up early and downstairs for a cuppa. Julia’s phone is now connected and her plan includes a trillion texts…a million talking hours and a hundred million mgs of data…..or something like that. Whatever the amount, for ten quid, it is sufficient.  Had some breakfast and did the dishes before getting our gear together, ready to hit the road. 

We found our way out into the country easily and started heading from village to village along the quiet country lanes.  The cycling was great and the weather perfect. The surface was flat to slightly undulating and although we did have a headwind a bit later on, it was more of a breeze. 

the University at Edgmond

At Edgmond we met a couple of ladies and asked them about the lovely old university we’d just passed. It had advertised that it had been voted university of the year, by the students and I have to say it was a beautiful facility. They, however, seemed to think that it had been rigged as they get a lot of overseas students going there. 

Found the Shropshire Union Canal at Knighton and jumped on here for a rather uncomfortable 4kms. Spoke to a guy, his wife and grandson who had a gorgeous forty year old mahogany river cruiser, who told us where to get off for Market Drayton. 

Market Drayton

Once off,  the riding was very pleasant. After picking up supplies in Market Drayton, we asked a guy where Norton in Hales was. Received perfect directions, although they came with a warning.  “Ooh it’s a fair old bike ride”, he said.   “It must be about 4 miles away”.  We smiled to ourselves and and off we set.  

Not too much later on we stopped for lunch and pushed our bikes down onto the towpath to sit on our groundsheet, next to a canal bridge as the narrowboats filed on by. It was quite busy actually, but very scenic.

The afternoon shift took us to Swanbach and Aston and also covered some delightful country lane riding, in fact it was, for me the best riding of our time in England. The scenery and buildings were lovely and the fields and hedgerows were straight out of a painting. 

Around 4.15pm, we cruised up to the Cotton Arms, the pub, who have a campground connected. Paid our fees and pitched in a large field next to a couple and their son in a caravan, from the Wirral.  After Julia had chatted to them, she came back and told me about their twelve week old Tibetan Terrier, called Alfie. I then wandered across for a good catch up about the Wirral and Liverpool. Back at the tent, Ju had fallen asleep, so I got on with typing the day’s events.

Debated whether to go to the pub for dinner but in the end decided to cook up our can of minced beef and gravy with corn and pasta – and very nice it was too.  As we finished our coffee and muffin, it started to rain so we got a new stormcover ready (i.e. cut up a rubbish bag) in readiness if the tent started to leak, before we settled in for the night.

25 July 2016 (cloudy and warm) 0 km

Tahlia and Duncan had asked if we would like to stay another day, to which we gratefully said “Yes”. We are both feeling tired after months of cycling every day and very, very appreciative of any chance to sleep in a bed!  It has also been wonderful seeing our niece and her boyfriend and enjoying their company.  Basically we just wanted a catch up day to chill and get important things done like have a haircut.  Julia spent about an hour with her miniature sewing scissors and a comb after the electric trimmer died fifteen minutes into the job.

We suddenly realised we’re nearly at our final destination so tossed up whether to take a trip around Wales but didn’t fancy the hills!  So we have decided to ride into Chester and stay there a couple of nights and maybe treat ourselves to a hotel as the weather isn’t supposed to be that good over the next few days. 

We were going to cycle into Telford today to have a look at the shops but Tahlia offered to drop us off as she was fearful the bikes may get stolen.  So at midday she and Duncan dropped us at the shops and we had a wander around the mall which is huge and has a great variety of shops. Julia wanted to get her mobile phone up and going for the last couple of weeks in England so a visit to the Vodafone store was first. We were also keen to find an updated version of a cycling book we had thirty years ago called Cyclist’s Britain, but no luck.

Tahlia and Duncan picked us up at 3pm and took us to Tesco Extra where we all had a bit of a browse after a delicious coffee at Costa.  Ju and I then bought all the goods we would need for lasagne and we all went back to Duncan’s parent’s house. 

At home Ju and I busied ourselves in the kitchen before we all sat down to a nice meal, complemented with good conversation and some laughs.  Watched some television and revised our last few days on the road before hitting the sack.

24 July 2016 (sun, cloud, rain, warm) 0 km

Another sleep in a real bed. It really does feel like we’re coming to the end of our tour now. We reckon it will only take another two days to reach Peg and Andy’s in Little Neston and that will conclude the riding, then it will be catching up with relatives and friends, before we catch the train to London on the morning of the 7^th where we will spend the last couple of days at a hotel, boxing up the bikes and meeting old friends.

Downstairs, where we chatted and potted around as Duncan and Tahlia made us a lovely breakfast of bacon and eggs, before we just spent the remainder of the morning sitting around talking. Managed to get hold of Briana and Jarryd on Skype which was great as we haven’t spoken for a while. They both look good and Briana gave us a run down on her new job which sounds like it will involve working with nice people in a very nice location. Jarryd too, is enjoying his diving, so life in Oz is going well for them. We miss them and hope to be able to visit them at some point in the near future.

Then it was Georgina and Brady’s turn to chat. It was late in NZ by the time we spoke, but both of them were going out to play Pokemon Go, this huge phenomenon that has swept the world very recently. The fact that it was nearly midnight on a Sunday, didn’t seem to register that they probably should maybe get some sleep…? Brody, it seems may have a bout of tonsillitis and he didn’t sound too good, but looked okay. He has a new job, which sounds like he’s enjoying and is going well, so we’re relieved about that. Georgina is just getting over a cold and is now looking for a job. The house, from what we could see, is still standing, at least parts of it is.

the famous Iron Bridge

Lovely church at Ironbridge

Duncan and Tahlia had been very patient with us as they wanted to take us out to Ironbridge. A village on the river Severn at the heart of Ironbridge gorge . In 1779 a thirty metre bridge was constructed taking two years to complete. The arch bridge was the first of its kind in the world to be made of cast iron. We drove there in Duncan’s pride and joy, a new BMW m135i and very nice it was too. White, with black interior and red leather seats and all the extras. Great ride. Earlier, Tahlia had shown me her new Fiat 500, also very nice, white with black and white interior.

Didn’t take too long to get to where we were going and after a drive through we stopped in at The Half Moon for a drink outside by the river. It was full sunshine and I’d forgotten my hat…duh!   Then it was a drive to take some photos of the bridge and a nice church, before driving to Atcham, where we partook in another drink at the Mytton Mermaid, before a drive home. By now it was raining, although on and off.

Duncan and Tahlia prepared a leg of lamb for dinner with vegetables and rolls, which was delicious before we settled in for the night, spent chatting and listening to music, capped off with some Pink Floyd Live at the Albert Hall 95.

23 July 2016 (sunny and hot) 124 km

Woke to a nice morning and also a sodden tent, due to condensation. I also woke to a sore throat and a cold, not what was required for the distance we had to travel today, to reach our niece’s place in Telford. We’d estimated that after our travels along the canal yesterday, we still had about 90km to go.  The tow paths are fine if you are moving in between single villages, but this is not something we’ll do again for a long distance after today.

By 6.30am we’d made the decision that after a walk I’d taken late last night, we would get on the roads and try to make up some time, before the traffic began. 3km away lay the village of Stockton, tick that one off…not many around at this time, but got directions from a runner and it was up the only hill in the place to a B road, which took us to Southam where we asked a guy at the local garage what he thought. For the early hour he suggested to make some time on the A road to Coventry, which we did.  By 7.15am we were flying along with minimal road users. However, joining up with a busier A45, about 7km out of Coventry, had us on our toes, as traffic flashed by within inches and enjoyable riding had gone.  Because we’d left the canal system we were now resigned to staying on the road until Birmingham, where we hoped to pick it up again – and hoped it would be in good condition seeing as it went through a major city.  Spied a McDonald’s as we entered Coventry and decided to contact Tahlia to give her info on what time to expect us. Bought a rubber breakfast and found no connection available.  That pissed us off…it’s the only reason we go there.  Back on the A45 again and now it was dicey. To all intents and purposes…this was motorway. No breaks in traffic and breakneck speed…..Because there are entry and exit ramps, you have to be so aware of vehicle movement. If nothing else, it was adrenalin pumping for an hour and a half. Road works meant cones at certain points narrowed the road to single lane and where we could, we’d go inside the cones to give more space. Arrived on the outskirts of Birmingham just before 10am and by now it was too dangerous to ride the road. Into a Morrison’s supermarket to buy some food for later and decided to ride the footpaths into the city centre where we hoped to pick up the canals again.  

Birmingham is a city of two million people and is massive, yet compared to London it’s small.  Footpath riding, aside from being slow is also very bumpy as you’re up and down from road to path and the surfaces were crap.  

With our patience running thin, we came across the path for the Grand Union Canal, two miles from the city centre, where we breathed a sigh of relief and hit the tow path, which was in good repair. Of course, coming into a city of this size are a number of canals, so we were conscious of taking a minute to choose the right one. All along the route we were snapping photos. 

We think they are great, but they don’t show how filthy the water is, the huge amount of rubbish lining the way or the dodgy characters that live and frequent these sub road travelways. We were constantly coming across guys drinking and milling around areas, sleeping rough, whilst the filthy water is just a few feet away.

Mixed in with all of this are people walking the paths to work or running, cycling or maybe just sitting staring at the graffiti lining the bridges or watching as the narrowboats cruise along to the next lock. It is a world within a world.  We, by now were making good time, with only the cobbled bridges slowing us down, or the odd path gate we had to negotiate.  We had to watch out for our directions as there are a lot of canals meeting in Birmingham but there were always people around to ask.  I asked one guy, who happened to be black, the way to Wolverhampton and Telford.  I was surprised when he said “Ooh it’s a long way.  That’s Black Country up there”.  I’m thinking ‘have you looked in the mirror lately?’  Found out later that is not what he meant at all – apparently it is so named for all the coalmining that used to go on in the area.

The middle of Birmingham is beautiful and shows how good the canals can look.

As we left Birmingham on the tow path for Wolverhampton, the state of repair diminished, but nothing like out in the country. By 1.30pm, we were sitting on a grassy area, well back from the canal by a suburb of Wolves, eating some lunch and drying out our tent and fly sheet.  

So far, so good…but anything can happen.  

Into the city centre, a little confused as to what road to choose when I spy the signs for Telford and even though it’s a B road, decide to take it.  At the same time, Julia sees a coin phone box and we give Tahlia a call to give her and boyfriend Duncan an idea of arrival time. 

This road was great, not too busy and we made good time all the way to the town of Spifnal, where after a small pork pie and an ice cream, we got directions from a nice fella, for Telford. This took us past RAF Cosford, who had some sort of open day on, although we didn’t stop. Eventually into Telford, looking for the back roads to take us to Tahlia’s place. Amazing how few people know the way to somewhere when they only ever use the major roads. After a period of to-ing and fro-ing, we finally, at 7pm rolled up to their doorway, tired after a massive 124km ride, but very pleased to see Tahlia. It was also great to meet Duncan, who is an extremely nice guy and you can see that they are both very happy. They are staying at Duncan’s parents place for a couple of weeks, looking after their dog, whilst they are on holiday in Hungary and Italy. 

After a drink and showers, we spent the evening enjoying a beautiful meal of prawns, chicken and lovely salad, prepared by both of them. A spa was just the perfect end to a long, tiring day, but one in which we were able to see just how much these two care for each other. It was a fun evening with some sightseeing and a cooked breakfast planned for tomorrow. 

22 July 2016 (sunny and hot) 79 km

So will Mark’s name be Mud, or will he turn out to be the Cycle Tourer’s Guru when it comes to suggesting bike paths…….

I was awake at 6am so set to loading yesterday’s photos onto the computer and then uploading the blog which I finished about 6.30am.  Handed the computer to Pete who started writing yesterday’s blog while I went downstairs to make us a cup of tea, which I brought back upstairs.  I started sorting things out and packing while Pete wrote and when the others rose at 7.30am, we went downstairs for breakfast.  

How cute are these guys?

Had muesli with Lesley while Mark took the dogs out, then a cappuccino and croissants – very nice. 

Rang Virgin Rail as we had booked train tickets to London but they hadn’t shown up in our email so sorted that out and then Ray came round to say goodbye.  We have had a lovely stay and needed a good rest as when we worked out our route to our next destination, we realised it was going to be 200km and we only have two days to get there.  Well we could take longer but we really want to get there on the weekend so we can spend some quality time with our niece.

So this is where Mark comes in.  We had been thinking the best way to get to our niece’s place in Telford was via the canal as there is a towpath along all canals.  We really wanted to avoid all the traffic if at all possible, even if it meant taking longer.  So Mark said there was an old railway that had been converted to a cycle route which started at Arthingworth Village, about 3 km from their place.  It would take us all the way to Northampton where we could then join the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union Canal.  All we needed to do was follow it down to Warwick and then up to Birmingham from there, then Wolverhampton and finally Telford.  It is a very indirect route, to put it mildly, but we figured it would be worth it.  The big unknown with canals however, is the surface of the towpath.  And the big danger is going in the wrong direction when you come to a junction.

But first of all we had the Brampton Valley Way to find and cycle down to Northampton, about 25km away.  We bid goodbye to Mark, Lesley and Ray at ten to ten (fittingly enough – family joke), and luckily I had also been listening to the directions as Pete wanted to turn left at the end of the road instead of right!

Pete here….I was jesting…anyway, onto the road out of Desborough, past the football club, left on Arthingworth Rd, which we then followed through the village until we reached the old railway line. Heaved the bikes up a flight of stairs and set off for Northampton. 

We had to walk most of this tunnel due to the uneven surface, the length of it and the total darkness,

The going was slow initially as we had to negotiate a pitch black tunnel, but once through there we picked up pace. The track was okay in parts and not so good in others. Came across a number of dog walkers, runners and other cyclists. About 4km shy of Northampton, we stopped to enjoy some ham buns that Lesley had made for us, along with a cup of coffee.  By now it was 12pm, so on we went into the town itself. Fortunately we had signs to direct us into the city centre and then we asked people where the canal was.  Into a Morrison’s supermarket to pick up supplies for later, then after a couple of false starts, we found the right path and we were off. Asked boaters along the way as the canal branches off, but we were fine.

A bit bumpy here, but no too bad

To begin with the towpath was adequate….that was as good as it got all day…Then, for the rest of the day, which didn’t end, as far as cycling went, until 7.40pm, the path was bloody awful for most of the 50 odd km we were on it. In many parts, we were riding literally on the bank, not two feet from the water, not able to move further over because of the nettles and brambles which were scratching our arms and legs to pieces. 

Tough going here - about 9 kph

Sometimes you felt sure you were going in the canal and it was only masterful control and sheer brilliance on both our parts, that prevented it. We left modesty back in Desborough..!  We were meeting and greeting all sorts of people, from those on the narrowboats, to those moored at the side. 

Canal dog walkers, normal walkers etc. Because of the state of the path….and that’s a very loose terminology, it was mainly a grass track with some mud chucked in for good measure….we were only averaging 10km per hour.  We wanted to cover as much distance as possible, but as time went on and the light cast shadows, it was quite dangerous.  At Braunston we came off the track to cycle up a hill into the village, to pick up some more food.

Nice bridge but we were more excited about the sealed path - which lasted about five minutes.

Braunston Junction

Had a quick pork pie and cup of milk each about 6pm before rejoining the towpath.  We had considered going by road but we didn’t have any directions to follow.  At least there’s not too many turn-offs on the canal and all are sign-posted anyway.  And if we have any doubts, other people are always around, cruising slowly and very accessible to ask directions.  If there’s one thing that made us feel better about going so slowly, it was at least we were going faster than those canal boats!

Taking a break in the shade and feeling pretty shattered.

Five miles upriver we came across Napton Junction and also a campground.  Even though we hadn’t done as many kilometres as we wanted, we were both tired, so decided to camp here.  Tent up then Ju showered while I set up the inside of the tent then she blogged while I showered.  Ju then cooked us a delicious dinner of chilli con carne with pasta and meatballs while I blogged.  It was again very hot today and both of us have a heatrash on the tops of our thighs.

So on reflection, was taking the towpath a good idea?  All in all I’d say it was.  We had absolutely no traffic and that is worth so much.  We also had a lot of shade and in this heat, that was very welcome!  It was also flat all the way and again, in this heat you do not want to be cycling up hills in blazing sunshine.  

Yes it was annoying dealing with the weeds and the mud and the fact we didn’t get as far as we wanted, but it was a lovely way to see some more of the English countryside and this gentle way of life people have on the canal boats.