Bike Touring in SW England - Epilogue

Here's our top 15 countdown of things we loved, appreciated and found to be blessings to our wonderful bike adventure, in no particular order (save for #1):

15.  British, Australian and Scottish versions of the English language
14.  Vistas characterized by specimen trees and stone walls
13.  Thousands of really cute sheep, not to mention other wonderful critters (see photos following)

Not only a shot of free-range ducks, but a view of the pack load too!

Peter's sharp eye caught this fox hunting in the fields

The grace of swans in every town stream and pond

Those cute sheep in the amazing sunlight

Gorgeous deer in full flight

12.  Nothing but courteous encounters with autos and farm vehicles, regardless of the road size.

11.  Seeing my cousins in Bath (and soon to see my aunt and uncle in Ealing tonight!)

10.  Still considering each other the best possible traveling companions

9.   Ending every day with a local English ale

8.   Only one flat tyre - and no other mechanical problems (yes tyre, that's the UK spelling)

7.   Evensong at Wells Cathedral

6.   Helpful advice and directions from locals

5.   No illness or injury

4.   Cream teas (which includes clotted cream, amazing stuff!)

3.   Never getting lost despite numerous navigational challenges

2.   "Specky" views in the Cotswolds (as described by a charming local who gave us our fave word of the trip)

AND

1.    Not a single, solitary drop of rain!!!!

Thanks again to all who followed along, and especially to those who wrote comments and sent emails of encouragement and support.  Special thanks to Carolyn and Roger for watching the home front, and Mike and Ruthie for keeping us blogging (and laughing!).

Flying home tomorrow!

Love, June and Peter

The Tour is Complete!

A very short post as my wifi time is almost done - we made it back to Bath easily today - had a wonderful rest stop at mile 30 in Castle Combe, film setting for Doctor Dolittle and one Hercule Poirot feature in July 1999 - such a wonderfully serene and picturesque place!

"Main Street" - Castle Combe

It was the easiest bike day, fittingly - 43 miles, no major climbs and a tailwind - no rain.  Must have set a record there for a 13 day bike tour, not a drop!

Will do a postscript blog in a day or two, now time to sign off - thanks for following!

Our Penultimate Day of Bike Touring - Cirencester

Did an achingly beautiful 25 mile loop east of Cirencester to Bibury and still had time to visit the museum in Cirencester, stroll in the beautiful park (loved watching the dogs at play) and then sip another fine glass of ale and enjoy pub grub at The Crown.  Tomorrow we ride back to Bath, our starting point (oh so long ago on Sunday Sept. 6th).  Amazing to say we never once put on any rain gear!  Here are some photos of today's wonders:

Shades of Brigadoon (Coln Rogers village)

Cotswold cow doing day care duty for 6 calves

Peter admires the oft-photographed and legendary Arlington Row in Bibury

Standing in a cottage dorway for a sense of scale

Back at the rear gardens of our B & B in time to explore Cirencester

A beautiful vista of the church from the park

A happy patron of The Crown pub

The church illuminated in the setting sun as we head back to our lodgings

Forty-two miles left to Bath, it's all ending too soon!

Tales of Tailwinds

Yawn - another day of superlatives, to bore my readers - no trials and tribulations, just more wonderful experiences that encompass the landscape, the people, the weather, the route, the lodgings, the historic sites and the food & drink.

Hard to explain how steep this really is!

We left Stow-on-Wold after another hearty brekkie that included scrambled eggs and salmon - can you tell we are not suffering much? And the coffee has been universally wonderful - always served in a French press and so rich. It is jet fuel for the first 2 hours of biking every day!

We stopped in two absolutely charming towns along the 36-mile route - Windrush and Northleach. Windrush was a total unknown, but when we arrived something just grabbed us about its aura and we stopped to poke around.

Windrush - a great aura

Northleach was the designated lunch stop based on the route itinerary - we had originally intended to visit its "Rural Life Museum" but found out from the locals that it closed in 2002, and subsequent efforts to revive it failed as the funding was diverted to the Cirencester museum. But the town itself was so sweet - I snuck another photo of Peter sketching while seated in the churchyard (which doubled as our picnic area); this is followed by the scene he was rendering. I wandered around and enjoyed the feel of a small village with charm not besmirched by heavy tourism.

The sketcher at work

The scene he sketched

Our next destination was the National Trust's Chedworth Roman Villa site. If this intrigues you beyond my short exposition, go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chedworthromanvilla - lots of great pictures and info.

It is a 1,700 year old site of a Romano-British villa, discovered by Victorian-era landowners who later donated the site to the National Trust. Wonderful mosaics, incredible grounds and so much remaining to be excavated. Apparently the Victorians did the best they knew how in their original efforts, but many of the excavated sites were poorly catalogued and their real purposes were obscured by poor archaeological practices.

When we left the Villa we came upon an incredible number of pheasants (not peasants) sharing the fields with the sheep. They were in the road, in the hedges, in the fields - hundreds everywhere! Never seen anything like it in my life. No wonder "the shooting lodge" was a fixture in this area - so many birds!

Pheasants outnumbering sheep - wow!

The real biker's dream came after some heavy climbing out of the Roman Villa valley (they located the villa at a spring, a low-lying area in the hills) - we crested with about 7 miles left to Cirencester and almost did not turn the pedal cranks again! We had downhill and a tailwind exceeding 15 mph right into the Market Square.

Our B & B for the next 2 nights is called the Old Brewhouse - lovingly and extensively restored to a 10-room inn. We are enjoying the wonders of modern life (like WiFi) along with 17th-century walls! To add, Rose the innkeeper has two (English) cocker spaniels and one is named Bess! Kismet all the way around, and I have had a welcome "dog-love session" already, no extra charge.

Pub dinner again at the Twelve Bells Alehouse, a really "local" spot our Rose recommended. We left stuffed to the gills with fish and chips (bad pun, sorry) and mushy peas. Tomorrow we ride unpacked to Bibury and back, and visit the Corinium Museum locally.

I'm assuming it will be another great day - a safe bet!

Layover Day in Stow-On-Wold

Guess it does say something about increased cyclng fitness when you consider a hilly 29-mile ride without panniers a rest day - woo-hoo!  We decided to do the "short loop" to Chipping Norton to the east, as it was purported to be far less hilly than riding north to Chipping Camden - guess hilly is a relative term in the Cotswolds!

Before leaving town we stopped to visit the Roman Well just outside of Stow - apparently it was the only source of potable water until the late 1800's, when a town benefactor had a deep well dug for the village.  Peter loves this history stuff (and so do I!).

The Stow well - dates from Roman times!

The ride to Chipping Norton was very scenic despite some cool, cloudy weather as a backdrop.  Chipping Norton was not quite as charming as we had hoped, but we did spot our #1 favorite pub name of the trip thus far:

One of the features of the loop was a 4,500-year-old stone circle a few miles outside of Chipping Norton in the corner of a field.  We continue to be very intrigued at all the mysterious sites of ancient times.

Stone Circle near Chipping Norton

We had some easier going on the second half of the circuit with the wind at our backs - I spotted an English Cocker Spaniel in one small village and had to stop and chat with her owner about the wonderful qualities of the breed - and I miss our Bess, so the short "hit of dog" was very welcome.

June meets Sally the English Cocker

The great part about a shorter, unburdened ride is that you have time and energy to visit your home base town a little more in depth - we quickly cleaned up and grabbed the B & B's copy of the Stow-on-Wold walking tour, and away we went!  The next two pictures give a feel of this charming spot:, reknowed for centuries as a market and wool-trading center:

June stands in Fleece Alley - 4 feet wide - to channel the sheep to the Market Square

A feel for the charm of Cotswold stone buildings in Stow

Peter had a chance to sketch both at the B & B and in Stow - hopefully I will post one tomorrow.

We ended our village walking tour back at the Eagle & Child pub, had a pint and a chicken pie (the pub food is so good!) and then back to the B & B to read - and blog!  Tomorrow the packs are back on the bikes as we head to Cirencester for another 2-night stay - only 3 biking days left, can hardly believe it!

Say it in Pictures...

Guess I'm running out of superlatives to describe the biking we've experienced today.  Each day tops the last and I'm simply wracking my brain to come up with prose that even comes close to doing justice to it all.  The highlight of today was meeting a local Cotswold gentleman out walking his Border Terrier "Willow" - he was so warm and engaging, looked at our route plan and totally approved, and after we parted ways he called out "the views will be specky!" (translation - the views will be spectacular - he was not only right, he gave us the favorite phrase of our trip to date).

So, in keeping with the "specky" spirit, I am posting a series of photos I hope will capture, at least in part, the wonders of the Cotswolds.  We did 43 uber-hilly miles and were still smiling right to the end as we arrived at the South Hill Farmhouse B & B in Stow-on-the-Wold.  Hope you enjoy the eye travel!

The climbs were always rewarding!

The sheep have quite the life here

Peter relaxes in front of the hearth after lunch at the Mill Inn

The Mill Inn - charming in every way possible

Cotswold beauty at every turn

June is totally in love with the sheep

We spotted 10 deer in the fields and they took off in beautiful flight

Specky Views, right-o!

Charm of Bourton-on-the-Water

Our dinner destination in Stow-on-Wold- fish and chips, a pint and history!

Off to bed - tomorrow we loop up to Chipping Camden, and if we have the legs and the time we will try to make it to Chipping Norton as well. 

Just another note - I have to say that Peter is the most amazing travel partner - photographer, fixer of flat tires (had our first today, of course a rear wheel so all packs had to come off!, historian, master of navigation AND pretty funny too!  How could I get so lucky.  Never would be here doing this without him - thanks Peter!

Today we cycled from Devizes to Tetbury, which marks the "crossover" from the Wessex region and Wiltshire to the Cotswolds. We departed Rosemundy Cottage via the canal towpath trail we had scouted yesterday - Peter did a lovely sketchof the view from the landing of the B & B along the canal. We were sorry to have to leave so soon.

Canal Bridge from Rosemundy Cottage

The towpath was still teeming with action along the Caen Hill locks - the boats are so interesting and it appears a goodly number serve as full-time housing for their skippers. Don't think I could do that, but it has some appeal for a short stay.

Canal Boat on the move

We biked about 15 miles west and north to the town of Lacock - Lacock Abbey and the Fox Talbot Museum are the main attractions, as well as a totally intact town which has changed little from the 17th century. It was given as a whole town and surrounds to the National Trust in 1944. We loved the Abbey grounds and were in awe of the "specimen trees" and their age and grandeur.

Lacock Abbey - view of south facade

Peter is the tiny red speck to the left of the tree!

The Abbey has an interesting history which includes Henry VIII tossing out all the nuns and granting the Abbey and grounds to private owners. One included Fox Talbot, who was the inventor of the photographic negative process. Loved the museum and learning about the history of photography from one inventor's vantage point.

The ride from Lacock to Tetbury was absolutley lovely with no taxing climbs - there was just one beautiful vista after another and so many gorgeous horses to look at - definitely passing through the heart of horse country with stud farms and equestrian centers.

We arrived in Tetbury at our B & B feeling great - cleaned up and had a marvelous dinner at The Priory in Tetbury - much to admire about their menu, as they aim to source all of their food offerings from within 30 miles of the restaurant. All the food was wonderful, especially the vanilla ice cream! I had a pint of Tunnel Vision ale just because the name was so cool - and it was delicious too.

Tomorrow brings the much-anticipated Cotswold hills to Stow on Wold - should have had 2 desserts tonight!

Left Amesbury on Thursday morning 9/10 with bright sunshine and cool temperatures. Judging by the consistent stories we're hearing from our various hosts, this wonderful weather is a huge piece of good fortune - apparently August was cold, cloudy and torrentially rainy for almost the entire month and July not much better. We are thanking the bike touring gods!

The bike to Devizes (pronounced Dee'-vizes) was very relaxing and relatively flat - and only about 27 miles. We saw some wonderful vistas such as "Strawhenge", and one of the many White Horses etched into the hillsides. Apparently this White Horse phenomenon is fairly recent (20th century) and the thin topsoil of the hills has an abundance of chalky rock underneath, thus the idea was born. They are fun to see looming up on the landscape!

"Strawhenge" - a lesser-known historic site

White Horse, one of many

We arrived at Rosemundy Cottage in Devizes (http://www.rosemundycottage.co.uk/ - a lovely, lovely place we would highly recommend to anyone), but too early to check in. As we were less than a mile from the town center and it was Market Day, we rode into the thick of things - the tourist info center was extremely friendly and accomodating, and gave us a secure spot to lock the loaded bikes and do the town with good maps.

We walked about and settled in the only pub with Wifi just to snack and send off emails. We also visited the Shire Horses kept at the Wadworth Brewery stables, Devizes' local brewery - amazing creatures, huge and beautiful! We got the lay of the land well enough to see that our B & B was located right on the Kennet and Avon Canalway, and the towpath serves as part of the National Bike Route - so charming! We decided then and there to make up our own loop for Friday to include seeing the Caen Hill Locks (amazing set of canal locks - 29 of them rising 237 feet in 2 miles!).

Caen Hill Canal Locks

We had tea at the B & B, a wonderful Italian dinner in Devizes, and of course a delicious English breakfast at Rosemundy Cottage on Friday morning. We set off west on the canal towpath as planned and loved seeing all the interesting canal boats. It is obvious that this particular waterway is somewhat a Mecca for canal boaters - lots of them tied up the whole 8+ miles we biked of the towpath!
Our destination was Bowood House (http://www.bowood-house.co.uk/) - we wanted to see as many grand manor homes as the route would allow so we "made up" a route to get there which inclded one absolutely epic climb! Thank goodness we left the packs at our lodgings, would have never made it with them on.

Bowood House

Bowood was a great contrast to Longleat House that we described a few days back - built in the 18th century versus the 15th, and much more understated in its setting and presentation (think Longleat as "Disney Channel" and Bowood as "BBC Drama"). We toured the rooms that included the room/laboratory of the man who discovered oxygen (he was a tutor to the resident sons of the lord), and also really enjoyed an extrodinary collection of paintings and drawings. The gardens were beautiful and Peter had a great sketching break before it was time to ride back to the Cottage.

My favorite Bowood garden sculpture

Peter sketches the Bowood profile from the gardens

Tired but happy we arrived back with about 36 hilly miles under our saddles, plus with another plan to modify tomorrow's route to include more of the canal towpath - loved that ride! Time for dinner and a good rest before tomorrow's ride to Tetbury and the start of the Cotswold portion of our route.

I've given Peter a new title after today's tour - "Henry the Navigator" (Henry is Peter's middle name) - with a few hours of effort last night we greatly modified our route to include Salisbury Cathedral, which was not on the Iron Donkey tour route. Having no cue sheets or detailed maps, we Googled and zoomed, and Peter sketched maps by hand until we were convinced we could wander off on our own and still make it to Stonehenge and our B & B in reasonable time.

And the day was a total success. The terrain was relatively flat and the scenery very bucolic - I even tried to make peace with a local pig named Ginger; she's been quite worried that her reputation has been ruined by the H1N1 virus. Peter chatted with a local thatcher and later on that day took a great photo of roof thatching in progress.

Consoling Ginger re/swine flu

The art of Thatching

Salisbury Cathedral was just as wonderful as I remember from my first and only visit in 1980. Seeing one of only four remaining copies of the Magna Carta (housed in the cathedral's Chapter House) was so moving. I love the setting of the cathedral; like Wells it has a wonderful surrounding green. The scale of it is magnificent!

June is dwarfed by Salisbury Cathdral's grandeur

We left the cathedral at about 2:30 and arrived at our B & B at about 3:30 PM. Leaving our heavy packs, we rode west to Stonehenge. This was also my second visit to the site but the first where we only could view it from a circular grass path around its perimeter - too many visitors had defaced the stones to allow continued touching access. But the Audio Tour was great and we learned a great deal about the site and its mysterious history. Peter had a great Zen moment I captured for posterity.

The force is with Peter at Stonehenge

Then it was back to home base after a 34 mile day, at the lovely Mandalay B & B in Amesbury. Cleaned up, dined at a pub, watched some England vs. Croatia World Cup soccer, and then did some reading/blogging. Time for some sleep to prepare for Devizes!

I should know better than to start a blog entry at nearly 11 PM, but so many things happened today that were more than fortuitous I felt compelled to at least start now and finish tomorrow AM...

We headed into central Wells again after breakfast, packing and goodbyes to Paul our host at the B & B. As Peter was sketching at the Vicar's Close, he was thrilled to see one of the choir members from yesterday's Evensong walking by, and complimented him on the singing. The compliment was received with surprisingly grateful appreciation, which Peter so enjoyed.

Vicar's Close, Wells (Peter Sketch)

We visited the Bishop's Palace, a wonderful castle-like structure surrounded by a moat and lovely gardens within. We "hit the road" just before noon and after leaving outer Wells began a great deal of climbing - happily the weather remains ideal for us as it is overcast and cool but not cold.

We did a strenuous 23 miles before a stop in Maiden Bradley for a late lunch - so late that at first it looked as if the Somerset Arms pub was no longer serving. But as our luck would have it, the pub owner and her parents were lunching at the next table, and when I noticed their spectacular Great Dane "Henry" lying on the floor beside them the bond was made! The owner had sandwiches and drinks served up and we had a lovely conversation about dogs, Wells, and the joys of traveling. The calories were a life-saver and Henry was a highlight (he weighs 11 stone, or 154 lbs!).

Father of Pub Owner, Henry the Great Dane, and June

Thus fortified we went on, and the terrain eased gradually. We had written of f visiting the famous site of Longleat House, thinking that according to the route we would arrive too lateto gain admission. But more kismet struck. As we conferred at the crossroads of a route checkpoint, two charming schoolchildren engaged us in conversation about our travels. They said "you ARE going to Longleat House, aren't you?" They proceeded to point out that unlike our mapped route, the actual entry (accessible only by cyclists and staff) was directly in front of us! We were ecstatic to cycle down a small lane, through the original entry gate and behold the splendor of Longleat House - I encourage you to visit the website if you are curious at www.longleat.co.uk/longleat-house.html.

I was 1/2 mile from the house from here!

(I expected to run into Mr. Darcy at any moment...)

We had about an hour to tour the house and it worked out perfectly. We also figured out a shortcut to allow us to get to the Resting Post B & B in Hetesbury by 6 PM, our latest designated arrival time. The route flattened and the wind was at our backs, and the shortcut was perfect - we arrived at 5:45 PM, and sat down at the Red Lion to a pub-grub and cider dinner by 7:30 PM. We love the fact there's just 2 pubs and no other attractions!

The "Red Lion" Peter at the Red Lion Pub

The rest of the evening was spent plotting our alternatives for tomorrow's ride - we decided to detour off to Salisbury to see the cathdral (last I visited was 1980, wonder what I will remember of it) and then make our way to the next B & B in Amesbury, just 2 miles out from Stonehenge. We will visit this iconic site tomorrow afternoon if time allows - otherwise, it will wait until Thursday morning we're sure!