All Photos Here
Andover to Liverpool Sept 2009 - a set on FlickrSunday 20th SeptemberUp fairly early, breakfast and spend time chatting to other YACFers around the campsite. I have 3 bottles of beer to give away, a surprisingly hard task....
Get away about 10:30, riding with Deano, who is also going to Stonehenge. Despite (or because of) my shiny new GPS we manage to get lost in Andover..... Eventually we find the right route and pass through Tidworth and Durrington to Larkhill from where we follow a dirt road to Stonehenge. A quick bite to eat from the cafe and then we join the throng marveling at the stones.
Deano heads off on his own towards Bristol. I return to Larkhill and follow the road until it joins a singletrack road going across the Salisbury Plain training area. No red flags are up, but there are lots off notices telling you not to leave the road or pick anything up. I see one spent shell at the side of the road and give it a wide berth. Eerie riding, it’s quite beautiful, with big skies but incredibly quiet. I see 2 cars and a motorbike during the crossing.
Rejoining the road network I pass through Churton, Marden and Woodborough before arriving at the Barge Inn on the banks of the Kennet & Avon canal. I sink a quick pint before putting the tent up on their campsite. As I’m pitching I see a fine fox trotting across the adjacent field. After eating in the pub I hear rustling and snuffling from an adjacent thicket, a big hedgehog or an early badger ? I’m also visited by a 3 legged Manx cat which is very interested in my food stash!
Monday 21st SeptemberUp early but don’t get away as I decide to have a fry up. Bacon, sausage, eggs and beans. Tasty but it takes time and needs a lot of washing up! On the road by 10:00 and I follow quiet country lanes, climbing steeply at first, then downhill to East and West Kennet. I hide the bike behind a hedge and climb Waden Hill to look down on Silbury Hill and the surrounding countryside.
Onwards to Avebury where I leave the bike in the National Trust car park and spend and hour and a half walking around the stone circle and the pretty village. Tea and cake at the cafe then off I go.
I leave Avebury on the main road, but soon switch to quiet lanes again towards Tockenham Wick and Minety. Lots of Hercules flying in and out of RAF Lyneham.
Crossing the Cotswold Water Park area my GPS shows me pedalling across the water rather than on the road...... well, my birthday is December 25th!
At Bibury I stop for a quick look around, but I’ve underestimated how hilly these back roads are, and am a bit behind schedule. Climbing onto the hills in the evening light is beautiful, I’m quite tempted to wild camp, but then have a long freewheel into Bourton on the Water. It’s about 7:00PM, so I find the campsite, shower and cook by torchlight. A glug of Bowmore from my flask before bed.
Tuesday 22nd SeptemberUp and pay for the campsite then back into Bourton on the Water for a quick look around.
On the road again and I ride through Lower and Upper Slaughter before the long climb and fast descent to Snowshill and Broadway. I have a big lunch with a couple of beers in Broadway.
Head off via Childwickham and the Combertons to Pershore where I have a look at the Abbey.
I’ve really made a mess of my distances today and am well short of my planned stop. I end up at a campsite just outside Defford. Not a bad pitch but all I can hear all night is the roar of traffic from the M5. Lamb steaks, couscous and a bottle of red to end the day..
Wednesday 23rd SeptemberUp and away from Defford, it’s a bit overcast but still warm and dry. I head west, under the M5 and then to Upton upon Severn. From here I zig zag through quiet lanes to rejoin the B4211 and climb to Great Malvern, this wasn’t on my original route plan but it seems a shame to pass it by. I spend an hour wandering around the town and the Priory. I have a toastie & cake at a deli and buy some nice cheese and ham.
I reverse my route and ride through Madresfield and Leigh Sinton to Alfrick, this was supposed to be last nights campsite, I’ve been a little over ambitious on this trip! I pass through to Knightwick, past here my planned route gets _very_ hilly, and I retreat to make up some miles and time on the A4 to Bromyard. From here I take the B4214 to Tenbury Wells from where I follow quieter roads to Ludlow.
After a quick pootle around Ludlow I find the marked campsite at North Farm, on a hill with a superb view of the town. A good site but it’s right under the flightpath for Birmingham Airport and so is quite noisy.
Thursday 24th SeptemberI’m awake at 6:00 and looking out of the tent I see that the town of Ludlow is wreathed in mist with the castle and the church standing tall. Photo op, then back into the sleeping bag!
Away from the campsite and a country lane becomes a bridleway taking me through the beautiful Oakley Park.
At Bromfield I cross the A49 and then ride parallel to the railway until Onibury from where I follow more quiet roads to Aston on Clun, the quiet B4368 takes me into Clun itself where I have a gammon steak with chips and a couple of good pints. The very pretty young barmaid has been to John Moores uni and knows Liverpool well, so we have a chat. After dinner I buy some lamb steaks at the butchers.
Leaving Clun I stay on the A488, despite it’s designation this is a very quiet road, and passes through some lovely countryside and quiet villages. A good ride, but for some reason I put my head down and didn’t take any pictures. Have to go back
At Minsterly I leave the main road and start lane hopping again, crossing the busy A458 to find a lovely campsite at Melverley, a flat pitch by a river with a half timbered church nearby. The nice lady running the site even sold me a bottle of decent red for £5. There is also a pub nearby that does food.
Friday 25th SeptemberAway from Melverley via more quiet lanes. It’s lovely round here, I criss cross the A5 a couple of times then follow the B5009 to a castle I didn’t know existed at Whittington. From here I follow very quiet singletrack roads to Overton were I cross the A539 . Loads of Buzzards around More quiet lanes to Worthenbury then I’m back on familiar ground and take the road to Farndon and Churton where I stop for a beer. Into Chester and beer and food at the Harkers Arms on the canal bank. This destroys my resolve so I get the train back to Liverpool, an easy choice as it’s mostly busy & unpleasant from here on.
