Day 9
Bristol to Sherbourne – 55 miles
Planned mileage: 55 miles
Actual mileage: 59.7 miles (some extra messing around at Barrow Gurney & Wincanton)
Cycling time: 4hrs 25mins
Average speed: 13.5mph
Maximum speed: 34.1mph
It's so, so nice seeing and staying with people while you're on a cycle tour. The downside is that you have to say goodbye loads of times. The more times we've done it, the harder it's got.
Had a nice, relaxed start to the day, not getting out of bed till 8:30 and milling down for homemade blueberry pancakes, smoothie and various other bits and pieces with Kirsty and Matt. It wasn't far off 11 by the time we actually left, but I suppose it is Sunday. Kirsty fancied a little spin on her bike so accompanied us down through Bristol to give us a good view of the suspension bridge from the Downs and took us as far as Ashton Court before finally saying goodbye and leaving us to our pedalling. Dodging dogs and people we left the nice off-road section and headed through Long Ashton, waving hello to Nina as we headed past her house. Unfortunately she'd had to go off very early to run a stand at a triathlon so wasn't able to join us (or wave back).
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| Kirsty & Jenny overlooking Avon Gorge |
Barrow Gurney is very pretty. We weren't supposed actually to go through it, but missed a turning on first and even the second attempt. Eventually we found it and headed up a tiny little lane, through the cycle restrictions (though Euan almost demolished the first one on the way through) and up & over the rather steep hill.
Last time we'd been through the area we'd thought the drive past the Chew Valley lakes was very attractive. This time it seemed quite dull and we were fighting a significant headwind and it just all seemed like rather a tiring slog! Grit teeth, head down and just get on with it...
By the time we got to Chewton Mendip we were both wondering how we were going to get through the day. Fortunately, at that point we discovered the excellent Lynda's Loaf Deli where we were revived with tea, pasties and traybakes – yum, yum, yum.
The next section down to Shepton Mallet was great fun, especially once we turned onto the A37 and swooped downwards on a smooth road at top speed. The countryside had got much prettier too by this point so we were definitely happy again.
And then the fun bit really started as we headed off onto proper quiet little country roads and benefited from some pretty significant climbs and descents which rewarded us with brilliant, far reaching views. Slogging up a proper steep hill is so much more rewarding than feeling you're working hard for no apparent reason. I think it's safe to say that our bike fitness is definitely improving.
By the time we arrived in Wincanton just before 4 we were feeling in need of something else to eat. Unfortunately, apart from the racecourse, Wincanton appeared to be entirely closed, so we had to settle for buying milkshakes at Morrisons petrol station (the store itself was also closed) and eating them with Fry's Peppermint Creams a couple of miles further on. We were entertained by children playing noisily the other side of the thick hedge who had absolutely no clue that we were there.
Very relieved to finally arrive in Sherbourne and find our B&B. Bikes safely stowed in the courtyard and we thoroughly enjoyed the luxury of hot baths before wandering out into the town to find something to eat.
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| A curried feast! |
Now, Euan is famed for not eating hot food, so something we do very infrequently is have a curry. Breaking this tradition, we had a fantastic curry meal complete with ultra classy pre-created ice cream desserts. Especially lovely touch was the complimentary shot of Baileys with our bill.
After a wander round the town to appreciate the Abbey, the school (where a dramatic sounding concert was going on) and the generally lovely warm yellow stone buildings, we're now celebrating our first night entirely by ourselves by watching tv in bed and completely switching off. Night night all.
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