Monday 31st October 2011 Usk to Penyclawdd 41 km

Route: Usk - Llancayo - Bettws Newydd - Clytha House (Castle) - Llanddewi Rhydderch - Abergavenny - Pen y Parc - Llangattock Lingoed - Llanvihangel Crocorney - Penyclawdd (Orchard B & B)

Wales is absolutely delightful! We are being very lazy lately and only doing short rides.  The Orchard B & B turned out to be a gem, with very charming hosts, and a beautiful location.

Sunday 30th October 2011 Chepstow to Usk 29 km

Route: Chepstow - Mounton - Shirenewton - Bluebell Farm - Wentwood - Llanllowell - Usk (The Rat Trap Inn)

Wales is even more beautiful than Cornwall and Devon in my humble opinion. It has the same stunning scenery as well as a special spaciousness about it. The Welsh people are genuinely friendly and seem to be very cheerful and relaxed. I'm sure that if I scratch around for a while, I would find a few grumpy ones, but so far so good.

We thought that the ride was going to be very hilly and hardgoing, so we planned it to be only 30 km. It turned out to be quite easy, so we arrived in Usk before lunch. The Rat Trap Inn is delghtful, with a beautiful rural view from our windows.

Saturday 29th October 2011 Bristol to Chepstow 34 km

Route: Bristol - Clifton - Catbrain - Easter Compton - Marsh Common - Pitning - Aust - Severn Road Bridge - Chepstow.(Castle View Hotel).

Nice easy ride to Chepstow. We only got lost once. We crossed the Severn Bridge and arrived in Wales.

Chepstow Castle is the oldest stone-built castle in the UK, built in 1067 - 1188 by instruction from William The Conqueror. It's amazing to see a building that is over 800 years old. It's nice to be in Wales

Friday 28th October 2011 Bristol

We have been delighted to find that Bristol is such a people-friendly place. It is a good mix of historic architecture and modernity. The harbour area has been totally converted into areas of open spaces and trees.

There are cycle paths everywhere and lots of green spaces. Bristol was bombed mercilessly during WW2, which seems to have resulted in an opportunity to create a more spacious layout in the harbour area. One of the great steamships, the SS Great Britain is now permanently docked here as a tourist attraction. The steamships were much faster and had more carrying capacity than the sailing ships when they were first produced, but ultimately became too expensive to compete against the newer diesel powered ships.

Bristol has a nice buzz, and is populated by lots of young people.

Thursday 27th October 2011 Wookey Hole to Bristol 53 km

Route: Wookey Hole - Priddy - Townsend - Mendip Forest - Charterhouse - West Harptree - Herons Green - Chew Valley Lake - Chew Stoke - Chew Magna - Norton Hawkfield - Whitchurch - Temple Meads - Bristol (Ibis Hotel).

It was only drizzling when we left Wookey Hole and it drizzled on and off for most of the day. So much for the forecast of heavy rain.

We climbed over the Mendip Range today and found it to be a very enjoyable ride. Bristol is said to be the most cycle friendly big city in the UK, and we found our way in very easily.

The autumn colours are finally starting to show. We have now done 2448 km on this trip, and 5174 km since we set off in NZ.

Wednesday 26th October 2011 Bridgwater to Wookey Hole 61 km

Route: Bridgwater - Chedzoy - Bawdrip - Cossington - Chilton Polden - Catcott - Shapwick - Ashcott - Glastonbury - The Tor - Edgarley - Brindham - Queens Sedge Moor - Launcherly - Dullcote - Wells - Wookey Hole.

We had a pleasant easy ride today, with only one five minute shower of rain.

The route took us through the town of Glastonbury where the famous music festivals are held. Overlooking the town centre is the "Glastonbury Tor", which has a church tower on its peak, so we climbed up to have a look. It has quite a bit of historical significance.

There are a number of stone pilgrim marker signs along the way between the Tor and Wells. I gather the idea is for the Pilgrims to follow the route and ring the bell at each point.

Wells is a very beautiful town with an amazing Bishops Palace complete with moat.

We're staying at Wookey Hole tonight, which is the scene of ancient caves and a great kids adventure centre.

We've been told to expect heavy downpours of rain tomorrow on our way to Bristol.

Monday 24th October 2011 Sampford Arundel to Bridgwater 64 km

Route: Sampford Arundel - Cothay Manor - Thorne St Margaret - Nynehead - Hillfarrance - Taunton - Creech St. Michael - Hedging - North Newton - Huntworth - Bridgwater (Premier Inn)

Most of the ride today was alongside a canal and heading north with the wind behind us.

It was drizzling when we left, but it slowly abated into a pleasant day. We've been remarkably lucky with the weather.We read in the paper today that there was 4 inches of rain in Cornwall and Devon today, so the 70 km ride east yesterday was fortuitous.

We went through an old gulley near Taunton which looked like it has been used as a causeway for a very long time.

We've done 300 km in 5 days, and we are in need of a couple of days to recover.

Sunday 23rd October 2011 Simonsbath to Samford Arundel 70 km

Route: Simonsbath - Molland Common - Dulverton - Morebath - Bampton - Clayhanger - Appley - Sampford Arundel (Beambridge Inn).

This was our toughest ride for a long time. There were lots of big hills and a cold southeasterly headwind blowing all day. It took us 7 hours to do 70 km. The Exmoor National Park is so beautiful, though so we didn't mind. We actually heard what must have been a stag growling on the moor. It was definitely not a cow or a horse, so that was quite exciting.

We went through Dulverton, which was very picturesque, and we also saw some wild ponies roaming free on the moor. Tomorrow is going to be tough, because the prediction is for lots of heavy rain.

Saturday 22nd October 2011 Barnstaple to Simonsbath 35 km

We have seen three dead badgers on the road in the last week, which is distressing as I understand that their numbers have been diminishing in Britain.

Today was a short ride because it was uphill for most of it. We have climbed all the way up to the top of Exmoor, which is just beautiful. It feels like being on top of the world.

We were surprised to come across a fox hunt complete with baying hounds and horsemen. There were quite a few spectators who apparently follow the hunt in their four wheel drives  Fox hunting has been banned in the UK, but I'm told that there are ways of bending the rules.

The Simonsbath House Hotel built in 1654 is in a dellightful valley in the middle of the moor.  It reminds us of the "Leopard Rock Hotel" in the Vumba in Zimbabwe.  Very nice.  On the river bank opposite the hotel were two people camping with an old fashioned horse carriage and 2 horses grazing near by.  Our host told us that they come up the valley every year by horse cart and camp for a day or two and then head off towads Barnstaple

Frday 21st October 2011 Hatherleigh to Barnstaple 50 km

Such a lovely ride because 90 percent of it is on The Tarka Trail, which is an old railwaytrack which has been tarred. Some impressive tunnels and welcome bridges took us over the rivers and ravines.

When we arrived in Barnstaple, we found a shop called "The Bike Shed", which replaced my disc brake pads. It's great to have sharp brakes again.

After checking into our hotel, we discovered that we had left the power cord for our computer at the hotel in Hatherleigh. We had to rush out and track down a new one as well as a plug adapter. Fortunately, we were successful.

Thursday 20th October 2011 - Bude to Hatherleigh 45 km

Headed east leaving Cornwall and arriving in Devon.  Devon is not as hilly as Cornwall but just as picturesque.  It was a beautiful day with just a small tailwind all day.  I could n't believe my eyes when I saw an original vintage Bentley sports car in Hatherleigh.  I couldn't decide whether it was a Bentley or a Bugatti.  I whipped out my camera but only managed to get a picture of it from behind.

We are staying at the George in Hatherleigh, and they have upgraded us to their best room with an original claw foot bath in the massive bedroom, all at an incredibly reasonable tariff.