Windsor to Putney Bridge, London. 55km.

A foggy day in London Town. We had a very pleasant slow ride today through Great Windsor Park and then along the Thames River Path. We lost the route sign markers a couple of times, and then surprisingly came out back on track.

The ride through Great Windsor Park was lovely. It was great to see the view of Windsor Castle down the Long Walk, and then go through the Royal Deer Park.

The upper reaches of the Thames River are very civilised and gentrified. We saw some unusual spider webs which had collected moisture from the fog, and then we came across Hampton Palace, where Henry VIII once lived.

We have come to the end of our ride, having done about 1050 kms.

We're going to spend a few days in London and then return to Australia.

Route: Windsor - Great Windsor Park - Staines - Chertsey - Hampton Court - Kingston - Ham - Richmond Park - Putney Bridge.

Newbury to Windsor. 69km.

Another sunny day with no wind, and a very pleasant ride. We came to the end of the Kennet and Avon Canal, and linked up with the Thames River. We cycled through Eton and past Windsor Castle, and saw lots of nice properties in the area. Stayed at Windsor Guest House.

Route: Newbury - Thatcham - Aldermaston Wharf - Reading - Knowl Hill - Maidenhead - Bray - Eton - Windsor.

Devizes to Newbury. 86km.

It was a nice overcast day, with a good mild tailwind all the way. Unfortunately, we got lost in Pewsey, and if not for Les' skillful map-reading it would have been much worse. While we were chatting to a local near Wilcott, he informed us that Lady Serena Rothschild had just driven past us on the remote little back road. The 'farm' nearby was extremely swish, so I suppose it must belong to the Rothschilds.
Even the farm walls had thatched tops!

Then we got completely lost again near Bagshot, and luckily our Osmand map app saved our bacon again.

The autumn colours are (at last) starting to appear. The Wiltshire countryside is very much rolling green hills and plains, with very apparently well-kept farms.

Route: Devizes - Beechingstoke - Pewsey - Wootton Rivers - Stibb Green - Crofton - Hungerford - Kintbury - Newbury.

Bath to Devizes. 35km.

Just above the city of Bath is a ridge where the Kennet and Avon Canal runs along off to the east. We just cycled up the hill and onto the towpath, which is pretty much flat and level almost all the way to Devizes.

Just as we were about to set off from our hotel, we looked out the window to see that it appeared to be raining steadily. So we put all our rain gear on and set off. Within 1 minute, the rain stopped, so we had to take it all off again. The canal ride is really nice.

Stayed at the Castle Hotel, Devizes.

Route: Bath - Claverton - Bradford-on-Avon - Semington - Devizes.

Bristol to Bath. 29km.

Very easy ride along the Bristol to Bath Rail Path, only taking 2 hours.

Bath is very pretty, with classical mostly Georgian and Victorian architecture. It started raining just as we checked into our hotel (Redcar Hotel built as a townhouse in 1846), so it put a dampener on our tour of the town. Jane Austen set some of her chapters in Bath, and I think she may have lived here for a while. The setting of the architecture around the Avon river is really lovely. We visited the Holburne Museum and saw some excellent paintings by Gainsborough, Turner, Constable and Ramsey etc.

Route: Bristol - Bitton - Bath.