Day 5: May 22
Tiverton to Cheddar
Just before lunch we went through the villages of Ham and Curry. Just to get our salivary glands warmed up. The 2 photos below are of the Ham Dairy building. One of our riders mused about whether they milked the pigs?? Then one of a monument in North Curry.
101 km / 1050 m
Our last day of traversing cross country before we start chomping our way north. Travelling through the vale of Taunton and Deane we pass over the flat lands, from where we can spot in the distance the imposing and infamous Glastonbury Tor. From here it's on to the large village of Cheddar on the edge of the Somerset Levels.
When we came down for breakfast at 7:30, it looked like our weather luck may have run out. It was not quite a "rain", but more than a "drizzle". What to wear, what to wear? Then, by the time we were ready to go shortly after 9 it had stopped altogether. It looked like it was going to be a good day to have rainwear/"waterproofs" at the ready, though. In the end I never did put on a rain jacket. I had my light windbreaker on a couple of times, but nobody got wet.
The first 30-ish miles today were on fairly busy roads. The busy-ness along with the tall vegetation on the sides of the road combined to limit photo opportunities for a while. So - I'll have to settle for in-town pictures. And - we certainly went through a lot of little towns today. One after another, with names I can't recall. I really should have made a point of taking some pictures of town names, though, as some of them are quite humourous. Yesterday's winner was Nomansland. Here are some pics in Bampton. That's our guide, Amy, with the red jacket.
I am the slowest rider in the group, and I probably stop to take the most pictures, and I prefer to ride totally on my own. I must say - the guides here have caught on way quicker than the TA (New Zealand) guides did. Bringing up the rear is my happy place....
The highlight of morning tea break was the scones with clotted cream and jam that Peter had whipped up for us. Yum! Here is some more scenery from the morning, once we got onto quieter roads.
We went through Taunton. That was where I changed trains going from London to Penzance last Friday. Of course I didn't see anything of it then. We did see some gorgeous gardens as we rode through today, but it wasn't convenient to take any pics. It was quite a large place and our navigational tool was a bit confused in a few places. No problem, though...... Speaking of that train trip. My train was delayed between 30 and 59 minutes, so I have been informed that I have been approved to get half my fare back. Yay! Now - if only airlines could come up with something like that!
Random sign in a farm area..............
Lunch today was near Meare Green at the picnic ground at the Willow Visitor Centre. All of the willow is sourced and handcrafted locally. It's amazing what creative people can do with it!
Overall - I would say today we saw more woodland and uncultivated fields in the landscape. And towards the end of the day there seemed to be quite a lot of cattle farming. Not sure I saw a windmill or solar field all day. Late in the day, though, we did experience the windiest/gustiest conditions we've had so far.
Yet another couple of lovely old churches............
In the background is the ridge that Cheddar Gorge (to be seen tomorrow) cuts through.
I couldn't resist this sign because - really - what road that we have been on so far does this not apply to?????
And a couple of pictures of our hotel for the night. Nice place, and lovely host.
And the highlight of my day was having dinner with Theo - a young man I met 10 years ago when he was self-supported cycling for 3 months through the US and Canada during his gap year between high school and university. So much has happened in his life since then; thank you, Theo, for making the 2-hour drive to come and visit.
Cheddar:
Population: 6,300
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset. It is about 29 km south-west of Bristol. The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese. There is evidence of occupation from the Neolithic period. Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in Cheddar Gorge in 1903.
Hotel: Gordons Hotel www.gordonshotel.co.uk
Ride Stats:
102.7 km
1009 m (3310 ft)
The Route:
Little disappointed that you do not have a pic (even from a distance) of the Glastonbury Tor...
ReplyDeleteWe climbed the Tor back in 1998 when we visited Wales, Devon and Cornwall. We met an interesting fellow at the top of the Tor who told us some of the mythology of the Tor. He was wearing shoes with little dragons on them...