It was really sad to say goodbye to Timo, Kath and Minou today.
Minou has a big adventure to Holland starting today, and I was strangely apprehensive about cycling across England and Wales to get the ferry to Ireland. Timo and Kath can finally enjoy London life without friends and family sleeping on the spare mattress 😁.
I’m not sure if it was the realisation that summer is over and its going to be wet and cold at times over the next couple of months, or the fun I had catching up with my family was now over, or the fact that I didn’t really know what I was going to do over the next few months.
Whatever the reason, I was feeling unsure about the road ahead.
There were transport strikes planned for today, and the tube strike was called off at lunchtime yesterday but various rail companies were still going to strike. That complicated things, but I could at least get to Reading to start the UK part of the trip and avoid some of the traffic getting out of London.
From there, there is a eurovelo heading west towards Wales and all the way up to Holyhead. It was a change to my original plan to take the National byway and the Mercian Way, which apparently goes through lots of sleepy villages. I don’t think that I can really go wrong in the UK. Sleepy villages seem to be the norm.
So, I rode the 10kms to Paddington station, then caught a train to Reading. It was really easy but I was very lucky due to the strikes and the reduced services.
My route west was on a published bike route but in reality, it was anything but. It was essentially a bumpy footpath beside a busy road with a line painted in the middle and bike signs pointing the way. After Europe, this was quite a change.
Eventually things got quieter and the path joined a canal. This was more like it. I stopped in Newbury, to look at my options. There was a campground 5kms away or a few hotels charging London prices. The campsite won, and on the way, I stopped by the supermarket, bought my dinner then rode along a fairly busy road to get there.
The campsite was mainly empty and run by an 84 year old who didn’t look a day over 83. He was interesting and had an opinion on everything. The other campers were quirky too. One lady seemed to be living in her Mercedes which she hid behind a hedge. She was gone before 7am the next morning. In one of the other tents, was a young guy who was fed up with his parents who lived up the road. I think rain and cold might drive him back home soon.
Dinner was fresh pasta with olives and feta. I sat outside for a while in my new chair. This one weighs a bit more but it’s sooo comfortable. I doubt I’ll ever go camping without it again.
