Days 3 to 6

Dear all,

Here is the rest of the days up to the current day.

Day 3
Start: St Ive Church End

End: Crediton (stayed in Tedburn St Mary)

We started the day well. We were driven back to were we had had the puncture the night before and began the ride in the direction of Dartmoor. The morning did see some landmarks on the ride. Firstly we passed the 100 mile point and soon afterwards we entered Devon and left Cornwall. We did though get a puncture on the boarder of Devon and Cornwall, but this was soon mended. A long hill followed after but we soon made it too Tavistock which is on the edge of Dartmoor. We were heading around Dartmoor with part of our route going along the outskirts of Dartmoor. Out of Tavistock, we went past were we had stayed the last night in Peter Tavy and through Mary Tavy. We then made it onto a plateau in Dartmoor with beautiful scenery of the rolling hills - even though it was a bit windy along the way. What followed was a seperation of the group (not on purpose). We had planned to stop for lunch in a little village called Bearford. However, one member of your group shot off at high speed and went past this village. My parents were in need of food, so I carried on and eventually meet up with Tom C in the next village along called Lake and we had a very nice lunch outside in the sunshine. After lunch, we all regrouped and carried on our way to Okehampton. Good progress was made all the way and we made it all the way to Crediton. The route between Okehampton and Crediton was charming with there being some very nice cottages and converted barns along the way. When we reached Crediton, we were all extremely pleased because we had made it too a place where we were planning to get to. The only slight downside to the evening was the fact that Man U won the Champions League Final, which we watched in a delightful B and B were Tom C's parents were staying.

Day 4

Start: Crediton
End: West Huntspill

The day started with a short car ride up to Crediton to begin were we had been picked up. The morning was a day of good progress. We headed in the direction of Tiverton. The road then took a route along the M5 in the direction of Taunton. We then decided to have lunch near Taunton and then it was agreed to get through Taunton and have lunch on the other side. It did take us a bit of time until we found the Black pool inn where we were just in time to get some food before the kitchens shut. We were then told that we were staying in a B and B just the other side of Bridgwater. After lunch, we knew that it wasn't far to our nights stop. On our way into Bridgwater we hit the "rush hour" so the traffic was a bit heavy. However, soon we were on a flat road out of this town and we made it to West Huntspill. The best way to describe where we were staying would be a "posh Butlins". However, after a long days cycling a bed and hot water are all that is needed. That night we had dinner at the Huntspill Inn which was just down the road.

Day 5
Start: West Huntspill
End: Nailsworth

Today was the day that we were going to feel as though we were heading north. We set off at 9am and due to the nice flat road we did 11 miles in 40 mins!! However, we did slow down a bit as a few hills did start to appear on our way to Bristol. After about 26 miles, we made it to Bristol and within an hour we had navigated Bristol. Whilst going through Bristol we rode along the Severn river and went under the Clifton Bridge, which is a dramatic sight for any eyes!!! When we were out of Bristol, we had a nice lunch in a Harvester. After lunch, the heavens decided to open. We were having to stop in bus shelters and in garages and with the traffic it made riding rather difficult. When we turned off the main road, we were rather wet but looking forward to warmth. We continued to cycle along and it all seemed nice terrain until we came out of Wotton under edge, we were greeted by a 2 mile hill, which certainly tired us out. After the hill, we all seemed to have a second wind and very soon we were in Nailsworth. After a bit of time, we found the B and B were Tom C's parents were. That night, we had an amazing supper in the "Wild Garlic". Run by Matthew - I can highly recommend this restaurant. It is well worth a visit!!!

Day 6
Start: Nailsworth
End: Kidderminster

I was certainly sad to leave Nailsworth - a little town that is extremely attractive. We headed in the direction of Stroud. After Stroud, we made our way which meant climbing some hills along the way. One village that I do remember is Painswick. It was a delightful little village with a charming church and a retirement home on the edge of the village. I couldn't forget this place due to the neatness of the village. A nice run into Cheltenham meant that we saw that good progress was being made. Our route then carried parallel to the M5 going through Tewkesbury which was a town that had some amazing architecture. We carried on and eventually we made it to Stourport on severn. The only problem that could be picked out from today was the fact that the wind was strong and meant that cycling into it was very hard. This meant that although progress was good, it wasn't as quick as it could have been. It was near out destination that we passed the 300 mile mark of the whole trip. We had now done roughly a third of the trip. In Kidderminster, we were staying in the Gainsborough Hotel which was a nice hotel in which one could relax after a hard days cycling in the wind.

Day 7
Start: Kidderminster
End: Marchamley (stayed in Tarporley)
Today was what one could call a day of technical difficulties. We woke up to wind and rain which didn't set the tone well for the day. However, we set off and made good progress even though there was poor weather all day. After about 2 hours, we came on to the dual carriageway and thought that we would eat up the miles. Little did we know that along the road, there was a large pile of glass, which we all of course tried to avoid. Soon afterwards, we stopped a checked the tyres and all seemed ok. However, soon we realised that two of the bikes had punctures. These were replaced with new inner tubes and we carried on our way. However, just up the road, one of the bikes got another puncture. We re-checked the tyre and noticed a piece of glass that had not been removed. The inner tube was replaced again and we set off again. Progress was slowly made but then we reached a small village when we noticed that one of the bikes had another puncture. As we mended our forth puncture, we had a quick lunch from a small village shop. It was food which was needed. After lunch, we carried on and it seemed that all the technical errors seemed to be sorted out. However, after about an hour, disaster struck. Tom C's bike completely broke when part of the gear chain fell off. This made the bike not ride able. We called the support vehicle and had to find where the nearest Halfords was. We did find one and quickly rushed to it. Whilst we were there, we found out that they weren't able to mend it there and them. We had to make another plan in that it could be mended in Chester tomorrow. So, in the support vehicle we drove to our stop for the night. We were staying in a little pub called The Swan in the village of Tarporley.