I had decided to take Cycle Route 24 towards Portsmouth.
As is often the case the cycle routes are a bit dodgy leaving the bigger towns and cities. Salisbury is no exception.
Some nice lanes
Once out of the city I was on some nice lanes and the weather was good. It wasn’t too long before I crossed the border in Hampshire.
I lost the trail heading into Southampton. I suspect the Sustrans marker tags have been vandalised.
Southampton
Southampton isn’t my favourite place. Much of the city area was heavily bombed during WWII. It was rebuilt in the 1950’and 60’s. The building are mainly poor quality.
I found an Italian restaurant near the river and had a reasonable meal.
Picking up Cycle Route 2
After lunch, I crossed the Itchen Bridge and picked up Cycle Route 2 which follows the Solent down to Portsmouth.
The ride along the Solent was good with some nice paths and views of the water.
Water Taxis
At one point I had to cross the Hamble River. I was a bit concerned to find that the little ferry that makes the crossing had stopped running. Fortunately, there was a bloke at the pier who told me that there was a water taxi. He made a call and the taxis duly arrived.
There was older couple in the taxis. They had a 10 year old mini Schnauzer. It reminded me of my dog Jessie.
Portsmouth in the Distance
The ride from the Hamble River into Gosport seemed to take forever. Portsmouth could be seen in the distance, but didn’t seem to get any closer.
Gosport Ferry
I took the ferry from Gosport across to Portsmouth.
Wrong Place
I had booked into an AirBnB. It was in Waverly Road. There are two Waverly Roads in Portsmouth. I went to the wrong one. Bugger.
England Beaten by Iceland
It was late by the time that I was settled in the AirBnB and had taken a shower. I headed off to get some dinner.
The people in the pub that I found very subdued. The reason was that England were about to be beaten by Iceland in the European Football Cup. An Australian bloke in the pub was winding up the locals. He noted that “England is the only country to leave Europe twice win a few days”. The locals were not impressed.
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