billrider2013

It was time to leave London.

My hosts were about to return and their place was about to receive a visit by yet another antipodean guest.

I did my best to erase any evidence of my visit by vacuuming and cleaning the quest’s bathroom. I did however leave some Irises in the kitchen. Apparently that gets me brownie points from the one of my hosts.

Getting Out of London
The National Cycle Route 4 runs from London to Bristol via Bath. Over the years since 2012, I have ridden on this route. However, not on all of it every year.

While the route out of London along the Thames is very interesting, it can be a bit of a pain.

I decided to take the train to Reading. In fact, I wanted to take the train to Great Bedwyn and start riding from there. I have done that before. When I tried to book the trains on the Great Western Railway site, I found it impossible. There seemed to be no trains that allowed bicycles. This was inconsistent with my previous experience.

I ended up calling the ‘customer service desk’. The person on the end of the line had a strong ‘Georgie’ i.e. possibly indicating the call centre is in the North East of England.

I had a long discussion with the ‘service desk’. This discussion included me telling them that I recalled taking a GRW ‘commuter train from Reading to Great Bedwyn with my bike. They told me that the only way I could take a bike “was on a train the way going all the way to Cardiff and there were no slots avail for bikes on the day I planned to travel”.

I felt as though I may have been talking to some random person in the street.

Cutting to chase, I rode to Clapham Junction and caught Southern Railways train to Reading. There I found that I could take a local train to Great Bedwyn. There I picked up the National Cycle Route 4 to Wootton Rivers.

I have subsequently learned that the GWR Call Centre is in Runcorn near Liverpool. I suspect the staff in the Call Centre rarely, if ever, take a GRW train.

The Royal Oak
From Great Bedwyn I picked up the National Cycle Route 4 and rode to Wootton Rivers.
I had booked into The Royal Oak Pub and B&B. This is a great place to stay. I first stayed here in 2012.

That ride in 2012, was my first time on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It was the end of May and this part of the country was experiencing unusually heavy rain. I had had been riding from Reading in very heavy rain. It was so heavy that that the ‘tow path’ has so many puddles that it looked like the canal itself.

I had not made any plans as far as places to stay. It was a serendipitous moment when some locals suggested that I checked out of the Royal Oak.

It is the quintessential ‘Wiltshire Pub’ with a thatched roof and low beams. The B&B is next-door.

The pub serves great beers and the food is excellent ‘home style’ fare.
I have stay there every year since 2012.

Walkers
Over breakfast, I chatted to a couple who told that they were walking long the canal from Reading to Bristol.

They told me that they were walking to Devizers on this day. It was possible that we would meet somewhere of the path.

When I first rode along this part of the Cycle Route 4, the majority of the route was on the tow path by the canal. However, much of the tow path, particularly between Wootton Rivers and Devizers is just dirt and has not been paved or covered with gravel. This makes it unsuitable for non-off-road bikes. As a result, most of the route in this section has been diverted away from the canal onto lanes. This actually makes the ride interesting in that it takes you into villages a little way from the canal.

Notwithstanding the above, you are still able to ride on the canal in certain parts even though it is not officially on the Route 4. I cut off the cycle route at Honey Street and dropped onto the row path. Even thought my bike is fully laden, with its wide tyres and front suspension, it is still okay to ride on dirt and grass paths.

Not long after Honey Street, I came across the walkers from the Royal Oak. They had already covered 16 kilometres and were make good progress towards their destination.

There were also lots of other walkers on the path. Some were obviously just locals on a short walk, But there were a few with backpacks possibly also doing the length of the canal.

The Caen Locks
As I approached Devizers, the tow path started to be paved and was now formally part the Cycle Route 4.

I decided to skip stopping off in the town of Devizers continued on towards the camping ground which about 4 kilometres further west.

Before camping ground, the path leads you down the Caen Locks. These are amazing.

“The 29 locks have a rise 72 metres in 3.2 kilometres 1 in 44 gradient. The locks come in three groups. The lower seven locks, Foxhangers Wharf Lock to Foxhangers Bridge Lock, are spread over 1.2 kilomtres The next sixteen locks form a steep flight in a straight line up the hillside

Because of the steepness of the terrain, the gaps between these locks are very short. As a result, 15 locks have unusually large sideways-extended ponds, to store the water needed to operate them. A final six locks take the canal into Devizes”.

Check out the photos and video on Flickr.

My new Principal Place of Residence
I checked into the Devizers Camping Ground which, as I noted above, isn’t actually in the town of Devizers.

Anyway, it is good spot. Even though they were fully booked, I was able to get in because of their excellent policy of never turning cyclists or walkers away.

This was to be the first night in my new tent. I was impressed. It will be a very good principal residence at least for this northern summer.

Stirring up a Brexiteer
After setting up my tent, I headed off to the ‘Three Magpies’ Pub. This is good pub that serves basic, but tasty meals.

The publican is a bit of a Basil Faulty type of bloke. He is also a avid Brexiteer. He recognised me and recalled that I don’t share his views on Brexit. We had some interesting banter on the issue. I noted that there didn’t seem to have been too much progress two years after the vote to leave. I did, however, note that the GBP  was still significantly lower compared to the AUD than before the vote.

His comeback was a classic:
“the pound is still stronger than when we entered the EU”.
The UK entered the EU in 1973. That was before the introduction of the Euro. The Euro was introduced on the 1st of January 1999.

Talk about Brexiteers living in a parallel universe.

On to Bathampton
Leaving the campsite, I continued west along the canal to Bradford on Avon. This is great little town.

The next part of the canal to Bathampton is particularly picturesque. It also includes the viaduct at Avoncliff. This is another impressive piece of engineering.

As I was riding along I found an Apple iPhone. There is long story to this but not worth telling. In short, I handed it into the ‘One Stop Shop’ in Bath the next day. I hope they find its owner.

Finding yet Another Way into Marshfield
From Bathampton, I headed up the hill towards Marshfield.

This was the seventh time that I have approach Marshfield from the East. There are four road into the village. However, before you get to them you several options.

I think I haven’t taken the same way twice. How many more options are there?

Back in the Catherine Wheel Pub
Anyway, surprise surprise, I arrived in the Catherine Wheel in the early evening on a Friday night in June. This is eighth year in a row that this has occurred.

Some Days in Marshfield
I will post about this sometime.

Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmmvZgqq

Garmin Links

Great Bedwyn
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2776689237

Wootton Rivers
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2776689326

Devizers
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2785712483