Day 3 - Okehampton to Bridgwater - the long version

As expected the day started with a climb out of Okehampton but thankfully nothing too steep. Soon we were making good time on a rolling B road towards Crediton. We passed over the Dartmoor Railway and also saw a rather stunning house made from the local stone surrounded by an immaculate garden.




Eventually we came to the point where the road to Crediton joined the main route between Exeter and the noth Devon coast. Deciding that it looked rather busy {a fact no doubt made worse by the fact that it was the first weekend after most schools broke up for the summer} we decided to cut the corner, missing out Crediton, and headed towards Tiverton on a network of small roads.

Big mistake. BIG MISTAKE. It started with a manageable climb and then a short spell on an undulating road. It turned out that the “hills gods” were just lulling us into a false sense of security! We were quickly forced to revise the view, expressed yesterday, that Cornish hills are steeper than their Devon counterparts as Devon responded to the slight in spades!

Christine seemed to spend at least half her time walking and the remainder clutching on the brakes for dear life. Stephen initially refused to be beaten and ground his way him - even resorting to his “granny gear” in which you cyle little faster than you can walk. In the end, however, even he succumbed and started pushing.

After an hour and a half of leg-breakingly slow progress, we decided that we had seen enough of this part of Devon and headed down to the main road (by now a different one from that thronged with escaping schoolchildren and their families) in the valley. A fat, 1½ mile downhill ensued and we were back in the land of the speeding car upset at being held up for a few seconds by two impertinent cyclists having the temerity to use the road, for goodness sake!

Thankfully, we made our way into Tiverton safely and enjoyed a late lunch picnicking in the Tesco car park. {We know how to live!}

Back on the road again, we unknowingly crossed into Somerset, Christine being piqued that the county of her birth did not see fit to put up a sign for her to photograph! We had hoped to meet up for a quick coffee with Betty and Peter (Christine’s parents) as we passed through Taunton but the slow progress in the morning meant that it nearly 6 o‘clock by the time we got to the town and we still had a way to go.

At least it was flat as we joined the towpath beside the Taunton (home of the mighty Somerset County Cricket Club) to Bridgwater (as appealing as Slough or Basingstoke) Canal but there was to be another twist of fate. A puncture! The first of the trip and hopefully the last. With a new tube fitted we were back on our way and were thankful to reach the hotel just before 7.30. The Boat and Anchor is an old canal pub right on the towpath and within earshot of the M5.

Day 3 - Okehampton to Bridgwater

An even tougher day - mainly thanks to a diversion "off piste" into "them thar hills" in an attempt to cut the corner and avoid some A roads. BIG MISTAKE!! We encountered some steep hills - steeper than those we went up in Cornwall but we're not trying to encourage competition between the two counties - they are more than good enough at doing hills as it is. Anyway, another 65 miles under our wheels. Here's the route.

Day 3 - Okehampton to Bridgwater

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Just discovered how to post maps direct into the blog!

Actual Day 2

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Day 2 - Newquay to Okehampton

That was a tough day! The map says 63 miles - you can see it by clicking here. If you do look at the map, also take a look at the Elevation Profile (click on the word "Show" in the top left of the Bikely.com map) - you will see that we did over 4,100 feet of climbing and it feels like it!!

We were later getting started than we intended as a result of Stephen fiddling around while mistakenly under the impression that breakfast was at 8 o’clock rather than 7.30. As it transpired this was a blessing in disguise. While eating breakfast overlooking the sea we could see storm clouds all round and it soon started to rain heavily. Fortunately by the time we had finished packing and retrieved the bikes it had just about finished. If we had left half an hour earlier we would have been soaked!

Although we encountered a couple more showers later in the morning they were brief and nowhere near as heavy as the earlier one. And our friend, the South-westerly wind continued to blow helping us up the hills to come!

We climbed steadily out of Newquay passing Spitfire Corner near the RAF station at St Megwan.



Not long after, we reluctantly joined the A39 as it was the only obvious way of avoiding crossing Bodmin Moor. Most of the time this busy road was tolerable but every now and then a car or a lorry would hurtle past far too close for comfort. (A message to all you drivers out there. Please, please, please, if the road is narrow and there is traffic coming the other way, then just wait a few seconds until you can see that it is safe to pass while giving cyclists enough room. After all, you will only be a few seconds later joining the next queue behind a lorry or tractor or stopping at the next red light!)

After Wadebridge the climbing started in earnest as we skirted around the western and northen edges of the moor. Every so often there was a downhill but that only caused our hearts to drop even further because we knew that we would be going up the other side on our way to almost 1,000 feet above sea level.

After passing the summit of the day’s climbing we turned off the A roads (thankfully) onto much more enjoyable minor country roads all the way to Launceston. Just the other side of the town in the words of a dimly remembered song from Stephen’s childhood we “crossed the Tamar land to land” and entered Devon after 100 miles in Cornwall. Cue the first picture of county signs - Christine’s aim is to get a photo each time we cross a border.




The Devon hills (at least so far) aren’t quite as steep as the Cornish ones but they keep coming! But there were a lot of them and as we tired they got harder than they looked. Thankfully, the last two miles into Okehampton were all downhill - although that does not bode well for tomorrow morning of course!

Day 1 - Penzance to Newquay via Land's End

Day 1 and 56 miles behind us! You can see our route by clicking here.

We travelled down to Cornwall on the overnight sleeper from London Paddington - a remarkably civilised and surprisingly reasonable way to travel. Arriving at Penzance at 8 o’clock we hitched up the panniers and set off on the 10 miles along the A30 to the real start point of our journey.

The weather was perfect - just a few puffy white clouds and a strong wind keeping things cool. Well, not quite perfect for the first stretch as the wind was coming from the South West so it was a headwind until we got to Land’s End and, as the cyclists amongst you will know, the wind is probably worse than the hills when you are on a bike. Of course, all that changed when we turned round to come back to Penzance. For the rest of the day we had a tailwind pushing us along which was much appreciated!

We didn’t spend long at Land’s End - just enough to take the obligatory photographs including Christine on the Start/Finish line.


Passing by Penzance station, we joked about having had a good ride and jumping back on the train but then decided that, as we had come this far, we might as well see a bit more of the place! A cycle path along the sea wall gave fabulous views across Penzance Bay to St Michael’s Mount, but it was soon back on the road and climbing towards Redruth.

The real highlight of the day for Stephen was, while waiting for Christine at a crossroads, the Google Streetview camera van went past. He is now expecting to be immortalised with proof that “he was there” in the depths of rural Cornwall!

We decided we did not like Redruth as it is hilly, full of traffic and, just beyond the town, the heavens opened! The clouds had been rolling in for some time and getting darker but we could see blue sky on either side. Maybe the weather gods were exacting some revenge for the tailwind! Out came the wet weather gear and we took shelter from the worst downpour but, as it didn’t last long, we were soon back on the road replete in bright yellow raincoats and cycling bootees. Yes, they look silly but they are totally wonderful for keeping your feet warm, and dry!

After that it was a long haul along an A road into Newquay with traffic rushing past as we toiled up the hills and sailed down the other side. The Headland Hotel was a welcome sight as we rolled down the drive. Inside it was just as impressive and, if you want to indulge yourself, it comes thoroughly recommended by these two weary cyclists!

Here are the promised pictures of the bikes

Our Bikes

Confession time! We have indulged ourselves!! We will be riding custom made bikes from Roberts Cycles.
If you are "into" bikes there is no better way to while away a couple of hours than going to Chas Robert's shop in Croydon to drool over the machines on display and to talk to Chas or Brian about what they and the "boys out the back" can do to fulfil your dreams. If you are in the market for a bespoke piece of engineering excellence that is easy on the eye, then we urge you to support London's last remaining bike framemaker - even though "you could buy a car for that much" is the inevitable response, rest assured it is money well spent.

Stephen's bike was a reward to himself for losing a significant amount of weight, Christine's a Silver Wedding present. We suspect that each gender will have a different perspective on the relative sacrifices involved!!

Pictures of the bikes to follow at which point you will be able to see the extent to which Chas and his team can customise the same basic design (in both cases a "Roughstuff Lite") to suit the buyer's individual requirements.