Into Somerset

May 30th
56 miles
905m climbing
Cumulative distance 245 miles

We rearranged our route last night when we saw that our detour to a campsite actually added some extra miles and we could shorthen it a bit- Gayle pored over the digital map on her tablet in the pub with a pint of cider and came up with a fantastic route on a quiet series of roads along the ridge- just goes to show that time spent in the pub is rarely wasted. This morning there was a really heavy dew- the tent was soaked and took quite a while to dry before we could leave- the extra weight of a wet tent is considerable. The views of mist down in the valley early in the morning were impressive.

Devon in the mist ….from the campsite this morning

Although we did a bigger distance today there weren’t as many of the steep hills that Devon seems to go in for- although one out of a deeply wooded river valley seemed to make up for it. .. going on for ages and very steep- Devon’s last revenge. We had a late morniing coffee at the only pub we passed for miles- no cafes in these parts- but they excelled and produced bacon butties – somehow after going up hill you can justify it to yourself.

Hi tec sports nutrition- bacon sandwich

We had lunch sat on a bench in Tiverton , a rather faded looking town but with a lot of old elegant buildings and then set off along some off road Sustrans on an old railway folllowed by the towpath of the Great Western Canal- a quiet waterway with wildlife and a good surface on the towpath- and as is the nature of canals gloriously flat.

Canal

The last few miles left the canal and wound through some gentle rolling country- very different from the last few days. One dramatic little gorge with steep sandstone walls was a short testing climb near the end.

At last we arrived in Taunton and stocked up on supper at the local Lidl. The last few miles out of Taunton to the campsite were along a canal, past the cricket ground where there was a county match on  – lots of applause emanating from the ground as we passed

Taunton Cricket Ground

Tonights campsite is unique- very comfortable , lots of geese, peacocks and pea hens strutting their stuff in amongst the campers, also some remarkably tame rabbits hopping around.

The owners also collect old farm machinery, the antiquated machines have a certain elegant charm. (I must try this line on Gayle next time she wants to clear out the garage)

One persons junk is another person’s antique

Our companions on the campsite

Tomorrow we head off towards Clevedon on the Bristol Channel.