Over the Avon and up the Severn

June 1st 2016

59 miles

climbing 669 metres

Cumulative miles 348

The campsite was damp after rain in the night, we had eaten most of the Granola and we had a long day ahead so we packed up quickly and left planning a second breakfast in Clevedon, 4 miles North

Clevedon was our last sight of the sea until Scotland, the tide was out and we looked across to South Wales. Clevedon is elegant with expensive shops and certainly no cheap cafes, so we shared a bacon ciabetta and delicious coffee at Murrays delicatessan and he told us about his sons cycling LEJoG in 5 days ….. they were not snails.

Clevedon pier

Clevedon shops

We took Sustrans 26 up to the Avon: small lanes and old railway line. Crossing the Avon was on the M5 bridge which has a cycleway, quite scary with big lorries thundering away and also hard work cycling up the steep slope to the top of the bridge into the headwind.

Bridge over the Avon

We are learning to manage charging the various electronic things as we cycle. We both have dynamos on the front wheels of the bikes but it is not simple: up hills we don’t cycle fast enough to generate enough electricity and if we are charging the satnavs they switch themselves off. Also my phone being elderly the charging cable falls out when the road is bumpy and Martin gets upset as I swerve about trying to reconnect the cable without stopping the bike. We have learnt that certain cables charge better than others, I had never appreciated that before. Today was a good charging day as the hills were gentle and short and we are slowly getting the knack of it all

Avonmouth was industrial but the Sustrans route found a green corridor through.

We passed both Severn bridges and then were into the Severn valley and rural Gloucestershire. Lovely villages and towns: Berkeley with a Norman castle and where Jenner first injected cowpox into unsuspecting locals, also tearooms serving excellent chocolate cake.

Frampton with thatched cottages,a very long green , several village ponds and a very ancient tithe barn.

Eventually we found the Gloucester canal and rode along the towpath into Gloucester where Gayle’s Dad is providing a hospitable welcome for 2 nights as we plan a rest day here tomorrow.