Well, this was a day of extreme contrasts! We began the day at the unlikely starting point of Rooksbridge on the A38, where we had got to by putting in something of a fast late-shift the night before; extending our previous day's riding. The first signs of morning weariness were setting in as we set off at the side of the main road before turning northwards onto the lanes and the never-ending road North.
Our route for the day was going to drive us up the eastside of the Severn Estuary and deep into Gloucestershire. The day began in pleasant rolling hills and nice villages, which we noted all had a First World War memorial; every village. A theme we were to note all the way into the Scottish Highlands. Much of the running was along the Strawberry Line, a disused railway path, with varying quality of surface. Then as we skirted the Avonouth Docks area, we navigated the most heavily industrialised part of the whole trip. The cyclepath joined the M5 bridge over the Avon, with industrail rail lines, power stations and factories, and post-industrial debris filling the view.
Possibly the sorriest sight on our whole ride ocurred here too, our route took us through as travellers site with obvious deprivation and more litter strewn in piles everywhere, than I have ever seen. Weaving in between ripped open black waste bags while sinister dogs looked on was a grim part of the ride.
Thankfully such grim vistas were rare, and before long the lovely Gloucestershire countryside took over. We headed for Berkeley Castle, where my wife was waiting for us in the van with lunch ready! Strangely, in this lovely corner of rural England there was a medieval jousting tournament takign place, which she went and enjoyed once we were back on the road! This was only about three miles from the farm my Mum and Grandmoster were evacuated to from London, during the Blitz, a place she went back to a few times - and the place where my step-grandfather came from.
Slimbridge, Frampton on Severn, and Epney ran us through fields and alongside canals, right into the heart of Gloucester - a more beautiful city than I had realised - especially around the old docks. Again, the last shift of the day took us through gentle lanes, and lovely villages, all the way up to Tewksbury, ending our day at the Mythe Bridge, for pint by the river - before our lift to the hotel for the night.
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