Kingsbury Water Park to West Haddon

DAY EIGHTEEN - Kingsbury Water Park to West Haddon (25 June 2021)

Distance: 65 km (40 miles)
Ascent: 630 m
Legs: Northamptonshire is hillier than I'd expected!

5:50 am and it is raining so I have time to write while I wait for dry weather. The structure of the tour being 9 days cycling, 3 days rest and 9 days cycling has worked well, as has the 35 mile a day average. Road cyclists would see this as low mileage but carrying camping equipment day after day makes it long enough. The longer and shorter days have allowed me to juggle campsite locations and meet people or sight-see along the way. It has also meant some recovery time; I recall the given wisdom is closer to a full rest day for every 6 days cycled.

I am making some small attempt to know what county I am in and looking at www.mapdevelopers.com again I see I am in Warwickshire which makes sense. Growing up in Yorkshire I am always surprised at how small some counties are. By the end of today I will have drifted east and crossed the M1 and will be in West Northamptonshire. With the time afforded me by the rain I check the gradients for today on my navigation app. The gradient chart/line is colour coded with green for gradual to red for extreme and today is all green; the crimson lines of Yorkshire still haunt me. Tomorrow sees me re-crossing the M1 to track west a bit as it was a friend's promise of a BBQ, a shower and - just for the fun of it - a bike ride that had tugged me east at this stage. The last two days are then a south east compass bearing back to Harrow. 

Its true, you get to see more when
you take time over your travels

Today is a game of three thirds. Country lanes, faster roads then country lanes again. This helps me get the riding done relatively quickly after a late start and provides the opportunity on today's human scale gradients to move up the gears and spin my legs more than I have so far - great fun and a good advertisement for lightweight cycle touring. 

Snack time

As my legs start to tire I see a stall and buy some eggs. Looking for a good lunch spot all I see is wet grass and it takes a while to find somewhere suitable. When I do it is the perfect spot and I relax over coffee, boiled eggs and noodles.

The ground sheet makes a handy wind break

Signs of World War I; milestone text is erased to hinder the enemy

I find my next campsite and though the directions and google maps are all clear I still manage to miss it and have to double back. I am irritated. This is one of those sites connected to a farm providing a grass pitch and drinking water only and with limited signage. Finding someone to pay (the son of the owner) I pitch the tent like a one-man version of the chuckle brothers. The finished dome tent looks like a collapsed souffle but I am too tired to care as all my hard learnt camp craft has deserted me. I start to write my journal ... then two hours later I awake with my face firmly planted in the ground. The only other resident has driven off somewhere.

I can't face pub food and at 6 pm I am lying on my front facing out of the tent eating a big bowl of pasta which restores my strength and puts me in a better mood. The owner of the establishment comes over on a mobility scooter to check on me. She is very kind and asks if I have found everything. The pre-arranged deal we had struck was that I provide cash and she provides a patch of grass and a cold water tap suitable for drinking. I am lying on the grass, and glancing over her shoulder I can see that the water tap is where I had left it when filling my water bottles. I am unsure how to reply without sounding sarcastic. I summon up a bright smile and fall back on the campers staple and say "Oh yes, I know where the local pub is." In my mind this also answers any unspoken questions about toilet and hygiene arrangements. Satisfied, she whirs away with an electric hum.

Sorry there aren't more photos and not much to report. I saw a perfect pheasant and chatted to a couple of people. One thought cycle touring was a great idea but was worried about having enough space to carry her shoe collection. The other took the cycle theme to talk at great length about his son's BMX cycling exploits. 

Day 19: West Haddon to Woodford Halse