Friends old and new

Wednesday, July 3: An eponymous day...

Stafford - Childs Ercall, 42 km

As it was a shorter distance day, and a later arrival deadline, we did a bit more admin before leaving our hotel at 11 am (later checkout at this chain hotel), and although we missed going into the centre of Stafford we did ride up to their castle.

The original Stafford castle/fort was built by the Normans in the late 11th century and would have been a wooden structure protected by ditches and high banks, some of which are still visible. Around 1350 it was rebuilt in stone. Falling into disrepair again during the 1600's, so that by 1790 only a single low stone wall remained. It was 'rediscovered' and rebuilt at that point so that by 1813 it was effectively a new castle. It was abandoned by the family at some point but occupied by caretakers up until 1949 when it was declared unfit to live in.

Not too much of it left but a lovely site with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside.

Rode towards the town of Newport along a route on the old railway line. Not that well used however, reducing to narrow single track with encroaching edges of stinging nettle to brush past... slightly tricky and memorable! (the nettle is not as strong as NZ nettle, and as long as one doesn't scratch it, the irritation soon clears). Bonus was spotting a number of squirrels busy doing squirrelly things (ie running across the trail).

We had lunch on the outskirts of Newport by some big box stores then rode through the main part of town. Right on "schools out" time so it was a tad hectic negotiating hundreds of secondary school students intent on leaving the premises.

From there we wound through small lanes, passing crops of wheat, barley, lettuces, beans and maize... along with quite a number of huge tunnel houses which housed strawberries and possibly other fruit/crops.

We arrived at our friends Janet and Allan's about 4:30 pm, a fun evening with a lovely meal... it was brilliant to catch up.

The eagle eyed will have noticed our friends are all called the same (or for the last 4 days have been!). In this case Noel shared an office with Janet back in 1988 when he worked at Wye College in Kent. Janet is now a head geneticist with a large UK ram breeding operation, and a part time lecturer, whilst Allan is a pig professor and lecturer at nearby Harper Adams Ag college... a lot in common on agricultural lines so always robust, fun discussions had. We last caught up with them in 2019 when we stayed with them and had also enjoyed a multi-day canal boat trip together.

Thursday, July 4: Finding it thrilling, to see what's the filling ...

Childs Ercall - Bishops Castle, 80 km

Departed Janet and Allan's by 9:15 am to wind our way via quiet roads and arrived at Shrewsberry about 12 pm. A busy place with lots of people wandering, including a share of tourists.

Shrewsberry is a very cute town of 76,000 people (not sure how many biscuits) dating back to the 8th century and earlier with bronze age relics having been found. There is a castle and Abbey established from 1074 on. Shrewsberry has over 600 listed buildings, lots of tudor style buildings with timber framing from the 15th, 16th century. 

A useful fact.. the birthplace of Charles Darwin.

Had a sandwich sitting outside a cafe, a bit cold although the sun was shining. Last minute today, but we found and booked our accommodation for this evening at the town of Bishops Castle... still 50 km away so onto the bikes to find our way to the path following the river Severn.

A reasonably strong wind but luckily we are mostly sheltered by the hedge rows on the side of the lanes. Crop, some cattle, some sheep. As we cycled past one farm yard, they were busy shearing, on a portable outside stand. We wonder if any were Kiwi shearers?. Looked like a tricky operation with rain threatening, although Janet had confirmed last night that with wool worth so little they really don't take any care with it and everything is bundled together in packs. 

We actually visited Wales... albeit only for around 2 km and in one small corner, but still we will claim it!

Two enormous hills, which entailed a bit of pushing, with the 2nd having a tail wind... which is amazing how it actually helps! Followed along the top of a scenic ridge which followed an old droving route before dropping down into the town of Bishops Castle.

When we arrived at the lovely looking hotel we were advised we had been upgraded due to a double booking on their part... bonus, a huge room and facilities. Also have some fresh cherries to munch on given to us from Janet's garden... triple lucky! Reasonably weary this evening, it's been a big day, so we have a slower day planned for tomorrow.

Touching Wales .... briefly

Shrewsberry

Friday, July 5: Craving for some lunch...

Bishops Castle - Ludlow, 30 km

After breakfast we had a walk around the town of Bishops Castle. It happened to be market day/fat lamb sale day as we walked past the saleyards, a smaller scale "Lorneville Sale Yards". Would have loved to have gone in and had a gander, but not sure how the local farmers would view us! The sale yards are right near the centre of what is a fairly small town.

The town is quite quirky... with the original castle being demolished in 1700 and turned into a bowling green instead. The only surviving bit of the castle, which was originally built in 1087 to defend the church and village from the Welsh, is a partial wall just beside the hotel we are staying in.

The town/village also has the Three Tuns Brewery, established in 1642 making it the oldest licensed brewery site in Britain. Our hotel has been open since 1719 so nothing too modern about the place!!

Departing around 10 am we headed for the hills, quite a lot of upward including some quite steep. Farmland of crop, potatoes and some cows.

Descended into Craven Arms, a busy town with lots of bulk potato trucks charging through. Lunch in a handy bakery then a couple of kms out of town, and off the suggested route, we stopped at Stokesay Castle and Church.

Classed as one of the finest fortified manor houses in England. It was built in the late 1200's on an earlier castle site by Laurence of Ludlow, one of England's leading wool merchants, ( when wool must have been a valuable product! ). Laurence had money and wanted to show it... so he built a grand "house" made to look older and exude prestige whilst having a look of royalty (which he didn't have any traces of!)

The property was lived in until the end of the 17th century and then rented out for agricultural and manufacturing purposes i.e. black-smith which coincidentally almost burnt the tower down! Two major renovations were done during the 1800's, both working within the original shell.

Chatted to a friendly chap who was volunteering there for the National Trust owners. One of the lovely features was that the castle is largely open (windows, doorways etc) to the outside so that it is home to a whole lot of swallows, some with young-ones, and bats although we didn't spot any of them.

To avoid doubling back to the route, and to avoid a hill, we followed the footpath beside the busy A49. The footpath then turned into a farmyard track, literally biking past the farmer unloading stock, then spat us directly back out onto the actual road.

So it was a quick 2 km on the shoulder of the busy A road (which was fine) before getting back on our designated bike route.

We stopped at Ludlow Farm Shop which is a relatively new looking complex of a cafe, shop, whiskey distillery, and a hotel in the making, as well as an ice cream shop which we utilised. The first ice cream for the trip, (apart from a scoop in a pudding we had somewhere).

Biked through the Oakley Park estate, then past an indoor pig farm (could hear the snorting and embrace the "discreet" aroma),  and dropped down into Ludlow getting a great view of the large, imposing Ludlow Castle on our descent, before riding over the river Teme into the township.

As we were navigating our way through the town to our pub, located just outside the old town walls, we were followed and given helpful guidance by a local cyclist couple. We ended up having an enjoyable chat with them over a beer in the sun sitting outside the pub.

We had a wander around the town tonight and found dinner at the Rose and Crown Inn, which has been operating under that name since the 13th century. Our own pub accommodation, the Wheatsheaf Hotel, is very cute and is no pup itself having operated there since the mid 1600's!

Ludlow is a town founded in the 11th century after the Norman conquest of England. It has nearly 500 listed buildings, mainly tudor.

Saturday, July 6: A castle view...

Ludlow - Bromyard, 40 km

Checked out of our room at 9 am but left our bikes and bags at the pub whilst we walked up town for a cafe  breakfast. Then lined up to be some of the first of the morning to enter Ludlow castle.

The present castle was built around 1075, prior to that the site was a fortification called Denham Castle. A strategic site overlooking the river Teme, with 2 sides of natural cliff protection, and then deep ditches installed on the other sides for protection. The castle was expanded during 1140-1177 with the inner circular chapel built around this time as well.

Ludlow castle has been in a lot of various ownership struggles... country vs country, family inheritance disagreements, crown repossession etc. It fell into disrepair around 1689 and was further dismantled over the years by the stripping of the roof lead, stonework etc so much so that in 1722 it was recorded as "the perfection of decay".

Some rooms were used until the 1770's however, with some restoration done, although not near enough. In the 1820's a grand building "Castle House" was built adjoining the castle. By 1852 the town had become a tourist destination... as it still is today! We enjoyed our look around the castle, climbing up the remaining spiral staircases that we could... the weather was freezing though (not literally, although the temps seemed like it with wet weather threatening).

Retrieved our bikes 11'ish and wound our way up hills on mostly quiet roads, farmland of wheat, barley, oil seed rape and potatoes. Some cattle grazing. Stopped for lunch in Leominster, very cold temps so no inclination to window shop in the many antique/vintage shops that obviously it appears known for. 

Sun coming out as we made our way through undulating countryside to arrive at the town of Bromyard about 4 pm, checked in which included our bikes going in the Mews building (originally a stable block). A walk around the town this evening, a lovely looking town  with several tudor buildings, and a lot of pubs ... the sports pub is full to overflowing as England are playing Switzerland in Euro 2024. An amount of excitement as England is through to the semi's. 

A very quiet night at our, also tudor and historic, hotel with an extremely nice roast meal. Speaking of meat, at yesterday's visit to the Ludlow farm shop  lamb steaks were nearly GBP 25/kg whilst we noted in this mornings walk that the Ludlow village butcher shop was selling the equivalent at GBP 18/kg... around $NZ 37...

Sunday, July 7: For the name spotters.... Janet the third...

Bromyard - Malvern, 47 km

Rain threatening this morning but a slower day planned as we don't have as much distance to go and nor do we need to arrive until 5 pm.

Upon leaving around 10 am we zig zagged our way up into the hills, beautiful views in all directions. Cereal crops along with beans and potatoes as well as apples and hops (and a cidery or two). Becoming quite populated with houses dotted everywhere, and lots of old farm buildings that have been converted into dwellings.

We arrived into Ledbury just as it was starting to rain, so rather good timing. We parked up the bikes under a Tudor structure in the main town square and went and found some lunch. Then went for a wander around the town as the rain had departed again.

Quite an historic town and obviously the population is very proud of it. We visited a heritage building where a volunteer gave us a great run down of its history. After which it was time for cakes in a lovely little courtyard cafe as the sun was now out.

13 kms riding to Malvern from there, a lot of it up before a (very) steep descent, so involved a share of pushing again. Once down the descent we went to the far end of town in search of a supermarket... to find they shut at 4 pm ( Sunday hours) and we arrived at 4:02 !!!. We had hoped to source some NZ wine for this evening's hosts, but had to settle for an Aussie Red and a French White from a nearby convenience store instead. Both were Mudhouse brand!?

A quick look at the centre of Great Malvern, which entailed another climb up. Malvern is known for its excellent water from the adjoining, very scenic, Malvern Hills. As such it became a destination to "take the waters" during the 1800's. So the result is some very grand buildings. There were historically two railway stations in town... one an upper station (solely 1st class) and a lower station for all the other classes!

We rolled into our hosts around 5:30 pm... we had met Bill and Janet on our last year's Intrepid Cycle Vietnam. A lovely, lively couple and a fun evening with great hospitality. A beautiful area of the country.

 

Monday, July 8: Nice to meet ya...

Malvern - Northleach, 64 km

Up early and had breakfast with Bill before he headed off to work at 7.30 am, Janet had already left early for work commitments. Bill kindly left us to lock up the house as we left, and it gave us enough time to get our day planned... i.e. find somewhere to sleep tonight!

Turned out to be a mixed day weather wise, starting off in sunny, warm conditions then turning to rain and a temperature drop as the day progressed. Our 8.30 am departure with warm sunshine and mostly flat riding, although initially busy with Malvern commuters, saw us knock off the first 20 km in reasonable time,  so that we arrived at Tewkesbury shortly after 10am.

A busy town with some amazing old buildings, Tewkesbury stands at the confluence of the rivers Severn and Avon so was once a major trade hub. A large flour mill site built in 1865 and closed in 2006 is abandoned by the river. The town also has an Abbey that was built by the Normans and consecrated in 1121. Originally forming part of a Benedictine monastery. We were unable to enter to view due to a school prize giving in progress.

On 4 May 1471 the Battle of Tewkesbury occurred, a decisive battle in the War of the Roses. An annual historical re-enactment takes place which happens to be next weekend... so we have just missed it, although all the knights flags are already flying and making the town very colourful.

We grabbed some lunch after our wander around the town. We tend to try and use the small cafes rather than the chain ones.. which seem to have 2 or 3 staff... they tend not to be super busy but still take absolutely ages to make a sandwich!! We have worked out this must be a British tradition, the long lunch!?

From Tewkesbury a bit more flat, winding riding, and then we hit the hills. Passed the Bugatti Museum, and an obigatory photo for Noel at the neighbouring Prescott Hill Climb entrance.. a site he has seen on various motoring TV programmes. This was just after the village of Gotherington where the start of the Cotswold style buildings is becoming evident.

Shortly thereafter we rode through Winchcombe which instantly confirmed we had hit the Cotswolds. Buildings lining the street were all limestone, brownstone style/colour. From the hills above the town we could see a still lived in Castle, and then several huge estate houses/mini-castles. One was getting their Tesco supermarket deliveries and had a lot of workers out setting up for a possible function?

The farms now seem bigger with lots of crop... wheat, barley and some oats along with a few sheep and cattle. The farm buildings are located away from the (large) main houses, i.e. across the road. Lots of Land Rovers and green gumboots in evidence!

Rain started as we were in the hills and the temps dropped a bit, still showers rather than a complete downpour however. We were most pleased to get to our pub in Northleach around 4:30 pm, The Sherbourne Arms is a lovely little traditional Cotswold pub with us being the only overnight guests for the evening, so the (dripping) bikes parked in the downstairs lobby! A lovely room and not too expensive as we had late booked on a quiet week night.

Some mates of our Oamaru friends Rob and Justyna, who Rob had known for a number of years when he was living in the UK, came down to Northleach from their home near Stratford-upon-Avon to meet us and have a drink. Dean and Jo are coming out to NZ over Christmas/New Year so it was lovely to meet them as it's likely they will come and stay with us for a night or 2 in Arrowtown.

As we get further south it is very noticeable in the smaller towns that there is a large older population out and about, lots of walkers and mobility scooters. Just a sign of the increased population in general we guess. Also noticeable is the high numbers of people that  smoke or vape... in general, not the oldies!. 

Peaking too soon... or too late?

Saturday, June 29: Last of the summer wine (whine?)...

Meltham - Buxton, 63 km

Wet this morning, but no wind so not too bad. A visit to the local Co-Op supermarket got us breakfast of instant porridge and bananas, but didn't take up the option of Toffee Yoghurt!!... so along with last nights left over pizza we were fortified for the day hopefully.

The apartment owner came over at 9am to unlock our bikes from the garage and with his well wishes we set off... up, and up and up. Following the climb it was a drop down to Holmforth which looked like a nice village with lots of cafes and bakeries... but too soon for our elevenses so we carried on with our upward trajectory. Some pushing involved.

Holmforth was the major filming location for the iconic British series Last of the Summer Wine... we could almost hear Compo saying "Aeh Up... wot are those two up to then?...". And tempted though we were to sit on a stone fence and admire the view we kept moving.

Raining lightly off and on a bit but quite warm so not really an issue. Noel got a puncture, back tyre just to make it a bit more challenging, close to the top of the hill... Caro ahead and hadn't realised so waited until he appeared half carrying his bike up to avoid any rim damage. The replacement tube fitted and we were on our way again.

Across the tops, then down and over the dam on the Winscar Reservoir, carefully crossed over the A628 which was a busy arterial road. When looking at the map it is obvious that todays ride is a bit like threading the needle as we pass between a couple of major UK cities of Manchester and Sheffield without really leaving the countryside.

Once over the A road it was following some cross-country tracks, down through a gully and back up to again carefully cross the road to continue on the off road track high above the road before descending steeply to once again cross the busy road. Getting a few looks from some MTBers on this section that were thinking they were hard-core in the wilderness until we came cruising along on our fully laden bikes. The rain had cleared away by this stage so a bonus.

Joined up with a lovely ex railway line cycle/walking path (unpaved) beside a series of reservoirs leading down to the area of Hadfield. From there we wound our way out of the township area and onto the next lot of hills. Via farmland scenery before a quick drop into and up out of New Mills. Up and around the side of a hill, dropped down to a canal but immediately lifted up again... we debated if we could follow the canal but it wasn't clearly marked and our GPS was insisting on "go up".

So over a bump (a pretty big hill in other words) to drop onto the edge of the village of Whaley Bridge. We had tried to get accommodation here but there was nothing available, once we passed through we realised there was a festival on so hence why we couldn't find anything. It would have been nice to stop about there!

Up the next hill, stopped for a cuppa on the side of the road and once we started Caro had a front tyre puncture (small fragment of glass, probably picked up off side of road coming through town). So the 2nd replacement tube fitted for the day... down to one spare, and fingers crossed!

Once our next lot of climbing over it was a very steep descent into the town of Buxton. Buxton is branded the highest market town in the UK... and it feels like it... and located on the edge of the Peak District National Park, but in Derbyshire.

Buxton is thought to have had human settlement for 6000 years! First Stone Age, then Roman settlement from around 75 AD to 410 AD enticed due to the existence of a thermal spring here. It is still reknowned for its water (fresh) with out of towner's coming to fill containers.

The spring was dedicated to St Anne in 1382 and a "Spa Town" in the style of Bath was forming from the 1780's. A very grand looking town with an opera house, pavilion, gardens, a large Crescent style building in the centre etc. And possibly one of the most grand is where we are staying... it was quite cheap, we think due to our late booking... The Palace Hotel.

We turned up at 7 pm after a very big day, complicated by the 2 punctures and the fact this was/is the biggest climbing day of our whole trip with just under 1500 metres of climbing, often steep. So looking suitably bedraggled and smelly we checked in.... the lobby was full of people in their finery and holding champagne flutes, it appears a wedding is in full swing!

A very flash lobby, chandelier, grand piano being played etc... and the friendly chap checking us in just said nonchalantly... wheel your bikes in through the lobby and we will put them in a conference room... What??? So he proceeded to ask various well heeled people to move a bit so we could push our bikes through.... funny as, and the ideal way to get us laughing at the end of a tough riding day.

Feeling revitalised after a cuppa and a shower we headed out for a wander around the impressive town centre and found a suitable dinner pub.

Sunday, June 30: I'm a train, I'm a train, I'm a chucka train...

Buxton - Ashbourne, 41 km

A quick walk around Buxton again this morning before departing about 10 am.

Hills??.. the sad thing about most of these towns and villages is that you drop down a hill into them which then means you have to climb back out. Probably more so when following the suggested cycle routes which are all designed to keep you away from traffic as much as possible (a brilliant thing!).

Although the climbing not too bad this morning, initially on streets, then up farm-like tracks into Limestone country, briefly back onto very quiet roads before joining the top of a trail on ex railway line... the Tissington Trail. Why we have not found railway trails everywhere is a question, they are easy!!! As we started at the terminus it was all slightly downhill which made for very pleasant riding through picturesque scenery. To make things even better there were periodic snack shops, toilets, bike hire/repair shops etc. 

Being a Sunday in mid-summer (supposedly) there was lots and lots of people on the trail... people with babies, people with dogs, people on bikes, families on bikes... a very relaxed feel. As we had been climbing this morning there were a lot of other bikers about then too on a Sunday blast... serious and a lot lot lighter and faster than us.

Arrived into Ashbourne after the final flourish of a lengthy railway tunnel, we were early for our AirBnB check-in but Sandra the host had told us that was fine. A great 1 bedroom apartment with a washing machine... bonus and much appreciated.. very close to a supermarket and then the town centre easy walking distance. The ideal spot for our 2 night stay... we have been extremely lucky getting accommodations to suit us pretty much everywhere, particularly when we have often only been booking the day before. There is also a friendly cat desperate to be adopted, so ideal. Looking forward to a day "off bikes" after what has been a pretty hard few days.

Tough biking ... a shadow of his former self...

Monday, July 1: A guided tour...

A changeable day, warm cloudy start turning to misty rain, steady rain and wind then clearing later in the arvo.

Noel did a clean up and service of the bikes... they appreciated a little love!

Then at 10 am our friends Alan and Janet came and picked us up. Alan and Janet live near Derby, not too far from Ashbourne, but spend a couple of months every NZ summer in Arrowtown... we got to know them through the Whakatipu Walkers group we all attend. They had kindly offered to show us some of their local walking, and interest, spots.

First up was a walk around the village of Ashford-in-the-water, a cute stone built village (as a lot are!) with the river Wye running beside it. Historically known for black marble quarrying. Very pretty town, still small and quiet... although as Alan explained a lot of the houses are absentee owners, due to the aesthetic appeal pushing up prices, so a lot of these small cute towns are losing their actual community feel.

Drove a bit further and walked a section of the Monsal trail... starting in the village of Little Longstone we walked across a field to reach the ex railway line trail. A very popular trail, even on a Monday there are a lot of people about, a sign that we are now in the lower more highly populated areas of the UK. This section of trail passes through the Headstone tunnel, a 500 m tunnel. Wandered partway across the Headstone viaduct which crosses the river Wye.

The railway had been a link between Manchester and London which was closed in 1968, when a major overhaul of the UK rail system occurred. The line had historically supported a number of cotton, wool, textile mills in the area.

Alan drove us through a number of busy villages and with deteriorating weather we climbed up Mam Tor, a 517 m hill near the town of Castleton. Mam Tor means Mother Hill so called because frequent landslips have resulted in a number of small hills below it. The tor was a fort in the bronze age. It was windy... a wind tunnel strength wind.. and as we got to the top a mist rolled in so the view wasn't ideal either, but lots of fun! As we descended the cloud rolled back to give us some views.

We walked from there down the road a little to the Blue John Cavern... a cavern discovered whilst lead mining was occurring above. The whole cave system is limestone based hence there are a number of caves/caverns in the wider area. Whilst exploring the cavern the lead miners came across a variety of Fluorite known as Blue John, a semi-precious stone used for ornaments and jewellery. So far this is the only place in the world known to have this stone.

We did a guided tour down into the caverns, 245 steps down and up again reaching a depth of 90 m. Spectacular formations of limestone, iron coloured and rippled flow-stone. The cave has had water continuously dripping or showering in... more or less depending on outside conditions but always flowing in some form. An amazing place to see, the cave system is extensive and we only got to see one section of it. Our guide was a very knowledgeable expert having worked there as a guide since he was 14, guessing he is now mid 50's.

The Blue John name is thought to have come from French origins "bleu et juane" meaning blue and yellow.

Apart from the 4 of us, the group included another family... including their dog down into the depths... as we've mentioned, dogs go everywhere!!

From there a stop at Grindleford railway station cafe for a hot cuppa to warm up and prepare for our next expedition. This was to Curbar Edge, a beautiful ledge of gritstone made up of lots of dramatic forms which make an ideal area for rock climbing. It was nearly deserted due to the inclement weather, mist swirling around which to us made it more spectacular. Funny though as Alan led us up a lesser used path, which added to the adventure although Janet thought he was mad doing so!

A stop at Chatsworth house carpark and a quick walk around as it was jtime on closing time anyway. Chatsworth is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire... although the Duke and Duchess have moved out to let the younger generation take over... The Earl of Burlington (ex photographer), his wife (a model) and 3 children... it is hard imagining living in a house like that... it is absolutely huge. But exceptionally well maintained and a very popular tourist spot. Alan and Janet advised it is well worth a visit but you really need a lot of time to explore the house and gardens.

King Charles, in his past job as a prince anyway, would often visit as the Duke was his favourite uncle. The house has been in the Cavendish family since 1549. A huge complex and a massive estate still goes with it (some land was sold off in the 80's to cover owed duties), plus villages nearby all owned. The villages all have the same paint scheme (ie stone buildings but doors, downpipes etc all the shame shade of blue).

After what has been a great days exploration of part of the beautiful Derbyshire area a pie and pint at a nearby pub before heading back for the guys to drop us at Ashbourne.

A fabulous day out and a very big thank you to Janet and Alan.

Ashbourne, and a lot of the other villages in the area, have bunting up in their main streets/squares. Apparently as it has recently been the "well dressing" weekend, a celebration of purity of the village/s water wells. A tradition started by those who survived the Black Death plague in 1348, or else the continuation of water supply in 1615. The current ceremony format started in the late 1700's. Clay boards adorned with flowers and mosses to make pictures, mannequins are dressed etc.

Ashbourne itself for this celebration has a completely mad ball game that takes place... apparently up to 100 in each team fighting for possession of a large round ball. Nor rules really, they will all charge through peoples gardens, up rivers etc to try and be the winner (who is an individual left holding the ball at the end of a set time (days).

Tuesday, July 2: Easy rider...

Ashbourne - Stafford, 48 km

Pre departure walk into the town to restock the tyre tube supplies (kept thinking carrying 3 spare was an overkill... but perhaps not given we have twice had 2 go in one day).

Upon packing up and a cherry farewell from our lovely ex Irish host, we wound through streets and out into the country. Largely still following NCN 68 at this point. Quiet roads, cropped fields of wheat, barley, beans and corn (with no plastic.. the soil is warmer!). Saw about 5 day cyclists out for a ride.

A stop at a motorway service stop for lunch on the outskirts of Uttoxeter, as not sure what else we would find and we were getting hungry... so Burger King it was!! However after another 30 minutes we came up on a lovely farm shop, garden centre and cafe... so purchased a couple of pieces of scrumptious cake to purge the system of the BK top up!

A lovely ride through farm landscapes on quiet B roads. No more stone walls, no more sheep. A few young cattle, more trees scattered through the fields across undulating countryside.

We kept following a road with multiple "road closed ahead" signs with a bit of trepidation, to finally reach a hole dug across the road on the edge of a village. A friendly local told us to just push the bikes around it and carry on... which we did.

Another 20 minutes later we encountered another road closed barrier but there was a footpath/bike path still accessible so easy.

Arrived at our Premier Inn accommodation on the outskirts of Stafford around 4 pm... a chance for a bit of admin catch up and dinner at a neighbouring pub so very handy!! Our bikes are in the room with us for the night, the first time for the trip but standard practice apparently at this chain hotel.

(EDITORS NOTE: for those of you reading these posts, in current time we are off the grid for a couple of weeks so won't get a chance to catch up on posts... we are about 3 weeks behind in real time... but will in due course)