Bicycle Touring England 16th January 2024

It’s another cold start to the day, but that doesn’t bother Garry, and he’s soon packed up and back on the road. Garry’s lack of planning means a slug up a big hill and some off-road cycling. Neither of which suits Garry these days.

Follow Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring adventures at https://www.garrymcgivern.com/wheres-garry-mcgivern/ as Garry cycles around different countries on his trusty bicycle, Passepartout, and be the first to know when he’s off long-distance cycling again.

Subscribe to Garry’s blog: https://www.garrymcgivern.com/follow-garry-on-his-travels/

You can also follow Garry on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/travelsonabike2/

https://www.instagram.com/travelsonabike2/

Tweets by Travelsonabike2

https://www.youtube.com/@travelsonabike2

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/travelsonabike2/

Stay safe and keep peddling.

#cycletouring #bicycletouring #cycling

Morning oh well it’s another fresh Frosty morning um there’s more frost on the inside of the tent and than there is on the outside of it but oh God that’s fine um oh where’s my light WR come back let’s it yeah um as I say i’ I’ve been warming

Up as say it’s just that getting up first thing in the morning that is painful but hey ho we’re up and dressed um we’re going to pack away um I’m not in any Rush again I think I’ll wait till the uh sun gets up um I think we’re

Going to head to um well back to Solsbury but we’ll go a different way than the way we came um I was thinking of going to Oxford to that campsite but oh well they they’ve condemned it and it’s closed so we can’t go there so yeah so we’ll go back to

Solsbury and we’ll go along the kennet and aan canel or is aan and kenet whatever is kenet and aan Canal to Bon Bradford on aan and then we’ll head back down uh via Warminster and back to Solsbury um I think it’s basically the reverse of the way we went when we went

Bath yeah that’s fine right look see look at all that Frost right right I’m going to get up and well I’m going to start clearing away I shall speak to you all later goodbye well everything’s frosted up on the um bike and the mud that I accumulated um coming

Along this um s path yesterday to the campsite is it’s all Frozen to the tires now so they feel rather heavy yeah so I think we’re going to go up to Bradford upon aen then sort of turn left and head to Warminster and then back to Solsbury for the night we’ve left the

Canal now um it was rather bumpy so I think we’re heading for Trowbridge now and we’re going to give Bradford a fun even a Miss um it’s not as if we haven’t been there before so yeah we’ll just just go straight to to trobridge um and then waringer I think it

Is that sun goes isn’t it definitely a chill still but in the sun it’s lovely and warm not for sure about this road what mean um come load more it does seem somewhat um busy I think we’re only going to be on it for uh a short while and then

We then we come off it just think they never used to worry me these roads oh God they don’t really worry me that much that well it’s more that I can’t seem to cycle in a straight line especially going up the hill but we’re just about to go

Up right I’m going to turn you off now while I can I’m not liking the look of that Hill I’m hoping I think we do I think we sort of go um to the right of it I hope so where are we coming up to Breton if you know where that

Is uh we just come through steeple Ashton I think it was um that was a pretty Village rather a big church for the size of the place know I might have to dig out my cap in a minute this sun is rather bright and I’m struggling to see guess what we are

Going up that hill um had I taken the main road I think we’d have avoided it but I thought we’re not doing that many miles again today so why not it’s somewhere different blood hard work though right I’m going to turn you off before I start cycling right it’s going to turn

Around take some photos oh yeah there you Go pretty nice view I must admit we’re still going up this it’s uh Westbury Hill it still goes up there looking at where this car is coming down from and to the left of me is um Solsbury plane um you can hear the I whether it’s guns or what it is but

There’s definitely some ammunition being fired I can hear it yes I of course I stopped just to let you pass else otherwise I’d have kept going oh dear I think oh there a car coming behind as well I think um on the hill up not further might be that um White Horse of

Wilt here I’m sure as we came up this road I saw a sign for the White Horse and I don’t think it was a pub right and we’re going to turn you off now have to I’ll have to go up there and stop at least it gives me another excuse

Wow hey I’m my baby right let stop here looks good oh we’re at the top I have to have a look at the time stamp to see how long that took I’m I’m not liking I think it just said Broadway not Rose so that’s going to be annoying if it is

I did look several times just to see if it was a road fact I should have looked on Ordinance survey never mind we’re here now think I’m going to put another layer on though definitely a bit cold up here and if we’re going down hill which I think and hopefully will be

Maybe I’ll get to the end here and have a look where that white horse thing is maybe we’re on top of it there’s that white horse where is it there we was above it as we said well this is annoying it is a track I suppose the only good thing is it’s going

Downhill oh hello dogs hello you hello oh hi ity apparently this is the in range path um funny enough I was talking um to a bloke at um Stonehenge and I think this is what um he was on about he cycled I know last year I think it was

Or whenever I I was saying it’s not for me oh look where we are never mind I don’t think there’s a huge um amount of distance to go to be honest on here oh got hope not anyway the ice in my uh water bottle and it still hasn’t

Th I don’t quite know what we’re going to do when we yeah uh put the tent up cuz well I I did pack the inner tent away separately and not that there was much um point in it because there was ice on that as well we’ll have to see tonight when we

Get soulsbury that’s assuming we’ll make it sure sure we will I know where we’re going to come out now um when was it um might have been when we was going um to Bath and the uh phone I think I was on that road down there that you can see um

It shook me off um I could see this road from there and I just decided not to and stuck on the main road well that was definitely a wise move blind me I would never have cycled up this it’s bad enough going down there it’s pretty steep yes I know exactly where we’re

Going to come out so we’ll be sticking on that main road for a a bit um what is it I 350 maybe I don’t know yeah the cycle path seem to be non-existent for a while well it led me up here I’m not sure whether I am recorded

That or not I definitely remember it cuz I remember seeing a blo come down down from here I he was on a like a electric mountain bike I think it was he definitely didn’t have all the luggage I’ve got on that’s for sure right sure turn you stop that we a little bit

Right stop here in the sun they turn you off that’s it let’s get back on this Main Road it was where I thought it was so we stick on this for um not too far cuz I remember looking that when we came up this way

And well the road that it said or path just didn’t exist and that’s why we ended up on this road before in theory it should be a nice easy ride that well easy as in um Direction wise um cuz we’re on uh Route 24 which

Is the the usual way we come up when we leave um Salsbury I we’ll meet up uh further down where we went on that uh other route when we left Solsbury on Route 45 I think that was yeah I’m that ice in my oh God water bottle still hasn’t defrosted it’s still

Ice in there maybe I should buy some Gin and have a GNT with some ice hi still loads of frost on the fields over there suppose they’ve been in the shade all okay along of course another reason for wanting to get to the campsite before it well before

The sun goes down um there’s a lot of water on the roads and well back there it was bits that been sprayed not the main bit were frozen like on the right there that’s all Frozen so yeah I think we want to get bit of a wiggle

On before it gets I mean it’s only I me it’s only quter past one yeah temperature has obviously not got much above free freezing if at All stop there got really hold on don’t bother moving oh I’ll leave you on for a minute see this is all we’re not coming into soulsbury the way I thought we were got confused and we’re coming in bya Wilton not there is a major problem but I think we sort of got to

Go in to Solsbury and then sort of back out but that’s fine I think to go the way I thought we we would have had to have turned left and gone over some big hill so maybe it was just as well I wasn’t paying too much

Attention now here we go speak of the devil it’s Wilton just coming [Applause] Up yeah I think we’ve only got 6 miles or so to go get that tender um I just tried to have a drink of water it’s still frozen evening all well we made it back to um soulsbury um what we on uh 40 m today so a little bit better than yesterday but

Not a huge amount but hey ho it is what it is um yeah the tent it wasn’t too bad was well there was plenty of frost still on it but it’s fine good decision to take the inner tent out um and pack that away separately don’t know whether I

Mentioned that or not but yeah we did so it’s fine yeah everything’s all right it’s dry now so it’s fine I she go and have a shower and get on my supper and well I we speak to you all in the morning goodbye