SLOTHO Day 1: Cycling from Swanage to Bath

This was the first day of a youth-hostelling cycle tour from Swanage to Newcastle.

I decided to use youth hostels partly in order to support the YHA which, like so much of the hospitality sector, has taken a big hit due to COVID; I thought it would help if I started using hostels again (after a 45 year gap) rather than just lamenting how things have changed and so many hostels have closed since “my day”! For this reason I christened my tour SLeep Out To Help Out, or SLOTHO. Hostels turned out to provide excellent accommodation – better than in my youth – but the gaps between the hostels are now rather bigger which gave me some long distances to cycle.

For this ride I aimed to follow national cycle routes 2, 25, 24 and 4. I used Komoot to generate the route and directions for my GPS as I often miss the signposts. The route was 85 miles, but it was not until I reached Frome that I realized that Komoot had taken a short cut. Replanning the route to stay on NCN 24 added 5 miles. Then when I arrived at the junction with route 4 near Bath I could not find it in the dark. Consequently, I had to divert up a very steep hill which was, at least, a shorter route to the hostel in terms of distance. I arrived tired, hungry and rather dehydrated but I soon made up for that with the help of a large teapot!

Bath was a very cosmopolitan Youth Hostel and my dormitory was nearly full with tourists from many countries. If you plan to stay there and to self-cater it may be helpful to note that cooking facilities are limited to 2 microwaves, 2 ovens and some kettles – no hobs, but lots of people heating ready-meals.

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Music Copyright:
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Music: Hopeful Piano
Musician: Music For Videos