Day 4 – to Hartpury, Gloucestershire (84 long miles)

Today, we cycled further than either of us have cycled before. We started fairly late (9:20), having only gained access to the B&B's wireless network at breakfast.

Our first challenge was Cheddar Gorge, which took us up into the Mendip Hills. It was a slow slog, made harder by the fact that the Gorge was channelling a strong head wind. The views from the top, however, were fantastic and the descent was quick (if not a little scary).

From there on, we took a fairly circuitous and very hilly route around Bristol, stopping for a quick lunch stop at a café in the picturesque village of Chew Magna at around 2pm (apparently the name has to do with its location by the river Chew, rather than any local habit of eating Japanese family- size cars). Brittany had really begun to fade, and was rather annoyed that we had not even reached half way. We both cheered up after a sandwich, and we had soon reached the Severn Bridge.

Unfortunately the bicycle path over the Severn Bridge was blocked by double parked maintenance vehicles. Brittany ended up climbing onto the motorway with the panniers, and Simon managed to lift the tandem around the road barriers. Soon we reached Wales, where we turned onto the A48 back towards England (I.e. Gloucester).

While a quick trip down the A48 sounded good during planning, in reality the A48 didn't really avoid any hills and the traffic was quite scary. We were constantly being overtaken by lorries and fuel tankers. Being an A road, there were no hedges to provide any protection against the strong winds.

Eventually, around 5pm (we had covered 60 miles), Simon's blood sugar began to get low and he started to pick fights with Brittany. Luckily, before too much damage was done, we found a roadside café and made peace over a rock cake and a chocolate brownie.

We were very glad when we turned off the A48 onto narrow country lanes through the Gloucestershire countryside. The wind had begun to die down and the sun was shining – but we still spent the last 15 miles wishing we had finished already.

Our final destination, Hartpury, was reached just after 7pm – over 7 hours in the saddle. We headed straight to the nearest pub, where Simon undid all the hard work by consuming a 32oz t-bone steak, washed down with pint of local Perry. It was the friendliest pub we have experienced on our trip, with chatty locals, a folk music band practising in a corner, and a dog and a cat both eager for attention.

Rain is forecast tomorrow :-(