23 July

The Day of Non Events.  Woken up at 6am by lightning and thunder and a little rain at the campsite.  Given the forecasts of the previous day, we decided to move the campervan onto hard ground. Best be prepared.  We were feeling quite smug about this, when the rain stopped.  It didn’t really start again all day.

It rained a bit when I was in Blackburn, but that was about it.  By the time I was in Bolton, there was blue sky and it stayed fine all the time. 

The route today took me through what could most accurately be described as ‘Industrial Britain’.  Down from Clitheroe into Blackburn, through the middle of the town and down then towards Bolton, the Leigh, Wigan and Warrington.  Not much to report really.  I grew up in places like this.  Row upon row of terraced houses, supermarkets, industrial estates etc etc.  Once I had climbed out of Blackburn, it was largely either downhill or flat, a welcome relief after yesterday. 

Once through Warrington, it was down towards Chester and to the campsite.

Longer day tomorrow, but I’m past halfway now.... 

and you know what is holding up pretty well.

22 July

So, halfway point, seventh day and just over half the miles completed. Feeling okay so far, but it was a hard day today, just over 70 miles but lots and lots of hills, some quite steep.  

I should have known what was in store on leaving Keswick.  A steep 1:4 gradient almost immediately then lots more hills all through the Lakes, as I went down through Grassmere, Ambleside and Windermere before heading down a rather hairy stretch for a couple of miles on the A65 with cars travelling at 70mph taking turns to see how close they could get to me as they went past.

Nearly all drivers are great, giving me a wide birth and passing slowly but the odd one makes stretches like this very frightening.  The route avoids A roads as much as possible but this small stretch was unavoidable.  I was glad when I turned off, heading South towards High Bentham, across Bentham moor.  Glad, that is until I could see the hill in front of me and feel the wind in my face.  The next twenty miles were the hardest so far, harder than that fateful first day into the wind on the North Coast of Scotland.  Terrible road surface, full of potholes, strong wind directly at me and steep climb after steep climb.  Finally it ended and then a very long downhill stretch I was into Clitheroe. 

Amanda hadn’t arrived when I got there, she and the boys were off in the middle of nowhere, climbing but luckily my parents had come across to meet me.  They took me to a factory outlet store, where I bought some cheap clothes a towel and soap and we spent a lovely couple of hours in the pub, chatting.  When the rest of the family arrived, we all went out for a fantastic Italian meal in Clitheroe, when my parents landed me with news of the weather forecast, and imminent thunder storms.......

Still, my bum’s not sore.