Uphill Battle Tour

For their autumn tour Jack and Richard chose two Moulton bicycles to ride from near Oswestry, Shropshire to Lewes in Sussex. Rupert to join in for the second half on a Brompton.
Jack arrived at Gobowen by train, with Moulton. Collected from there. Abi curry in evening. Next day walk along the canal to breakfast at Village Pantry, Llanymynech. Explored Heritage Area, and estate. Couple of pints in Cross Guns that night, very quiet. Set off next morning about nine.
Jack's Moulton (fourth Bike-to-Work purchase!) is a 2013 TSR27, with SRAM Dual-Drive, ie 9 speeds on a cassette, with 3 hub gears. Much modified: telescopic Brompton seatpost for extra height; raised handlebar stem, straight bars replaced by drops. Replacement brakes to accommodate the new levers. Richard’s is an APB R18, ie 9 speed cassette, 2 chainwheels. The R18s were the final and best specced evolution of the APB model. Preceded the introduction of the TSR range.

Day 1 - 5 Sept 2018

Very big first day. No accurate mileage to hand but we believe circa 85 miles, breaking the all-time tour record. Extraordinarily hilly route selected by the satnav to Wenlock Edge. Much needed drinks in Bridgnorth. No route along the steam railway. Shoulder after shoulder of hills, quite dispiriting. Just like the hilly sections of the Vélo Birmingham were, and we are staying overnight in one of those parts, Bewdley, at the Mercure. Declaration of insanity to the hotel staff scored us a free pint. Jack had a very slow speed off, pulling away, in Shrewsbury, possibly the result of a pannier jamming the steering. Minor cuts but nasty bruise to thigh, exacerbated by Jack's insistence on wearing rubber pants. We ate in at the Bewdley Mercure and the Gloucester Sawmills End Ibis. Good fare at both, not over-priced. Both too exhausted to venture elsewhere! Mercure Bewdley, Heath Hotel, Habberley Road, Bewdley, DY12 1LA. 1 twin room: £98.11.

Day 2 - 6 Sept 2018

Bewdley to Gloucester, via Stourport, Ombersley, Worcester and Tewkesbury, perhaps about 60 miles. Stops at Ombersley (posh cafe) and Worcester (Severn Cafe). A number of hills, but with a purpose, taking one up onto ridges, not like yesterday's endless roller-coaster. Some light rain. Drivers well behaved. Gorgeous views of the Malverns. Unfortunate rear puncture on my APB just five or six miles short of Gloucester, but sorted in half an hour. Good digs at the Ibis. Ibis Gloucester, Sawmills End, Corinium Avenue, Gloucester, GL4 3DG. 2 rooms: £88.

Day 3 - 7 Sept 2018

Gloucester to Bath, in all likelihood about 70 miles. The toughest day's cycling, in terms of hills, I've ever experienced. As we exited Gloucester we went into the centre to Eastgate Cycles in order to replace the accident-causing pannier, with one which clipped more securely to the frame. £20. Friendly service from proprietor who told us how tough trading conditions were for a traditionally-run cycle shop. Lovely first section along the canal. In an effort to get away from the A38 we ended up climbing Frocester Hill, up the side of the Cotswolds Hills. At 10%+ this was a long slog of a walk. Lovely roads over the top though, including along the Fosse Way, quiet fast miles. Beautiful around arboretum.
Bath expected to be hilly, but not as much as it turned out. Utterly exhausted, up hill and down dale to get to the university. Devonshire and Combe Down railway tunnels, now part of a cycling route, fantastic pieces of engineering - the latter is over a mile long - but do not appear to provide access to the university, much as the geography suggests they should. Had to double back, down hill then back up. Long push up final Medlock Hill to the University. Jack exhausted. (A subsequent examination of Google Maps suggested that there may well have been a much gentler level route to the university from the end of the second tunnel - confirming Richard’s speculation at the time based on place names. Pity the locals we asked did not know about it!)
Believe we have done c.220 miles over the last three days. Day off tomorrow, with just a journey to Bradford-on-Avon and back. Rupert joins the tour tomorrow afternoon.

Day off - 8 Sept 2018

I am riding a Brompton six-speed titanium ‘M’ model from 2008. (Jack's first Bike-to-Work bike, kindly on loan from Andy Thomas.) I take the train Lewes-Brighton. Then 09:00 direct service to Bradford-on-Avon, via Southampton, arriving midday. Lunch at Ravello, 1-2 St Margaret's St, Bradford-on-Avon.
To Moulton Bicycle Club Rally at the factory, with the Moulton fundies. We manage to negotiate a reduction for me on entry at £5. Pump up the tyres on the Brompton, badly needed. Cycle to Bath University, Claverton Down, via Kennett & Avon canal towpath, pushing the bike up Claverton Hill at the end. Overnight in cheap and cheerful digs, grub and beers in Uni bar. Reminded me of the old days in Durham. University of Bath, Eastwood, Norwood Avenue, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7PD. £38 approx per bed night. Good value.

Day 4 - 9 Sept 2018

For me the 'deep end' as I join the tour. We retrace our steps to Bradford-on-Avon via the canal towpath. Stop at Tourist Information for directions. Instead of continuing south-east to Trowbridge, we cut south-west to Farleigh Hungerford, where we see a motocross event and the ancient castle. A bunch of passing cyclists are headed to Longleat. We carry on to the Cross Keys pub at Rode, Somerset, where Pauline and Mark provide a free cup of tea. It is just amazing how fair people can be. "Come back and stay!" they say. A classic Bentley convertible pulls up to ask for directions.
I lose the boys on the A36 and turn off to Dilton Marsh, hoping they will catch up. I reach Westbury and cut south to Warminster on the unpleasant A350. I divert via Upton Scudamore in search of quieter roads. On the approach to Warminster a service area is disappointingly closed for repairs, so I head into town in search of money and grub. After cashing up at Barclays I stop at Coffee #1, 30 Market Place, Warminster for a snack - a cheese croissant is put in the microwave in error and turns out a sticky mess. I'm too hungry to care. The boys aren't far away as I head out of town looking for a turning to Sutton Veny. Beyond I stop at The Courtyard Café, The Ginger Piggery, Boyton - recommended. Despite phone contact the boys have got ahead and we meet up much further down the track at the The Royal Oak, Langford Rd, Great Wishford, where we sit in the garden opposite, dosing on ice creams, tea and cola. We carry on to Wilton.
Our route takes us into the centre of Salisbury where we stop briefly at the Cathedral. Many jokes about Russian visitors and Edward Heath.
I get tailed off on a long climb in the countryside and feel thoroughly discouraged (following National Cycle Route 24, drifting too far east.)
I reach Romsey in error where I stop to ask a man on a Brompton the way to Ower. He directs me on to the only route up a busy dual-carriageway. At the top of the hill he stops in his Honda in a layby to rescue me. I fold the bike for the short car ride to the Mortimer Arms, Romsey Road, Ower, SO51 6AF. An act of kindness by a Knight of the Road. 70 plus miles - too far for a first day. Booked table for excellent huge meal. 3 rooms reserved: £178.50.

Day 5 - 10 Sept 2018

Via Totton to Southampton, where a large cruise ship is docked. We cross the Itchen on the busy road bridge - I cycle all the way as I'm too frightened to stop. Shortly we are in aircraft country with many historic associations, monuments etc. Pitstop outdoors at Jenny's Cafe, High St, Hamble-le-Rice (in a cobbled street opposite The Victory pub).
First of three ferries from Hamble to Warsash in a pink tub. We head for the coast, past an airfield and hovercraft museum, to Lee-on-Solent. Pitstop at seafront Leon's Bistro, 15 Marine Parade W, Lee-on-the-Solent - pretty average, unfriendly staff.
Ferry from Gosport, across Portsmouth Harbour, to Portsmouth. We see Brompton Dock for renting Brompton bicyles. Then eastbound for Hayling Island ferry.
Shouts of "Man in the water" and "Man overboard." We are in the middle of a real life emergency. He hasn't fallen from our boat but he is in the water alright, in a vicious rushing tide. I make myself useful by signalling to him that we have seen him (not virtue signalling). I hold the rope while a crew member lowers a ladder and we haul the bloodied man from the water and rescue his upturned rowboat. We have to return to dock on the Portsmouth side to await an ambulance. A Mayday call to the coastguard has to be resolved. Eventually we reach Hayling Island and all is well.
We take the coastal Hayling Billy bike path to Havant, route of an old railway line. I marvel at the toughness of modern Schwalbe bike tyres for they are being truly punished here. (Havant was the jumping off point for the Broken Spoke Tour in 2016.) Welcome pitstop at Caffè Nero, 8 West St, Havant PO9 1PF.
Hard charging on A259 to Chichester. To the George & Dragon, 51 North St, Chichester, PO19 1NQ. £195 for three rooms, incl breakfast. Good value. Choice of real ales. Very welcoming chap at the bar.
Walk to Prezzo, 61 South St, Chichester. At Prezzo Jack works his magic whereby a special offer obtained by phone from the internet significantly reduced the bill.

Day 6 - 11 Sept 2018

A coastal run from Chichester to Lewes, via Brighton, pushed along by a strong westerly tailwind. A little rain.
We depart town via the Chichester Canal southbound for Bognor. Macaris Cafe, 46A London Rd, Bognor Regis, for coffee stop in a pedestrian area of town (indoors much like an old folks home). Then following the seafront where possible.
We get separated in an interminable housing estate, as I miss a difficult-to-see roadsign. Then I'm stuck on the A259 towards Littlehampton. Watching the destination boards on the buses for clues as to which way to go. I cross the Arun by the footbridge adjacent to Littlehampton Marina, via Ferry Road. Working my way eastward forced back to the A259. Cut south to Goring-by-Sea. Irritated by signs saying "to the station" - what damn station? Held up at level crossings. At last a sign for Worthing and I'm charging along the seafront to the pier when Richard emerges from a cafe on my left. We meet up at View Café & Bar, 70 Marine Parade, Worthing. Suitable.
We crossed the River Adur via the Adur Ferry Bridge, just after passing The Waterside pub. Jack is now in familiar territory and we enjoy the industrial vibe of Shoreham Port, crossing back over the river at the lock gates and proceeding along Basin Road South. Through Hove to Brighton where I get my first look at the British Airways i360, a tall observation tower. We reach Lewes by mid-afternoon. The stretch from Southampton to Brighton could occupy a pleasant week with time for attractions, museums etc.

Lessons/Reflections

1. To save weight, apart from a couple of local walking maps we did not take roadmaps for our route, especially the more difficult and exhausting first 3 days. We thought we could rely mainly on pre-planning and satnav. Mistake! When slightly lost, we ended up mystified as to the direction of travel in relation to signposted towns.

2. The National Cycle Network routes/signage are generally very useful but in some key places the signs completely disappeared (eg middle of Salisbury). There were also routes which were downright dangerous due to fast-moving heavy traffic.

3. The Moultons were excellent, and definitely more capable and comfortable than Bromptons, but the unaccustomed handlebar grips over such long distances caused Jack to have lasting numbness in palms and fingertips from which recovery has been slow.

4. The supremacy of Brompton luggage arrangements remains unchallenged.

5. Overall, a very hard ride!

Friends in low places

We left Lewes on Sunday evening by very overcrowded 2-car train for overnight stop in a convenient B & B at Ashford, the Cornerhouse, and a cheap lukewarm 'Italian' meal in Wetherspoons. Then early departure next day on Eurostar for Lille (avoiding Calais). Breakfasted on croissant and coffee at the Terminal where check-in was quick and friendly. There were overunning engineering works, but we had no connection to make at Lille. Mid-morning departure from Lille on bicycles (two Bromptons, one Loopwheels) for Amsterdam via Zandvoort, out on the coast. Richard on Brompton P type, 6 speed Sram; Jack on customised H type with P bars, 6 speed Brompton/Sturmey - which has to be the tallest Brompton in the world! The Loopwheels bike has no spokes, features belt drive, disc brakes and 11-speed Alfine hub gears.
Stage 1: 8th June. Lille-Ronse, 38 miles.
I lost the boys in the suburbs of Lille on the road to Hem, before we left France. With no map, compass or tools I started to busk my way east following the Canal de L'Espierres for some distance, crossing the Schelde near Warcoing, to reach Hérinnes. Somewhere along the way I learned that Ronse is Renaix in French, helpful when navigating by road signs and bus timetables. Lunch consisted of an energy bar. Not far short of the target near Mont-de-L'Enclus I punctured the front tyre on a drawing pin. With no prospect of mending it I walked on, reaching Garage Dewolf. They took pity on me and put the bike in the back of an estate car, then they drove me to Hostellerie Lou Pahou, Zuidstraat 25, 9600 Ronse. It is just amazing how fair people can be. I reached the hotel before my companions who had at one stage got hopelessly lost trying to get out of Hem, despite all modern navigational aids. They had though scored sandwiches and tarts. The main party crossed into Belgium at Nechin. We garaged the bikes, planning to fix the flat in the morning.
To Italian restaurant Il Pinel'lo, Grote Markt 9, 9600 Ronse. 136.80 EUR for three, reasonable value. The fair was in town.
Stage 2: 9th June. Ronse-Brussels, 49 miles.
Front puncture soon fixed at Jacky-Sport, zonnestraat 163, 9600 Ronse. Quick release on front wheel made removal a cinch.
Depart 10:00 on long climb out of Ronse at start of up and down day. Aldi shopping. Tea stops at two rural bars, Boekkouter and Hemelveerdegum. Picked up a cycle path along the River Dender, all the way into Ninove, where we lunched outside a superette on Beverstraat. Separated out towards Gooik. Glad to eventually see the tower blocks of Brussels in the distance. Took the Groene Weg to Anderlecht, busked to the Grand Place in Brussels. Phoned the boys from the Ibis Hotel, Grasmarkt 100, Rue du Marché aux Herbes 100, 1000 Brussels, while enjoying large (cheap: 5.00 euros per demilitre) Stella beers in the sunshine, requesting rescue. Main party had stopped for coffee in St-Kwintens-Lennik, and also entered the capital by way of Anderlecht. Modern self-catering apartment at Residence Opera, rue de l'eveque. On corner of square near Theatre Royal. The boys took some while to locate the remote check-in bureau but spacious, comfortable, and good value. Supper at nearby Mexican Restaurant: Chi-Chi's Tex-Mex, Anspachlaan 5, 1000 Brussels.
10th June at leisure in Brussels. Morning visit to Atomium on tram, return via underground. Lunch at the apartment. Obligatory viewing of the Mannekin Pis. Pleasant evening in the bar of the Ibis, followed by chips and waffles in the street, and nightcaps at the bar L’Ecuyer, near our apartment, where we earlier had breakfast. Local beer could be had for as little as 3.20 euros per demilitre.
Stage 3: 11th June. Brussels-Wouwse Plantage, 61 miles.
06:45 depart Brussels northbound via Grimbergen. Cool. Follow Zeekanal Brussel-Schelde. Tea stop at Willebroek, by lift bridge. Picnic lunch stop on fringes of Antwerp by tram terminus, then ploughing through the interminable docks in hot weather. Eventually reach pleasant countryside, via Stabroek, taking us to Putte in Holland. Immediate improvement in cycle lanes and signage. Stop for double Orangina at Restaurant Jagersrust, Putseweg 21, 4641 RS Ossendrecht. Last lap into Wouwse Plantage, running on empty. B&B Ouwerveldezicht, Schouwenbaan 10, 4725 ST Wouwse Plantage (3 rooms, 58 euros pp), beer, swimming pool on arrival. Nightcap, stout breakfast for cyclists. Good value. Ride to Restaurant-Taverne Kwizien, 2 km, outstanding dinner outdoors 136.80 EUR plus tip for 3.
Stage 4: 12th June. Wouwse Plantage-Nieuwerkerk, 54 miles.
Headwinds through the polders into Rotterdam, via Steenbergen. Lift bridges, intriguing derelict buildings. Picnic lunch on island, Hellegatsplein at river crossing. Even the motorway bridges here provide for cyclist transit. After a nasty mile-long run against the headwind, very friendly air-conditioned pitstop for ice creams at gas station, where attendant spoke perfect English and was a keen cyclist. Offer from other friendly locals to investigate squeaky, rough-running rear wheel, but no time. Passed through Heinenoordtunnel, a separate bore for cyclists and a cold plunge. Got separated on final approach, baffled but rode down the dyke to Niewerkerk.
Hotel Nieuwerkerk, Parallelweg Zuid 185, 2914 LE Nieuwerkerk a/d IJssel (trouble finding hotel as it is not called the Van Der Valk, a chain name). Superior digs. Jug of fizzy water and apple juice to rehydrate. Nice supper on the terrace. Attitudes of numerous young hotel staff vary from cool rudeness to helpful 'customer-focus'. Loopwheels bike stashed in storeroom. Crashed out.
Stage 5: 13th. Nieuwerkerk-Zandvoort, 44 miles.
Via excellent cycle paths through Zoeterwoude to Leiden, which has much of the charm of Amsterdam but without the crowds. Passing towns with familiar names from previous visits. Apart from about 20 minutes of heavy rain, very helpful weather with strong tailwind to Hotel Zeespiegel, Hogeweg 70, 2042 GJ Zandvoort. Italian Restaurant MMX, Haltestraat 13, 2042 LJ Zandvoort. Acceptable. Watched Le Mans 24 Hours on bar TV.
14th June. At leisure in Zandvoort, 14 local miles. To Circuit Park Zandvoort for cycling exhibition. We test ride a number of electric bikes, plus lap of short circuit. Loopwheels bike attracts much attention. Picnic in town. Later Porsche winning Le Mans on TV in a bar. Chris Froome wins Critérium du Dauphiné. Greek Restaurant where, just as in Greece, all meals taste like school dinners.
Stage 6: 15th June. Zandvoort-Amsterdam, 25 miles.
Early start through the dunes to pavement breakfast at De Complete Bakker Portvlies, 279 Bloemendaalseweg, Overveen. Remorse that tour is ending. On into Amsterdam, tea at pavement cafe in western reaches of the city, enjoying the bicycle culture, short tour to Rijksmuseum. Train home via Brussels: first class all the way to Ashford, with plenty of freebie food and alcohol on offer. I travelled, like Jack, as a senior so got it all cheap!

Total: 285 miles approx.

Plus Points: Minimal luggage. New bike better than Brompton on the rough stuff, including pavé. GPS navigation; weather mostly good; tailwinds, health benefits (the gift that keeps on giving). Yet again the Bromptons totally reliable though, and much easier to fold. Cycling infrastructure, with much running separated from vehicles.
Thanks to Harvey at Cycleshack2, Lewes, for fettling Loopwheels bike.

Downsides: Headwinds, punctured Continental tyre, teething troubles with new bike, getting separated (mostly unlike previous tours), no mobile phone. Foldabilty of new bike not a patch on Brompton.

Learning points: The Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre an option for Loopwheels bike. Get mobile.

Overall: Good tour in low countries, a classic.

Gone West

We took the Smart car to the west country and Wales for a summer tour of historical sights. After lunching in Guildford, Surrey with good friends Richard and Karan we headed west to start our holiday. First stop was at Goodwood for the Festival of Speed where we planned to arrive at seven o'clock on the Friday morning. We hunted around for a camp site and after exploring Chichester and the coast we wound up at Slindon for the night. We found a pub, the Newburgh Arms, for supper in the village and called it a day.
The Festival was celebrating its tenth anniversary and Ford was the featured marque with the Le Mans-winning Mk IIs as the centrepiece, brought from the United States for the occasion. The weather was kind and we hooked up with radio-colleague Peter Flanagan to tour the various paddocks. The downhill soapbox racers caught my eye - in fact most were anything but 'soapbox' rather high-tech cars without engines. I also enjoyed the Ford model collection in one of the pavilions. For me the whole event was rather expensive and lacked the buzz of a real race meeting - nostalgia is not what it used to be. Good to hear Ian Titchmarsh "on the tannoy," sadly missed on Radio Le Mans this year.
Around midday we headed off into Hampshire to find the birthplace of 'Mad Jack' Fuller at North Stoneham - now subsumed into Eastleigh. We found the church where his father was the vicar, the Rev Henry Fuller, and the rectory where he was born. The rectory is now on a gated trading estate but I managed to take a reasonable photograph through the railings round the back.
We headed for Dorset for the next night stop - we thought better of Blandford Forum and carried on to Dorchester. A check with tourist information pinpointed a campsite out in the hills near Cerne Abbas. We stocked up with provisions at Waitrose and camped with spectacular views toward the Dorset coast. Next morning to Yarcombe to photograph the Belfry Hotel, formerly Yarcombe School erected by Sir Francis Eliott Drake in 1870. Then to Killerton House and Gardens, historic home of the Acland family; the arboretum with its giant Redwoods being the highlight for me.
We drove across Dartmoor, getting gas at Postbridge before turning south, with the ponies and sheep up close to the road. We camped at Ashburton in Devon, deciding to buy a takeaway pizza in town for supper and while waiting for it to cook a lengthy parade of WW2 vehicles with folk in period dress went past. We discovered that they were billeted at the South Devon Railway - our destination next morning. The railway runs from Buckfastleigh to Totnes (or vice-versa) in the valley of the River Dart. It should be called the friendly line as one of the volunteers remarked - everyone at this scenic railway were bending over backwards to make it a worthwhile visit, all in forties garb and happy to tell the story of the line.
After our morning steam along the Dart Valley we headed to Buckland Abbey north of Plymouth, home of Sir Francis Drake and later inherited by Lord Heathfield from Sussex. A quick look also in the church in Buckland Monochorum where Lord Heathfield is commemorated.
Across the Tamar and into Cornwall for the first time and on to Padstow to research the shipbuilding branch of the Willmett family - my mother's maiden name being Willmett. Found a bed and breakfast place on the outskirts of town, Penjoly Cottage, comfortable at a reasonable price.
Next day to Dennis Cove on the Camel estuary where James Willmett built ships. The railway later connected Padstow to Bodmin, the final section Wadebridge to Padstow opening on 27 March 1899. Dennis Cove yard, upstream of Padstow, was drastically altered as the railway embankment ran across the mouth of the cove almost cutting it off from the Camel estuary save for a single arch span.
All in all it was hard to envisage the shipbuilding industry as it once was but still worth the effort to visit the place where the pioneering "Pomaron" was launched in 1865, built to Henzell's patent. The Upper Docks in Padstow were also drastically altered as the railway station was sited there.
We met up next day with John Buckingham of the Padstow Museum who very kindly showed us round. We bought a copy of "Ships of North Cornwall" by John Bartlett, on his recommendation, at The Strand Bookshop on The Strand by the harbour. This proved to be invaluable with details of the ships built by the Willmett brothers.
We headed south to Falmouth to visit the National Maritime Museum. Access to the John Bartlett library here is free so we spent the afternoon researching Willmett shipbuilding activities in Padstow and at Newport in South Wales. We also got lucky in the car park when the parking attendant, a young lad in a woolly hat said "There is no charge as your car is so cool." The Smart car was making friends everywhere we went.
Next to Redruth for two nights at the Tehidy Campground and a day and a half at the Cornish Studies Library in town - it may not be everybody's idea of a fun holiday searching through microfilmed newspapers from the 1860's but the weather had turned wet and we were glad to be out of it. We found much to interest us about the bankruptcy of James Willmett in 1865.
We decided to head for Devon and Barnstaple but not before a quick return to Padstow to photograph St Edmund's Lane, formerly Horse Mill Lane, where we had discovered John Henry Willmett once resided. Today Rick Stein's trendy fish restaurant is at the bottom of the lane and property prices are going through the roof.
An overnight stop at the Park Hotel in Barnstaple and a visit next morning to the Barnstaple Museum. A sign saying "Huguenot refugees came to Barnstaple from La Rochelle in 1685" got my attention, still wondering when and why the Willmett family might have fled France. Perhaps the Protestant uprising in 1745 in France or further risings in eastern and southern France in 1754 had got them on the move - the mystery remains.
We motored on next morning via Ilfracombe to a campground near Lynton. By chance we passed the Lynton and Barnstaple narrow-gauge railway and stopped by to talk with the folks who have heroically restored Woody Bay station and a short section of track - they plan to restore as much of the 19½ miles linking the two North Devon towns as possible, offering rides to the public soon.
We were nosing around Lynton and Lynmouth by car and on foot, checking out the Cliff Railway built by Sir George Newnes. We noticed an advertisement for the Thai-Lyn Restaurant at the Waterloo House Hotel. Good Thai food in North Devon we thought - not likely - how wrong can you be as we were served the best Thai meal I've had in a long while. Highly recommended, best to book.
Next morning on the road to Minehead we found ourselves at Holnicote, an Acland estate once used for stag hunting. Another old estate which has fallen into the clutches of the National Trust.
We checked into the Castle Hotel for two nights in Dunster. We climbed the hill to the Conygar Tower built by Henry Fownes Luttrell in 1775. It has no strategic or military significance and was designed as a "mock ruin" simply for its aesthetic value.
We drove to Stogursey, West Quantoxhead, and St Audries to see the haunts of the Palmer Fuller Acland family. Next day we rode on the West Somerset Railway, founded by Jack Fuller's nephew, Peregrine Fuller Palmer Acland, the first Chairman of the line. This railway at twenty miles in length is an extraordinary survivor from the sixties, when there were wholesale railway closures, with great sea views on the approach to Minehead.
After a night in Taunton we drove via Cheddar gorge over The Severn Bridge to Newport in Wales. Newport is a town of contrasts still struggling to find a role after the prosperity of past times. We photographed the dock where my relatives once built ships at Jack's Pill, now with an old car shoved into the water. The town centre car park was an urban hell, broken lifts and grafitti, yet the Ridgeway a short distance away has delightful views of the Bristol Channel and to Twmbalwm in the north.
I was intrigued by a surviving section of 'pre-fab' housing nearby built as a temporary measure after WW2. The reference library in town was a credit and in keeping with the Welsh tradition of valuing education - they were most helpful.
Next day we drove north to Pontypool, stopping for lunch at Pontymoile canal basin by the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. There was a splendid cafe in a boat, now on dry land by the cut, where egg and chips and tea are dispensed to hungry boatmen. The banter was good too.
Largely by mistake we ended up at the folly tower high above Pontypool. Built around 1765 by local worthy, John Hanbury, the tower was demolished during the second world war by order of the Ministry of Defence. In the 1980s a group called CROFT (campaign for the reconstruction of the folly tower) was formed and the rebuilt tower reopened in 1994. I love the stubborness of restorers - they say stop messing with my world - I like it the way it is.
We stopped in at the Pontypool Museum in search of the Hanbury Hotel in Griffithstown, a large redbrick pile once run by my great-grandmother. After much driving round in circles we finally located this former traveller's hotel which has seen better days. We returned to Newport via Abercarn where my grandfather once lived.
Next morning it was back to England across the bridge to Bath. We wanted to visit the William Herschel museum but it was closed so we consoled ourselves with a visit to the excellent Building of Bath museum, a monument to Georgian architecture, and to Beckford's Tower, a folly overlooking the town.
After lunching at Bradford-on-Avon by the Kennet and Avon Canal we headed east to Caen Hill Locks at Devizes which date from 1810. I once walked the towpath of this waterway from Bath to Reading, about 80 miles, when much of it was in a derelict state.
We spent the last night at a campsite at Orcheston not far from Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. I was mindful my father had been at Larkhill nearby when in the Royal Artillery, his wartime experience curing him of camping for life. The site had an adjacent pub which had Wadworth's in cans and a welcome roast dinner on a wet night. The weather made this the worst night of the trip and we pulled out early in search of a cooked breakfast before pointing the Smart car in the direction of Sussex.

Canal comeback II

The Guardian covers the opening of the Millennium Ribble link, the first new canal for over a century. The new four-mile section connects the landlocked Lancaster canal to the rest of the country's 2,000 mile network, making it possible to travel by narrow boat from London to the edge of the Lake District for the first time. See Punchbuggy past.
Plans are now advanced to open another section and push towards Kendal in Cumbria as part of a £500m programme of waterway restoration throughout the country. Over the past decade more than £2bn has been ploughed into the network.
The new £6m section, which links the Lancaster canal to a branch of the Leeds-Liverpool canal, is the first new waterway to be built since the Manchester ship canal opened in 1894. With nine new locks and four bridges, it is dependent on tidal conditions because part of the route crosses the estuary of the river Ribble.

Canal comeback

News that the Lachine Canal in Montreal is to re-open this summer for pleasure boaters for the first time in 30 years. Check this out.

Canal arrives two hundred years late

The construction of a link between the Lancaster Canal and the River Ribble started on Thursday. First authorised by an act of Parliament in 1792, the four-mile cut will be called the Millennium Ribble Link. To be completed in autumn 2001 it will be the first canal built in the UK for a hundred years.
The second phase costing £30 million will complete the restoration of the Lancaster Canal, severed by the building of the M6 motorway. This will open up the intriguing possibility of travelling from London to the Lake District via the inland waterways by pleasure boat.