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Day 6     Wednesday 28^th April 2004

Bristol to Fownhope (north of Ross on Wye)

I left Bristol at 9am this morning – the weather forecast was not very good.  Outside there was a fine misty drizzle and there was a cold brisk wind from the north.  Cara had supplied my with more apple cake for elevenses so I had something to look forward to. 

The first port of call this morning was the Severn Bridge.  I was going to use the old bridge which now carries the M42.  Not far to the south you can see the new bridge which carries the M4.  The M42 has a maintenance track on either side.  The track on the north side of the bridge can be used by cyclists, the one on the south by pedestrians.  The signs as I approached were very misleading and I found myself on the north side of the bridge at the entrance to a pedestrian walkway which crossed the motorway to the south side.  I couldn’t get to the cycle track from here.  I retraced my steps and found the entrance to the cycle track – there were no signs for it that I could see.  If the breeze was brisk on the roads leading up to the bridge it certainly was going across.  It gradually increased in strength as I got further away from land and by the time I was in the middle I was finding it quite difficult to cycle.  The wind was blowing across me – fortunately blowing me away from the edge – and I was having to cycle leaning at a crazy angle to the right in order to keep balanced.  In the centre I stopped to take some photos.  While riding I hadn’t noticed that the bridge had the shivers – but now that I was standing I could feel the whole bridge vibrating.  I was getting cold – it was time to get a move on.

Once over the bridge and into Wales I made my way up the Wye valley bypassing Chepstow.  I still hadn’t warmed up in the damp atmosphere so I stopped to put on some extra clothing.  My feet were reasonably warm because I had put on some waterproof overshoes which kept the wind out.  It was my other extremities that were getting cold.  I took the opportunity to have a quick bite – a tea cake and a chocolate muffin which I had been carrying around for more than two days.  I decided to keep the apple cake to later.

Soon afterwards I passed the remains of Tintern Abbey and then turned off eastwards towards English Bicknor.  My stay in Wales had been short.  One place I wanted to go back to was St. Briavels Castle.  This castle is used as a Youth Hostel and has been ever since I can remember.  We (the family) stayed there 20 years ago and at the time were given a tour which included taking part in a mock trial and having a look at the Oubliette.  A small deviation took me into the village and I was able to take photos of the castle and the stocks.

Then I carried on through English Bicknor passing close to Welsh Bicknor.  I was glad that I didn’t manage to book in here as it is only now just coming up to lunch time and I would have wasted a lot of cycle time.  I’m sure that the children attempted to milk a goat at this hostel all those years ago.  At Coleford in the Forest of Dean I found the local Coop supermarket – it was time to stock up on things for lunch.  I bought some bread rolls, Kraft Dairylea, pork pie and bananas.  There was now no room for the Apple cake – just an excuse for another eating session.  It was really time to sit down somewhere for lunch so I carried on with the ride keeping my eyes open for a dry spot.  It still hadn’t really rained since leaving Bristol – it was just a heavy mist and sometimes a drizzle which kept everything from drying out.  What I found was a wooden bus shelter at the village of Walford .  It had a bench inside and it was really quite luxurious.  I decided to take occupancy as no-one else was around and maybe the buses don’t run on Wednesdays!

After lunch I cycled on to Ross-on Wye getting there just after 3pm .  The market place has a grand open sided market building that must be over 200 years old.  I found a shop to buy a postcard – of the market area – and then used the mobile to make my B&B reservation for the night.  For the first time on the trip I had left doing this until late in the day but from the number of B&B signs around there probably wouldn’t be a problem.  There was no answer from first place I rang.  The second place I rang answered the phone and they have a vacancy although I sensed a little reluctantly.  The B&B is in the village of Fownhope about 8 miles north of Ross and still on the CTC route.  I told them that I will aim to get there for about 5.30 which would give me time to potter around Ross first.  I was made very welcome when I arrived – I was fed with tea and Simnel cake. 

While I was sitting in the conservatory eating the cake, all of a sudden there was a large commotion outside in the goldfish pond.  Mrs. Mallard had flown in with hubby and another Casanova in attendance.  She was nearly getting drowned in the process.  Eventually the boyfriend leaves in disgust with a bit of encouragement from the owner.  Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that Cara had also fed me with Simnel cake during my stay at Bristol the night before. 

The reason for the reluctance in saying I could stay the night turned out to be that they were busy preparing for an antique sale and had loads of odds and ends stored in the garage and littering the hall.  They were, as I say, very welcoming.  Tony the owner turned out to be the Church Warden of the local church and as the rain had at last decided to fall quite heavily he gave me a lift down to the local pub in the evening for my evening meal.  I borrowed an umbrella to get back although the offer of a lift was there if I needed it.  The rain had more or less finished by the time I had ended my meal so I walked the ½ mile back to the B&B.

I had covered a distance of 50.9 miles today at an average of 8.2 mph.  This brings the total mileage up to 307.6. 

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