Day 62 - Exeter to Stonehenge ( or nearby)

The day was effectively in 2 parts

Part 1

After waking at about 6.00 am and showering and packing the bags we were ready for breakfast at about 8.00 am . We made our way to a cafe near the train station to have breakfast…scrambled eggs on toast with some apple juice and a cappuccino. It was perfect to start the day. The weather was also good and as the day progressed it became a great day with temperatures around the mid twenties and a light breeze.

After breakfast we made our way to the main Exeter station to catch the train to Salisbury. The anxious part of the train trips are getting on and off the train with loaded bikes! The added complication is the bike carrying capacity on the train. We thought we would be ok as we were the only passengers with bikes at the station. So when the 6 carriage train arrived we rushed to the carriage door only to find there was room for 2 bikes only in the racks! Fortunately with a bit of playing around we managed to get all 3 bikes sorted…

The train trip was about 2 hours in all and went through some lovely countryside in the Devonshire and later Wiltshire. The destination was Salisbury so we could visit the Cathedral and then begin our ride being part 2 of the day.

The visit to the Cathedral was a real experience and the size of the cathedral is amazing. I went on a walk through the cathedral which was good… but I thought the Exeter Cathedral was slightly better.

Part 2

So it was back on the Bikes again for what I thought was a ride merely to Stonehenge… well the ride to Stonehenge was through beautiful countryside along the Avon River Valley and the houses and villages were stunning. It was all on show on a beautiful summers day!

We made a stop for a drink in a country pub and enjoyed the sun with the locals who were enjoying the day as well!

Then we made our way to Stonehenge which is in relatively barren open farmland but the rock formation forms a wonderful backdrop for the area. It was full of tourists so being on bikes we were able to get close enough to see the rock formations and photograph them.

After this it was off to Amesbury to have some early dinner ahead of the 5 km ride to the Youth Hostel. The pub food we had at Amesbury was pie of the day with mash and peas….and of course gravy! All washed down with a soda and lime drink.

After dinner we shortened our route a bit as the time was about 6.00pm! So the new route was chosen and we struck a problem shortly after leaving Amesbury. The route took us through a highly classified site which is a former Air Force base… there was barbed wire and security cameras everywhere. So on the fly we devised a revision to the revised route which had us going on farm tracks and walking on the side of motorways with very heavy traffic and some paved roads…. It finally got us to the youth hostel at about 7.00 am!

The hotel we are staying at tonight is good and we have the run of a big 6 bed dormitory with an ensuite bathroom!

I want to give you all a bit of an update on what has been achieved so far on this ride:

We have been away from home 62 days.

We have been riding for 46 of those days. I have not counted the short days of riding around a city or town on what was a “ rest” day.

So far I have ridden 3532 kms and climbed 22,263 metres

We have travelled through Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium and the UK

In the UK we have traveled through the counties of Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex,Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and now Wiltshire.

We have another 5 days of riding to go but I don’t think this will get me over the 4000 km mark!

Today’s photos are

The route

4 photos of Salisbury Cathedral

A lovely home we saw along the route with many big homes. The garden here is magnificent