Neat story and some nice photos as well... esp. the abbeys, the stone bridge and the field of yellow flowers (quite nice). When looking at the road photos, I could instantly imagine The Avengers' Emma Peel motoring through in the Lotus Elan.
An enjoyable way to spend my lunch on Friday. Thanks. Tom C. >From: "Bob W" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <pdml@pdml.net> >To: "'Pentax-Discuss Mail List'" <pdml@pdml.net> >Subject: Tour de Wessex >Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:19:01 +0100 > > >I came back yesterday from a cycle trip around Dorset, Wilts and >Hants. Here are the pictures in case you don't want to read all the >guff below: http://www.web-options.com/Byway/ > >Here's a couple of old boys who should join the PDML: >http://www.web-options.com/Byway/content/_6185590_large.html > >I cut the trip short a few days because I blew my accommodation budget >in just 3 nights - it was costing me 2-3 times more than anticipated. >The prices of B&Bs around there is outrageous, and frankly I got sick >of traipsing around looking for somewhere reasonably priced, then >having to settle for the top end of the market because there were no >other vacancies anywhere. > >Anyway, the cycling itself was very enjoyable, but difficult at times. >I don't know why they call them Downs - they seem mostly to be Ups, >into a headwind. I took the train to Tisbury on Monday, cycled to >Shaftesbury, which is a lovely town, and spent a very enjoyable >evening there. In the morning I cycled across Cranborne Chase via >Melbury, Ashmore, Farnham and the Gussages, up to Cranborne, Tidpit >and Rockbourne to Fordingbridge, where I had a huge problem finding >accommodation, but eventually found a grotty little place in a nearby >village. > >By that time one of my spokes was breaking, which made the back wheel >wobble and catch the brake pads. I had to loosen the brakes almost to >the point of danger to let the wheel spin at all. I couldn't find >anyone to repair it quickly in Fordingbridge, so the next day I cycled >up to Salisbury along the edge of the New Forest via Brune Purlieu, >Woodgreen, Alderbury, East Grimstead, Farley and Pitton. > >I found a very good, helpful bike shop in Salisbury (Stonehenge >Cycles, if you ever need a bike fixing in Salisbury! >http://www.stonehengecycles.com/) and he was able to replace the spoke >and true the wheel in the morning. He was also helpful in recommending >several B&Bs, but they were all full and I had to settle for the only >vacancy I could find, which was humungously expensive - not much >cheaper than one of the top hotels in town. Next morning I heard one >of the guests had arrived at 2am after searching the whole of >Salisbury, accommodation being so scarce. Probably all the druids have >booked the rooms. > >When I had the bike back I headed back to Tisbury via >Stratford-sub-Castle, the Woodfords, Wylye Valley and then down across >Cranborne Chase via Dinton and Teffont Magna. Including various >side-trips (and getting lost) I cycled about 110 miles - over half of >it on an out-of-true back wheel. > >The countryside and villages are quite spectacular. Some of the >villages, especially on Cranborne Chase, are quite breathtakingly >beautiful, they're so ancient and crumbling. Mostly I didn't even >bother trying to photograph them. To get the best shots you need to >wait around for the light, and to find the best view, but even then >you'd just have a postcard view. To do the places justice I think you >need to live there and have the places as a background to the locals' >lives, as James Ravilious did in Devon. > >But it's a wonderful area to cycle (although some of the hills are >hard work) and shows the very best of tourist board England. I was >very surprised in Hampshire though that so few of the villages still >had pubs. I'd planned on pub lunches, but from Fordingbridge up to >Pitton not a single village still had a pub. The pub in Pitton >wouldn't serve me any food because it was after 2pm and the chef had >gone home. Apparently only chefs can make a ploughman's lunch, which >probably explains the absence of ploughmen in Hampshire - they've all >starved to death. The villages in Hampshire seem dead - just dormitory >villages - whereas at least in Dorset and Wiltshire they seem to have >something other than rich commuters. > >Salisbury and the area around the Cathedral Close are really stunning >in the summer evening light. Unfortunately the cathedral itself is >covered in scaffolding at the moment, but the cathedral close is very >beautiful. > >I'd like to have gone to Filly Loo tonight in Ashmore (that's their >annual festival when they have pagan rituals round the duck pond), and >earlier I was still debating whether to drive over and back today, but >I'm very tired (slept 11 hours last night), so I'll give it a miss >until next year. > >I still plan to cycle around South and West Dorset and visit various >Hardy sites, and the prehistoric and Roman sites, but I'll do it from >a base near Dorchester. Maybe even next week, if I can find some cheap >accommodation at such short notice. > >Cheers, >Bob > > > >-- >PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >PDML@pdml.net >http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
