clairedavieswriter

It was a cool misty start in Bewdley…

But we soon warmed up with a punishing climb out of the Severn valley. Having negotiated the unremarkable outskirts of Kidderminster, we briefly enjoyed the tranquility of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

But could have done without the alarmingly rutted section of towpath in this tunnel:

We had coffee at Halfpenny Green and were surprised to find a vineyard this far north, although it turns out that the UK’s most northerly one is in the Yorkshire Wolds.

By this morning, I’d cycled through Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. Today I’ve added two more – Staffordshire and Shropshire – which prompted a pleasantly diverting game of ‘name all the English counties in alphabetical order’. We almost did it – sorry Cambridgeshire.

We saw military establishments past and present, at Cosford…

And Newport

There was nothing we could do to help these struggling batsmen

But my domestique leapt into action to help some amateur boaties who’d managed to wedge their craft Evergreen-style across the Shropshire Union Canal.

Even the farmer’s son needed to phone a friend to identify this crop (apparently it’s quinoa).

My personal life lesson for today was not to ignore large yellow signs aimed at cyclists….

Or else risk a fruitless slog up a rough track:

In a small village outside Market Drayton, I came across an encouraging milestone, but it wasn’t fooling me: on my route to John O’Groats, there’s still a lot more than 454 miles to go.

My stop for the night is the intriguingly named Four Alls Inn. All became clear with the sign.

Tomorrow I’m on my own again – thank you Rob for your company the last couple of days: I’ll be much slower without you!