My last day of route research in Swindon. The lazy, uninformed opinion of many is that the town is pretty rubbish for cycling and lacks any decent network. Well, let me tell you, I’ve actually come and investigated the place by cycling round it for four days. I came to the same conclusion.
Author: Rob Ainsley
Swindon 3: Rainy Ridgeway
Day 3 of cycle route research round Swindon way. I trusted the Met Office’s weather forecast of sun and dry, because I know they’re right 9 times out of 10. This was the tenth time though. It rained all day.
Swindon 2: White Horses
Day 2 of cycle route research round Swindon took me past four White Horses, none of them pubs, all of them hill figures. It’s a Thing round here.
Swindon 1: Stones and gravel
Cycle route research today north of Swindon, which town is every bit as beautiful – and well-provisioned with good bike routes – as I expected. Not very, in other words.
Tunbridge Wells 3: Fishy stories
Day 3 of cycle route research round Tunbridge Wells. I cycled through two different hamlets called Iden Green, each near a hamlet called Four Wents, also unrelated to each other. So you can guess the surreal theme of today’s route. Yes: fish.
Tunbridge Wells 2: Tree little words
Day 2 of my cycle route research round Tunbridge Wells involved visits to Sevenoaks, Four Elms, and One Tree Hill. So you can guess the day’s theme. Hills.
Tunbridge Wells 1: Rock on
Cycle route research round Tunbridge Wells, and yes, this is necessary work.
Arran 3: Round-island tour
Final day of route research, doing the loop round the coast of Arran.
Arran 2: Gravel roads
Continuing route research today, on the gravel roads of South Arran.
Arran 1: Scotland in miniatures
More cycle route research, on the Isle of Arran, ‘Scotland in Miniature’ – presumably a whisky reference, as the island with no towns still manages to have two distilleries. No drams for me on this trip, though. And nothing miniature about the climbs, I can promise you.