A weekend in Betws y Coed

Friday 8 May 2015
Our good friends - Ray & Julie - had booked a cottage near Betws y Coed for a week's holiday.   So we arranged to stay on a campsite close-by, so we could meet up but also so Ray and I could go for a bike ride.  I booked us on to the Rynys Campsite from the Saturday, about 2 miles out of Betws y Coed, almost opposite the Conwy Falls Cafe.

But for the first night away I was at work during the day, so we wouldn't be leaving until later. Given that I picked up the campervan from storage the night before, which allowed Cathy to load him up ready for a quick getaway.  Back home after work, the rain was very heavy and I got soaked putting my bike on the rack for the first time.  But all was soon secured and after drying off we drove into the rain.  Our first stop was planned to be a Britstop on the car park of a farm shop about 15 miles away from Betws.  On arrival we took a look; the stop was fine and the shop looked great for stocking up in the morning, but there was also  Britstop at a pub just a few miles up the road.  Given it was late and we hadn't eaten, we thought it would be good to take a look and see if we could eat there.  We arrived at the pub, parked up at the far end of the car park and popped down to the pub - by now the rain had finally stopped.  It was a basic but friendly local pub and the food menu was standard fare but reasonably priced.  Cathy ordered a steak and I had ribs and, after a beer, the food quickly arrived.  Well fed and watered, we turned in for the night.

Saturday 9 May 2015
It was quite blowy in the night and we were parked under a tree; only in the morning did I look out and realise it was three-parts dead, but luckily nothing fell on the van.  After breakfast we headed back to the farm shop to do some shopping. We brought some great bread, wild boar pate, organic red wine and some welsh cakes.  I also bought a couple of OS maps.  We then decided to drive to Bala lake.  We hadn't been here since 1984, when Cathy was expecting Chris!  I drove around the southern edge and back around the opposite side, parking in the main car park close to Bala village.  We had a great view of the weather coming in from the west and sat for a while with a brew, watching the squalls come over.  Once this blew over we went out for a walk in a brisk wind, but at least it stayed dry. We walked around the lake edge as far as the sailing club, then returned to the van to enjoy our lunch.

The campsite was about a 25 minutes drive away, just off the A5 and up a steep track.  On arrival I parked up near the entrance and walked up to the house to pay and sort out a pitch. The owner was very helpful & friendly and showed me three possible pitches, including one close to the house on hardstanding, as many of the pitches were water-logged due to 5 days of rain.  I decided to take one higher up which, despite being soggy underfoot, had a picnic table right next to the pitch and great views of the hills and valleys.  With EHU on, Cathy made a brew and we had a bit of a sort out.  

There were some lovely walks from the campsite so we decided to visit Fairy Glen, a lovely area of boulders and white water from the River Conwy, in a deep valley.  The walk down was beautiful and the sun shone which, in the shelter of the valley, was very warm.  

We'd already planned for Ray & Julie to come to us for a BBQ, once they had settled into their holiday cottage. They arrived at about 6pm and we enjoyed a good catch up over burgers, sausages, salad and wine.  It was too chilly to sit out but we all fitted inside Nido and, with the heating on, he kept us toasty warm.  They headed off at about 10pm and after washing up we settled down for the night.

Sunday 10 May 2015
The next morning I was up early, breakfasted and heading out on the bike by 0930.  I'd already researched a bike ride - a 13 mile circular route but with the ride to and from the start point, it would be about 17 miles.  The ride down the A5 was great - 2 miles of downhill - and I waited for Ray at the bottom.  Once we'd RV'd we rode off through Betws y Coed, across a river bridge and immediately headed up a very steep minor road, a bit of a shock to the system! We stopped a few times to *ahem* admire the view (and catch our breath!) and finally made it to the top, before descending to ride alongside Llyn Geirionydd, a long, narrow lake.  After this we had a very steep descent into the village of Trefriw.  To say my brakes were almost smoking would be no exaggeration and even Ray was looking a little worried!  Having survived that we rode through the market town of Llanrwst, finishing with an undulating 3 mile ride, with a headwind, back in to Betws y Coed.  We stopped for our obligatory Latte at the Stables Inn in the heart of the village before heading back to our respective 'homes'.  Having enjoyed the 2-mile freewheel down at the start of my ride, I of course then had a slog back up the hill, but it was a steady climb on a busy but smooth A5, although on turning off for the campsite I did have to walk part of the hill!

After lunch, a shower and a snooze, Ray & Julie collected us and we headed back down for dinner at the Stables Lodge.  The food was basic but hot and filling and we again enjoyed a good catch up with the oldsters.  They dropped us back at the site and headed off to enjoy the rest of their week's holiday.  It was great to see them and we'll be catching up again next month in Gosport.

Monday 11 May 2015
It rained hard in the night and blew a hooley, so again the pitch was a bit waterlogged in the morning.  After breakfast, we packed a flask, Cathy's pizza doggy-bag from last night and some fruit cake and walked to an ancient burial chamber - Capel Garmon.  We carried on walking through the village before returning via a different route to the burial chamber, where we had a brew and some food.  The sun was shining with a stiff, cool breeze, but the views were great.

Back at the van we packed up, emptied fluids and headed off back home, cleaning the van before I took him back to the storage site. We enjoyed our trip and will certainly return to that part of Wales at some point.  

Day 11 - Bouchemaine to Le Coudray Macouard

Monday 13 October 2014

It was very, very windy last night - all outside.  Apart from the wind waking me occasionally I slept well, although Cathy didn't.  It was a still, clear morning though and I was up by about 0830, shaved, showered and out to get breakfast.  I could hear the children playing in the école across the road and the bridge was quite busy - must be Monday morning commuter traffic!  I walked into the village and bought a Bluette, the equivalent of a banette here, a croissant and two small pear tarts.  Across the road was the bar/tabac, so I walked in, offered a "Bonjour" to all inside and ordered un café.  The TV was on and I caught the weather forecast - not bad in our area but bad floods in the south east of the country. Coffee paid for, I walked back to the get the kettle on and prepare breakfast. We opened the blinds, skylight and windows to let some fresh air and sunlight in to the van.  All done, Cathy did some washing while I disconnected and stowed the EHU cable and dropped the vans off the levellers.
Once all secured we drove over to the exit, Cathy punched in the code and we drove under the raised barrier and over to the service point.  We planned to drop waste and take on fresh water - two out of three wasn't bad I suppose.  Our fresh water jinx hit us again as the pressure was too low to make it through the hose pipe - if only we had a water container and funnel!

So we headed off to our next stop, the riverside town of Saumur. We found some parking about 5 minutes walk from the town centre and adjacent to the School of Cavalry. Saumur is the HQ of the French equivalent of the Royal Armoured Corps and Household Cavalry.  It was lunchtime so most of the shops were shut; even some of the restaurants were shut! We walked up the hill to take a look at the view from the walls of the chateau, but there wasn't much to tempt us to stay in town.  Our original plan was to use an Aire just outside the walled medieval town of Richelieu, but now all 'towned' out, I looked for a quiet, peaceful alternative - I'm so glad we changed our minds.  We ended up at an Aire de Service on the outskirts of the village of Le Coudray Macouard.  This is deep wine country and the Aire is in an isolated oak tree glade, surrounded by fields of maze and vineyards.  It is so quiet.  We were the only ones here and we parked on the grass, under the huge oak trees, but still in hot, bright sunshine.  Cathy sat in her chair to read and I took a walk a walk into the village looking for a shop, but only found a bar, hairdressers (open) and a butchers (shut).  But in the walk back to the van I found some rosemary to throw on the charcoal to flavour our Bavette steaks and also loads of ripe walnuts.

Back at the van, I decided to combine victuals hunting with exercise, so prepared my road bike, changed, grabbed the rucksack and headed off towards the next village called Bron.  I rode past vineyards and fields of ripe maize. Bron was a small hamlet with no shop, so I continued on to the next town, which also has an Aire - Montreuil Bellay.  I stopped at the river bridge to take some photos and eventually found a large Super U.  I'd forgotten to take my bike lock, so I quickly skidded around in my cycling cleats collecting some bread, butter, tomatoes, shallots, water and wine. The red wine, I discovered when I opened it back at the van, came from a small producer in the town I bought it from, bought in a large supermarket in the same town.

Thankfully my bike was still in the rack and I enjoyed a fast ride back on empty country roads, albeit with a heavy rucksack.  On my return I prepared dinner, sampling the red wine which was smooth and delicious.  Cathy had cracked the walnuts so we had a small bowl of fresh, oily, tasty nuts. I used these to make a salad, with mixed leaves, fried lardons and goats cheese.  I also made a sauce with the shallots, butter, garlic and a splash of white wine.

The steaks had been marinating in a little oil and rosemary and I threw the remaining sprigs on the BBQ so the smoke infused its flavour into the meat, which only took minutes to cook. We enjoyed this with a glass of wine and some bread, before leaving the washing up and heading out for a walk around the fields as the sun set in a clear, cloudless sky.  It was lovely, quiet and peaceful.  Back at the van Cathy washed up while I coaxed the BBQ back in to life with some dried oak twigs and small branches.  It smoked for a while (we now both smell like a bonfire!) but the flames were soon up and we sat in the dark with a cup of tea, watching the flames and listening to the owls and frogs. We were next to a sewage works, which sounds dreadful, but it was an eco-friendly reed bed style so attracted the frogs to the ponds.  It's now just past 2100 and we're back in the van.  The quiet outside is deafening, the night is very still and I hope we both sleep well.  We'll decide on where to next to tomorrow, but I suspect we'll make an early start and sprint for the coast again - we miss it too much!

School of Cavalry at Saumur

Free parking close to Saumur town centre

Nice view on my bike ride

Looking back towards Bron

View from the bridge at Montreuil Bellay

A lovely, peaceful overnight stop

Chillin' in the peace and quiet

Quiet reading time

Free food!

Bavette steak on the go

Preparing our salad

Almost time for dinner

Time to eat!

Beautiful, quiet sunset

Day 9 - Quiberon to Piriac sur Mer

Saturday 11 October 2014

It rained in the night, hard enough to wake me up, but not Cathy.  As I lay awake I thought this might mess up my morning bike ride. But it stopped at about 0400 and I drifted back to sleep. Being an hour ahead of the UK, it does mean the mornings are darker and it was getting close to 0900 before the sun was up. But I stuck my head out of the skylight above the bed and saw blue sky and a few well-lit clouds - a good sign. Breakfast for me was very continental - cold meats, cheese and bread with a glass of orange juice and a mug of tea.  I uncovered and unlocked my bike, then grabbed my cycling gear from the garage. Bidon filled, computer set and money and phone in the under-saddle pouch, I climbed - with my bike - over the 'anti-pikey' mounds and clicked into the pedals.  It was quite warm - short sleeves in mid-October is exceptional and very agreeable.  I turned right as I wanted to check out the small hamlet of Keren. This was a small commune of cottages and original design modern houses (architects and councils take note) and I rode through then turned around and cycled along the narrow lanes. I eventually ended up on the main road to St Pierre. When I say main road, this means a car about every minute or so!  But even that was enough for me, so I turned around and headed back, taking the first turning right back towards the Côte de Sauvage.  This took me back through Keren and past the Aire; I looked to the left and saw Cathy sat outside the van reading so shouted a 'Bonjour' as I sped by. Turning right I cycled up the road with the Atlantic to my left. The road was undulating and I enjoyed the ride with the sound of the sea and the sun on my back.  About 5 km in the road turned away from the sea and after a while I decided to turn and ride back the other way.  I enjoyed punching up the hills and speeding down and was soon passing the Aire again and heading for Quiberon.  Into town I did a short circuit along the front before turning and heading back to find a coffee stop, directly opposite the Gare Maritime - the ferry terminal to Belle Îsle.  I visited the island in the summer of 1980 when I was ship's company at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, having sailed across the channel, past Île d'Ouessant and into La Baie de Quiberon in a Nicholson 55 yacht - much bigger than our campervan!  So there I was, sat in the warm sun overlooking the sea in mid-October, bike parked up and enjoying a coffee.  It was a shame my cycling wingman Ray wasn't sat with me; he'd have loved it.  As I soaked up the sunlight and enjoyed my coffee I decided to try and sort out my Euro coins.  For years I've struggled with working out which coin is which, embarrassing when trying to pay in a shop or restaurant. So I spent some time working out the difference, the size of the coin but mainly the edge of the different coins.  This took a lot of concentration so I had to order 'en autre café' to see me through my learnings - and soak up some more sunshine.

It was a short 3km ride back to the van, where I locked my bike back into the rack and left my gear to dry in the sun during shower time.  With everything 'secured for sea' we checked out of the Aire and drove into the service point to drop waste and fill up with fresh water.  All sorted, it was now lunch time. On our walk yesterday we passed a small bistro selling seafood including Moules. It was literally 1 minute's drive away so we pulled in and bagged a table outside in the sunshine.  Cathy had Moules a la Crème and I had a la Marieniére. C had a glass of Muscadet and me some local Cidre (driving), plus we shared some mineral water. It was a delicious light lunch and we were soon on our way to our next stop, an Aire near Piriac sur Mer, very Brittany (read Cornwall), but actually in the Pays de Loire region. On the way back out we say the hotel for the small sailor (le petit Matelot) - definitely a photo opportunity!  We stopped on the way at a Super U Marche, where I topped up with food and diesel.  Catchy was feeling in pain and tired so took the risk of laying on the bed while I drove.  This isn't legal or safe, but we accepted the risk against the pain of her Fibromyalgia sitting in the passenger seat.

One and a half hours' later, I pulled up at the Aire at Piriac, which is actually in the small hamlet of Lerat. Cathy had enjoyed her illicit ride in the back and, after parking up, we walked across the road to the sandy beach. The tide was out and much of the sand was covered with fly-infested seaweed. We walked along the coast, Cathy enjoying the rough sand barefoot and me the rock pools.  It had the potential in the warm sunshine for a sea swim, save for the thousands of small dead, dying or still very active jellyfish in the sea and stranded on the sand.  So instead we walked along, enjoying the warm sun and sound of the sea breaking over the rocks.

Back at the van we enjoyed a brew and a read, before packing up our seats, some nibbles and a bottle of pastis & water with glasses before walking back to the beach for 'sundowners'. Duty done, we walked back to the van at dusk for a light supper and a chat.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll get out on my bike again.  We plan to move on again, aiming for one more night on the coast before heading East into the Loire Valley - Cathy's white wine country! So time for bed now, as the owls give it some proper 'terwit, terwoo' in trees outside.

Coffee stop but sadly without my wingman

Lunch location

Moules and a glass of Muscadet for C, Cidre for me

Hotel & restaurant for small sailors!

Beach at Lerat

Lerat - warm and sunny

A summer's evening in October

Chillin' on the beach with a small pastis

Sunset on the beach

Bare feet again!

Day 3 - Gosport

Sunday 5 October 2014

We both slept really well. I was up first (as usual!) made a wet and breakfast, then changed into my cycling gear ready for Ray to arrive at 1000.  He'd dried my wet cycling gear overnight, so shoes, helmet and gloves on, we headed off into the warm sunshine.  We did our normal route, but this time road along Lee seafront, then took the Haven route to Titchfield.  With our usual loo stop in Warsash we were soon on our way back towards Lee.  When I was preparing my bike this morning, I noticed the rear tyre wall was bulging, so I popped in to Solent Cycles on the seafront to buy a new one - eye wateringly expensive but needs must.  We had a coffee and bacon sarnie sat outside the Bluey in the sunshine before cycling back to Rays to change the tyre and clean the bikes.  Back at the campsite I locked the bike back into the rack and showered and changed, we chilled out ready for Ray and Julie to pick us up later to go out to the Bun Penny for dinner.

The Bun Penny was as good as always. I had a Caesar Salad, Cathy had chicken & mushroom pie, Julie a roast beef dinner and Ray scampi & chips. We even all had a pudding.  It was lovely to spend time with them and we're now back in the van listening to some music.  The sun will be setting shortly and I don't think it'll be too long before we turn in, ready for out trip to France tomorrow.

One final note, Cathy forgot to pack our Myrtle's Mates Mug - it's all her fault.  So we now have to complete a number of tasks to avoid the Myrtle's Walk of Shame.  Our first task is to spell out 'Myrtle' as large as possible in whatever form - could be interesting!

Day 2 - Gosport

Saturday 4 October 2014

I woke with a stinking red wine hangover!  I got up early to have plenty of time to prep for my bike ride with Ray.  Then made a wet for us both and some toast for me - I managed to eat one piece.  It had been quite windy overnight and was cloudy this morning but quite warm. The cloud was lifting so I thought the threat of rain might have missed us. Cathy was meeting up with Julie later for breakfast at The Cabin by the beach, so I left her in bed.

I headed off to Ray's grateful for some fresh air and arrived at his house, banging loudly on their front door for a long time to make sure he and Julie were up.  I could hear her swearing at me from within - just like the old days.  All set up, we headed off on our 20 mile route that would take us through Stubbington, Titchfield and Warsash.  Just a few minutes in the wind picked up and rain started - and did it rain! We sheltered from the worst but were still soon soaked to the skin with our shoes squelching.  Hangover? - what hangover!  We stopped off at Warsash to use the loo and make use of the hand dryer to warm up a bit!  Thankfully the rain had now stopped so we had a decent run along the coast and Lee seafront to our usual coffee stop at the Bluebird Café - the 'Bluey'.  Two lattes and a twin helped revive us we we sat in there dripping and steaming!  It had started to rain again so the run back the the campsite was ridden as fast as we could.  Back at the campsite the hot shower was very welcome. Ray drove over about an hour later to take all my wet gear home to dry it overnight as we plan to go out again tomorrow morning - hopefully this time in sunshine.

A short while later our good friends Jane & Ron turned up for a wet and a chat.  Jane has just had a full knee replacement so getting up into the van was interesting for her, but we were soon settled with a cup of tea and the iced buns they brought. It was good to catch up; they have just become grandparents for the second time, this time a little boy and were looking forward to meeting him for the first time tomorrow. An hour later our son Chris arrived to pick up some belongings we'd brought down for him, so the kettle went on again.  After they'd all left we took a walk down the Bay in the sunshine (the rain was well gone and sun was out). There was a windsurfing competition and so loads of campervans parked on the grass by the sailing club, with a great view over the Solent to the Isle of Wight - very lucky!

Back at the van we had a quick turnaround then walked down the The Old Ship on Lee on Solent seafront  ( seeing a beautiful orange sunset), where we met Chris. Dinner was the usual deep fried or microwaved stuff you get in these 'Sizzling' pubs then out friends Chris & Michelle turned up - they live just about 2 minutes walk from the pub. We had a good catch up but soon it was 2230 and we were flagging, so we said our goodbyes and Chris dropped us off at the campsite.  It was a clear and very chilly night and we slept well.

Ready for our spin - before the rain

Windsurfers looking like leaf-cutter ants

Sunset over the sea at Lee as we walk to the Old Ship Inn

Tour de France en Yorkshire!

My cycling buddy - Ray - and I have been planning for some time to follow the Tour when it came to Yorkshire.  The original plan was to take our campervan up for the 4 nights, however with it delayed again (long story) the contingency plan came into effect - camping out in a tent. Luckily Ray had access to one so it didn't cost us any more.  Way back in October last year I booked us a pitch at the Velofest, based in Kilnsey.  Included in the price was our pitch, toilets, hot showers and access to the main arena for food, drink and live music in the evening.  So over the coming months we planned our trip and I was packed and ready a full week before. Here's our story.....

Thursday 3 July 2014
I left work at midday and Ray arrived just after 2pm.  After a cuppa and a catch up, we loaded up his car with all our stuff, strapped the bike rack to the back of the car and tied our bikes on. Then we were off!  The journey was mainly up the M6 before branching off and heading towards the Dales.  We arrived at the campsite at about 4.30pm parked up and grabbed the tent to find a decent pitch.  A lot of people had arrived already, so it took a while to find a spot, but once done we soon put the tent up. Once this was done, we went off to get our Velofest wristbands. The next hour or so was spent fetching kit and bikes from the car, putting up the windbreak, blowing up air beds and getting our little camp set up. The bikes were stored safely in the tent porch and I got the kettle on and the seats out for a cup of tea - time to chill!

Later we headed off to look around the main arena.  We wandered around to check out the food and drink stalls - Ray finally decided on fish & chips and I had a chicken balti.  We also grabbed a coffee.  The arena had two giant screens set up to allow everyone to watch each stage and that evening they were showing the Team Presentations, so we watched the end of that.  By this time it was getting late (for us!) so we headed back to the tent to read our cycling mags for a while, before crashing out for the night.  It was a bit grey and drizzly overnight and we both (being men of a certain age) had to get dressed and walk to the loos a couple of time in the night.  It's clear they had underestimated how many portaloos they needed and how soon they would fill up - it was pretty grim, enough said on that score!

Loading up ready to leave

Settling the bikes into their temporary home

Team Presentation on the big screens

Must be beer o'clock!

Chilling with a cuppa!

Friday 4 July 2014
We woke on Friday to sunny weather with a bit of a southerly breeze.  Neither of us slept that well, mainly due to the noise, floodlights and having to get up to the loo a couple of times in the night!  After a cuppa we walked over to get a bacon roll and coffee for breakfast. Our plan today was to get out on our bikes and explore some of Stage 1.   Bikes checked over, water bottles filled and changed, we headed out of the campsite and turned right opposite the Tennants Arms.

We were now on a section of Stage 1 - tomorrow the riders would be cycling on these roads. The route was fairly gentle - a few undulating climbs but nothing too strenuous to start with and the scenery was outstanding - green fields, dry-stone walls and sheep - lots and lots of sheep! There were loads of cyclists on the route of all ages, shapes and sizes.  After about 3 miles we dropped down into the village of Kettlewell, an extremely pretty spot with a small stone bridge over the River Wharfe and a lovely country pub.  The road is narrow and windy here so the the riders tomorrow could be quite bunched; no doubt it will be a popular and busy viewing point.  We continued onwards, soon passing the small hamlet of Buckden.  On our right a local church hall was offering bacon butties, sausages in baps and hot drinks, shouting from the gate to come on in - we said we would on the way back.

By this time we were seeing parking signs for the Cote de Cray - this is one of the first climbs on Stage 4 and is a Cat 4 climb.  This was quite a long climb that started gradually, but then got steeper nearer the top as the road twisted and turned.  It certainly got us both puffing and at the top it was windy and rainy.  After catching our breath, a drink we turned around and headed down, Ray burning rubber as his tyres gripped the road as he hurtled down, me burning rubber as I squeezed my brakes as hard as I could!  At the bottom we stopped as promised for a sausage bap and a cup of tea at the church hall before starting our return trip.  On the way we came across a field of sheep dyed yellow - lots of people in cars, on bikes and on foot were stopping to take photos.  

Back at the site we had a good hot shower and by this time it was threatening rain, so we sat in the tent reading as the rain started.  A break in the rain allowed us to walk out and get something to eat before heading back to the tent.  By this time it was raining heavily so it was an early night for us.

Top of Cote de Cray

Cooling off!

Baa Baa Yellow Sheep, have you any wool

The sun setting over Kilnsey Crag

End of a great day

Saturday 5 July 2014 - Stage 1: Leeds to Harrogate
It rained very heavily all night, stopping at about 6am.  Although our sleeping areas were dry, quite a lot of rain had entered the sitting area so some time was spend bailing out, mopping up and trying to get stuff dried, but at least the bikes were safe.  After breakfast we got ourselves ready and headed out to find a good spot to watch the Tour.

The road had been closed to vehicles since 6am so we know it would be fun cycling up the road.  We again turned right and cycled out along the route for about 3 miles, stopping at a metal gate set back from but right next to the route.  Then it was a waiting game; luckily the weather was good, if not a bit breezy so we were glad of our jackets.  During this time many thousands of spectators cycled past us, some in fancy dress.  The first of the British and French motorcycle cops came through, as well as tour cars and vans.  Another 'Fareham Wheeler' came along, recognised Ray's top and stopped for a chat.  About 1130 the caravan came through, travelling at speed - those sat on the top looked pretty chilly!  A couple of hours later we sensed the riders were getting closer as we could see helicopters coming up the valley. Finally the first riders came over the brow of the hill and down towards us, a breakaway of 3 riders, followed a few minutes later by the peleton, with all the usual motorbike outriders and team cars.  After clapping and cheering them through quiet returned, so we jumped on our bikes and headed back to the Velofest site.  A quick change and we headed off to grab some food and drink, while watching the Stage on the giant screens.  The hog road baguettes went down well with a pint of lager, closely followed by a pasty (I managed to persuade Ray to have one - more of that later).  We witnessed Cav crash in the closing sprint and joined in the collective groan.  It was hot and sunny and we had sunburned heads. We then went back, got changed and headed out on our bikes again to ride off the food and drink.  Turning right and heading up the route, we decided to climb Cote de Cray again.  By this time Ray was feeling the effects of his pasty and, as we approached the top of the climb, he decided the pasty and him should part company!  At the top it was sunnier than yesterday so we stayed a while longer, before turning around and heading down again. We passed the site and carried on down the road, turning off towards Grassington before reversing our route and heading back.

Back at the site, after a hot shower and a brew, we headed over the road to the Tennants Arms, for a couple of pints of welcome bitter, while watching the (very middle-aged) DJ throwing some shapes at the outside disco!  Even the adults and children waiting at the bus stop opposite were dancing and they eventually gave up waiting for the bus and crossed over to join the party. We returned to the site to get some food.  It was a clear and still night and by this time getting very chilly.  We sat at a table having our food then returned to the tent for a hot drink.  We actually managed to stay up until about 11.30pm tonight, but by then it felt really cold and it took a while for me to warm up in my sleeping bag.  But eventually quiet returned to the site, apart from the odd 'pub singer' in his tent, and peace returned.

Fareham Wheelers x 2

View from our spot

Where's the peloton?

Sat in the hot sun watching Stage 1

He'll regret that beer later!

Checking texts on his 'modern' phone!

Sunday 6 July 2014 - Stage 2: York to Sheffield
We had a bit of a lie in this morning (until 8am) as we had a bit more time to get down to a spot to watch Stage 2.  We'd decided earlier that we weren't going to stay overnight tonight but instead head back to Cheshire.  So we dismantled and packed what we could and took it to the car, but left the tent up so we could change. This time we turned left and rode down, turning off near Grassington then heading towards the village of Burnsall and then on to Bolton Abbey. This was only about 12 miles but was very hilly so we certainly felt every mile.  Arriving at Bolton Abbey it was already very busy so we locked up the bikes and found a spot by the A59, at the bottom of a hill and right next to a traffic island - could be interesting.  The caravan had already passed through so we only had to wait about an hour for the riders.  This time there was a breakaway of 7 riders who came through a few minutes ahead of the peloton. This time they were riding much faster and the noise from the crowd improved the atmosphere.  It took us a while to get away from here but eventually we were back in the hilly countryside.  We stopped off at a tea shop in Burnsall for a coffee and flapjack before heading back to the site.

We dismantled the tent and secured the bikes back onto the rack before heading off for a cool shower.  We walked to the arena to get some cold drinks for the journey home and stood to watch the remainder of Stage 2 on the big screens before jumping in the car and starting our journey home.

We had a great weekend watching the tour both in real life and on the giant screens, riding some of the route ourselves and relaxing.  It was good to have my cycling wing-man with me again - we ride well together and the banter and laughter carried on all weekend.  Hopefully next year we can go and see some of the Tour in France in our campervan.

Stopping at Burnsall

Coffee and flapjack time