17th July 2010 - Whitchurch to High Bentham

Great, bed and breakfast, a hearty breakfast to set me up for the day.  The owners of the B&B thought that Katy was our eldest daughter.  Myself and Carol didn't know quite how to take that one.  Did we look old or does Katy look very young for her age?  We were consoled somewhat when the staff at the B&B had a go at guessing Katy's age and guesses ranged from 14 to 17.

A long cycle today, well over 100 miles expected.  After breakfast, I set off from Whitchurch in the rain on the A49.  This wasn't the planned route, however, I can get this road all the way up to Warrington, then pick up my planned route to get me past Manchester, Bolton and Blackburn.

Easy cycling up the A49.  I stopped just outside Warrington for some lunch and a beer. The rain had now stopped and there was only a slight breeze, so good cycling weather.  I followed my route past Manchester. The route took me on a road over a bridge that crosses the Manchester ship canal.  At the bridge, was a tiny little toll booth with barriers that you had to pay 12 pence to pass.  The booth was tiny and there were two blokes in it.  They would definitely need to get along, I would imagine they were very good friends after a shift in there.

I carried on through some fairly run down towns, making sure I didn't stop too long in any one place. I can't say this is my favourite area in the world.  My route now took me off the A6, which I had been on for a number of miles and back on to B roads.  Cue my next opportunity to get lost.  A fair few miles off route this time.  Anyhow, a very helpful chap in a garage helped get me back on track.  He even offered to put my bike in the back of his van and take me to the place I was headed.  I must admit, I was tempted, having already covered 85 miles, however, I resisted and retraced my steps to find the right road.  This road took me up into the hills (suprisingly for a CTC route) around Blackburn. I then ditched this route after I found a quiet A road that would take me to Clitheroe. Clitheroe looked like a really nice place and there were quite a few Thwaites Bewery pubs. Thwaites do brew a good beer and I was very tempted, however, it was getting late and I still had a few miles to go. The route now took me over the hills to Bentham and boy was it hilly.  It was beautiful but lots of steep climbs.  It was getting darker all the time.  When I arrived in High Bentham at 10pm it was dark.  Total of 111 miles officially cycled today, although I did more due to me getting lost.  Nearly 7,000 feet of climbing and well over 6,000 calories burned.  I would definitely like to cycle around here again.  It remined me of the Bealach-na-ba climb.

When I arrived at High Bentham, Carol, Katy and the girls had managed to secure a barn, complete with disco lights, for the night.  It was now very windy again and they had been unable to get the already soaking wet tent up.  I was welcomed with a candlelit supper and a glass of cider. Just what I needed.


Song for Today: Grandaddy - Summer Here Kids