Slough to East Anglia
11th May
Another English breakfast and see ya later to Isabel.
Getting out of Slough was easy- so many lovely little laneways and the roads we did ride on were mostly quiet.
Somewhere along the way, around the time we were thinking it was time for a coffee, we came across a low key Sunday Market- perfect👌
Around 36km cycled and that was enough for the first real day of being on the road. We delayed the camping joy by another day and opted for an overnighter at the Boxmoor Lodge- great value and a continental breakfast that hit the spot beautifully! Boxmoor is adjacent a canal with more excellent tracks for walking and cycling. Loving this aspect of the country!
36km, 435m elevation, 27 degrees and soooo sunny!
12th May
Monday morning and back on the road
Plenty of spots along the way to munch on our sandwiches…
We (I) finally braved the camping gig. For £20 we had a lovely grassy spot in an old orchard…with a small toilet block and nothing else. Very peaceful…and a short walk from a local pub where Neil continues his “real ale” exploration. Amazingly warm weather (somehow we avoided the forecast thunderstorms), perfect for lounging around with a simple meal cooked up on the burner.
We did manage to score some hilarious (if somewhat noisy and inconsiderate) neighbours late in the day…all adds to the entertainment value I guess. We’re guessing they were on their first (and probably only) Tinder date…the conversations really were eye (ear??) opening.
49km, 497m elevation, a lovely 26 degrees, towering thunderclouds but no rain!
13th May
A flattish but tiring morning (maybe not quite used to this camping lark…), plus it seemed really rather too warm!
We were very pleased we didn’t have to tackle this roundabout…the cycle paths managed to help us avoid it. Phew!
Arrived into Cambridge around lunchtime and had a bit of an explore and a stock up on some essentials.
Cambridge is something else- quite apart from the gorgeous buildings and the feeling of grandeur, there are bicycles everywhere!! The cycling infrastructure is quite incredible for a city of 145K people. So well thought out- no need to join the stupidly fast moving traffic on the main roads, the cycle ways have it all sorted. The few times where we needed to share the road, the traffic was calm and very tolerant- there is an expectation that cyclists share the space. Sigh…if only it could be a little more like this in Tassie…
We found a nice campsite about 8km out of Cambridge to pitch our tent for the princely sum of £21. Green fields, hot showers…but nowhere, and I mean nowhere, to plug in our devices. Everything was hardwired and not a single plug to be found. C’est la vie…
A short walk into the village and we found a pub with no meals…but a food van offering Yorkshire Wraps. Who knew it was a thing! Roast potatoes, slow cooked brisket, gravy all wrapped up in a yorkshire pudding. Packaged cholesterol!!! Kinda delicious…but I don’t think we’re riding anywhere far enough to justify the goodies we are consuming…
49.5km, 240m elevation, a cloudless sky and 26 degrees
14th May
Today we headed for Huntingdon. And ended up in Ely- the opposite direction, after Komoot sent us on a bit of a direction challenge to start the day. Turned out it was a fantastic mistake. The Ely Cathedral is something to behold and we meandered around taking in the sights before deciding to stay here the night.
Found a relatively cheap B&B…the reviews remarked that it was “quirky” and that you needed a sense of humour to stay here. We can see why… John Cleese could have really done something with this place. We rocked up to try and book direct (never want to give booking.com their dues if we can avoid it). The receptionist had no idea how much we should pay… and neither did the owner when we finally tracked him down several hours later after we’d well and truly checked in, showered, eaten the complimentary biscuits and made ourselves at home. He was too “busy” at the moment, could we sort it out in the morning. We do have a rough promise that it will be £1 less than the booking.com price. But I doubt he’ll remember in the morning…
39.5km, 178m elevation, and another beautiful sunny day, 24 deg but a chilly wind by the end of the day
Tomorrow…we’re heading west ( I think!)
Let’s go cycling 
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