Roady's Roamings

We stopped overnight at Ruthern Valley Campsite and set off in the morning after a cooked breakfast for Padstow along the Camel Valley Trail, a surfaced cycle track on an old railway bed. A very enjoyable trip with only very gentle slopes as is to be expected on a rail bed. The Trail runs close to the River Camel all the way with a road section through Wadebridge. Padstow is a quaint fishing town built on the hillside above the working harbour with numerous cafes and a few nice pubs. We samples the local ale in the Shipwrights inn. Good ale but there was music playing in the bar, a large screen TV on the wall and a one armed bandit, so we drank outside. We stopped off at Wadebridge Lidl supermarket for a bottle of wine for the evening. Tomorrow we head the other direction on the Camel Trail heading for Bodmin

Blisland is a small village inland, and the place where one of my old work colleges lives. We haven't seen each other in more than 25 years, great to catch up and have a bar meal at the highest pub in Cornwall, The Old Inn at St Breward.  Ruthern Valley holidays site for the night and do the usual emptying and filling job in the van. Also a good base for the Camel trail.

We parked at the Cornish arms, wich, according to thier beer mats is "situated 3 mile North of Port Isaac on the North Coast of Cornwall" , that would be I  the Sea then In truth it is South East of Port Isaac on dry land, which is handy for the van. We walked into the port and had a look around at a very picturesque village, apparently where Dr Martin was filmed, I didn't see even a shoe shop!

We parked at the Gardeners Arms, our pub stopover for the night and walked down into the gorge. We pre booked on line for the discount and collected our tickets at the office. Gough's Cave. The main attraction and well worth the visit.  Spacious and airy with easy access with spectacular stalactites, stalactites and flowstone. The free audio guide is very informative. Beyond the view. This is an audio visual presentation showing the Gorge from aerial footage and mixing old photos with preset day footage. This is situated at the back of the shop next to Gough's Cave. The Museum of Prehistory across the road is very informative with good displays and exhibitions. We missed the Deamhunters exhibition, as we alway Semmes to be passing at the wrong time. Entry is on the hour every half hour. Finally we climbed Jacobs Ladder up to the viewing tower for a few panoramic photos and set off on the 3 mile walk along the Gorge and back, quite rough and steep in parts, walking boots a...

Bath rece. We traveled from the Stretton Fox all the way down to to a very nice small campsite called Knights Folly in the town of Bitton,   roughly half way between Bath and Bristol. Once set up we offloaded the bikes and headed off to Bath along the old Bath to Bristol railway bed and Avon canal tow path  An hour later, after a quick pint at the Locks brook Inn, we arrive in Bath. This was just a rece, so we were not doing any sightseeing, but the centre looked interesting and cycle friendly.  Back to the van for the evening and early start for a full day in town tomorrow. Bath day two. Once again cycled into Bath, but this time I felt just like a steam engine, I had a tender behind. It has been about 4 months since we have been on the bikes! We did the usual tourist attractions: The tour bus, that was a bit expensive we though but a good overview of the town. £15 each. This took in the Royal Crescent and The Circus. The Roman Bathhouse,  definitely...

Handy pub stopover just off the M6 / M56. Some nice real ales at the bar and a rustic atmosphere.  Very busy for a Wednesday night. Food looks good, but we have already eaten, maybe next time. Good night sleep with the soothing drone of the motorway traffic in the distance.

Getting the van packed and the biles on the back for a Cornwall trip. This is the Google map that I have researched with campsites, pub stopovers, cycle trips and things to see. I find it the best system for planning holiday. We will certainly not have time to do all we want but wherever we end up we can find something nearby. My idea is to overplan and then go with the flow. We plan to stop in Cheshire on the way down and visit Bath before we get to Cornwall.