Patrick & Sharyn

Hi Guys,

Following my suggestion, Dennis agreed there might be interest in an occasional update of our travels. So welcome to the first one.

My focus for these will be the cycling aspects of the trip, as distinct from the more general social aspects of the letter we send out monthly – and likely to be more often for the next few months because we just cannot bring a monthly letter down to a reasonable length.

So, far we have cycled the South West of Britain, including Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

Firstly Heathrow.
A lot of locals have expressed surprise that we actually rode out of Heathrow, which is regarded as one of the world’s busiest airports. Actually it was surprisingly easy.
Luckily the bikes arrived without any damage – Air New Zealand was really amazing all the way.
It took us about an hour to re-assemble the bikes (put rear derailleur back on, fix cranks and fix pedals, rear view mirrors and computers, pump tyres up, dispose of packing, re-pack panniers, pack bikes, get some cash from airport ATM, buy & eat lunch, re-read book on route out of airport, change clothes, begin ride).

We were at terminal 3, which is one of the terminals inside the airport. Luckily we had purchased a book on cycling in Britain earlier from a NZ rider.
The book was totally unsuitable for us, but it did have a paragraph on getting out of Heathrow – which probably was worth the $NZ20 it cost us.
The first surprise was that there is a clearly marked bike path starting outside the terminal and leading us to the main highway exit from the airport.
Unfortunately it then leads into London, and we were heading away to the South East.
The second surprise was the courtesy and room extended us when we departed from the bike path and started riding on the A30 Highway. A-class highways are only slightly below the M (Motorways) in the hierarchy of British roads, and cyclists are prohibited on the Motorways (not that you would ever want to ride one anyway).
There was several times that afternoon we made poor traffic decisions, or were confused coming into junctions but not one driver used the horn or showed any annoyance.
We also noticed several bicycle riders on the roads that afternoon.

Britain has a population of 60 million people living on an island, smaller than Victoria, and there are horrendous traffic problems. Transport is currently a major political issue in Britain with most experts agreeing that at the present rate traffic will reach gridlock around 2020.
Already there are some sections of the motorways that have an average speed of four miles per hour during most daylight hours. Some major cities are beginning to charge congestion taxes for cars in their CBD, and there is an active Government policy to force more people out of their cars and into alternative transport, including bikes. Unfortunately for this policy the public transport system is in very poor state as well, so you have a classic political problem.

Bicycles have benefited from this problem, and as a result it is a much easier place to ride than Australia and New Zealand.
Firstly the major roads (A and B class highways) often have reasonable edges, and even where they don’t the drivers seem to travel with more regard for bikes (and horses, tractors, and pedestrians/walkers who also use the roads).
On B-class roads particularly traffic travels much slower than it would in Australia.

Then there is the network of lesser roads, lanes, tracks, public walkways, and bridlepath that we can also use (well maybe not the bridlepaths!).
We started out from Heathrow following a British A to Z Road Atlas, and plotting our way through the minor roads as much as possible.
Even close in to London there were an amazing array of alternatives, all much less trafficked than the A and B class highways.
In fact there was such a range of alternatives that two inevitable things occurred: we got hopelessly lost often causing some partnership tension: or every ten minutes we stopped for five of them to study the map and try and find where we were.
We got to see some beautiful little villages that we would never have found any other way, but we took nearly a week getting clear of the edge of London.
We really only started to cover reasonable distances when we bit the bullet and rode a couple of A and B roads for a while. As stated earlier this is not enjoyable, but it is the most direct route.

Things have improved since that first week.  Firstly we have found the National Cycle Network. Sustrans (www.sustrans.org.uk) is a publicly funded charity (??) with a role of encouraging people to ride bicycles.
Working with local councils, parishes etc. they are establishing a network of cycle tracks criss-crossing Britain.
The aim is to have 10,000 miles of safe traffic-free or low-traffic pathway established and signposted by 2005, and they had 6,000 miles completed by the end of last year.
Unfortunately the Dorset and Devon area is part of the still to be completed 4,000 miles, but from Cornwall we have picked up the Network. Our preliminary experience has been good. The plus factors are that they:

• Are traffic free or very low traffic roads:
• Are generally good surface (we have only had two muddy lanes!);
• Pass through or close to most of the major visitor areas, for example the network route goes straight through Project Eden – see our general letter – and anyone arriving by bicycle gets a three pound discount off the normal nine pound admission fee;
• Pass through a lot of wooded areas and classic British style tree covered lanes, making it possible to spend most of the day riding without being aware that we are in one of the most densely populated areas of the world;
• Pass through some of the most beautiful and quaint villages or hamlets you will ever see, many of which are not on the general tourist route;
• Social, and give us a chance to meet other riders and local village people: and
• They are beginning to get infrastructure addressing the track, for instance we had a cup of tea the other day with a guy in a bike hire place doing a roaring trade offering repairs and hiring out what appeared to be thousands of bikes on a junction of two tracks.

The negative factors, far outweighed by the positive ones, are;
• They wander a bit, and we occasionally have to leave them to go in a more direct route. They do have steeper grades than the main roads (a disadvantage of country lanes generally); and 
• The maps are expensive and difficult to read. There are two maps to cover Cornwall, at a cost of five ponds 50 p each (i.e. approx $A30 for the two). On the other hand the signposting is good once on the route.

The second factor now working in our favour is that we are more confident that we can handle the British traffic, and the road/lane network. This makes it easier when we have to depart from the cycle track.

While on bikes helmets are optional in Britain and seem to be only used by the serious riders out training.
This may contribute to the fact that bikes are a more common form of transport here, with everyone from kids to people even older than us riding them.
Drivers are thus more used to bikes on these narrow roads, and of course, they are travelling slower anyway.

We recognised that accommodation would be an expensive problem, and it is turning out that way.
We joined the YHA in Australia, but have only used it once (when wet and cold in the middle of Dartmoor, with no other alternative).
The going rate for YHA accommodation is seven to eleven pounds per person for dormitory accommodation, We have resisted paying up to $A66 per night and not being able to sleep together.

That British standby, the B&B, is also much too expensive. The budget rate for this style accommodation is fifteen pounds plus per person – if you can get it.
This puts the B&B right out of our budget. So we spend most of our time camping.
Britain seems to be covered with camping grounds ranging from the muddy farm paddock to mega complexes covering acres of land and catering for all the wants of 6,000 plus people during the peak season. These latter have restaurants, take-aways, swimming pools, supermarkets, and often gyms.
The cost varies but seems to range from six pound to nine pound ($A18 to $A27) per tent low season (now) and up to fifteen pounds ($A45) during the high season (tomorrow). For that you get the right to pitch your tent on their property, and access to generally reasonable shower/toilet facilities. 

Just recently we found and joined the Camping and Caravanning Club. This organization has been around for over 100 years, and has something like 200,000 members.
They provide reasonable quality –  some quite high quality – campgrounds at reasonable prices (we are paying four pounds 50 ($A13) per night at a ground in the most magnificent garden surrounding a stately home - Trewan Hall – but the usual is double that).
The most important factor for us is that they are a very friendly and helpful group. They have a network of club parks, and the three we have used so far have been good. Also they have been on the Bicycle Network.

There are a number of other similar clubs, but we have not enquired whether they provide any better services.

Tomorrow begins a four-day holiday celebrating the beginning of summer and Queen Elizabeth’s golden jubilee.
It is likely that most accommodation, including the campgrounds, will be chock -a –block and we plan to look to free camp for most of it. 

We have free camped a couple of times so far, but the wet weather makes it difficult (British farm lands get incredibly boggy after rain – unlike the sandy ground back home).

There is a surprising amount of woods in this part of Britain, and most of them are suitable for camping providing it does not rain.
We understand that it  is legal to camp for one night if you need to, but there is need to respect the trespass laws and ask the farmer if camping on private property.
Most of the woods are on common ground, so that should not be an issue. We also understand that Scotland does not have trespass laws, so it gets easier there.

Britain lives up to its reputation as a very expensive place to visit, but with a bit of discipline it is possible to do it cheaply.
Some things are just very expensive, and we cannot afford them.
In this category are most things that involve paying someone a British wage, for instance restaurant meals, hotel accommodation, and fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. But other things are not really that much more expensive, for instance bread, most groceries, and bike parts etc. So far we are living well within our budget, but have not lashed out with movies, or visits to stately homes etc. – except churches that ask for a donation on entry!
We intend to join the National trust, which for fifty-five pounds ($A160) a couple gets us free entrance to most of the stately homes and castles in Britain.

But so far we have only been here a month.  We will update this summary when we get to Ireland, (which is supposedly very expensive) and Scotland, (cheaper than here).

In the meantime I am happy to respond to any comment, suggestions, or questions.

The bit I see from the emails suggests the WAHPVA is maintaining the standard. Keep up the good work, and please keep us in the loop.

Regards for now,
Patrick (& Sharyn)

 Updated - 17 Nov 2006.