Later I saw a badger that was both dead and alive with maggots. Thousands of them, as if they were in a badger shaped bowl. The badger doesn't count as wildlife though, because of the lack of life. Although I suppose you could count the maggots as wildlife, in which case Kent is absolutely crawling with wildlife. I don't count maggots as wildlife though, which I suppose is a bit prejudiced.
Thinking more about this, the farmed pheasants don't count as wildlife either, because of the "wild" part. Leaving an owl and the midges. And maggots, or not.
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| Bodiam Castle for breakfast |
Packed and away by 6am, I had the lanes mostly to myself as I continued east in the cool dawn sunshine. More magnificent ridge riding, majestic views, and more serious undulations. Breakfast at Bodiam Castle (7.30am, it was closed), then along Top Road along the scarp. 16th century cyclists would have had a great view of the sea, until the tide went out permanently leaving Rye high and dry. Soon, I crossed the Kent and East Sussex railway, whose easterly point was... Bodiam. Was there no escape frem East Sussex? I passed Rye and continued until I had a good view of Dungeness before turning north along the Military Canal for a bit. Another left turn and I was aiming for home.
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| Military Canal |
The lanes were still picturesque, rolling rather than hilly, and sometimes wooded. More villages than in the Weald. Plenty of club riders out on a Saturday morning, mostly heading the other way. Mostly not saying hello. But I did get talking to one group who recommended a farm cafe for elevenses. I can also recommend it.
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| Elevenses |
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| I didn't stop here, but it looked nice |
I'd already done 40 miles. I reached my planned overnight stop by lunchtime, but wasn't feeling sleepy, so I carried on. My plans were in tatters.
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| Lunch at the National Pinetum, Bedgebury Looks nice, but touristy and cyclist-unfriendly. Plenty of trees though. |
Something was happening in the air. As I was climbing another naughty hill, feeling pleased because Garmin told me it was the last hill for 46 miles (a complete lie - flat roads in Kent are rarer than wildlife). Anyway, an aeroplane flew over. I looked up to see a Lancaster bomber. A few minutes later, another one, this time a Spitfire, going a bit faster. They were heading south; maybe aiming to meet up at Eastbourne? Soon afterwards, some jets, probably the Red Arrows, but I was in trees by then and couldn't see them.
After the magnificent ride yesterday, and its extension today to near Dungeness, the rest of today's riding has so far been enjoyable but not outstanding - more like the rides we are used to around Surrey, but maybe hillier. Tunbridge Wells was a low point with unpleasant traffic jams and busy roads (I was on a cycle path so just an observer).
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| Moody woods |
I needed a plan. I also needed a tea stop, so I stopped at a pub and put my thinking cap on. Nothing happened. I decided to go on the Forest Way to East Grinstead and stop at Wetherspoons forcan evening meal. By my calculations, I would have an hour or so after Wetherspoons to find somewhere to stop. That worked well. The Forest Way is a disused railway line going from a few miles outside Tunbridge Wells to East Grinstead. Bi met a delightful father and 14 year old daughter who were on an off-road cycle camping trip. She had designed the route, baked the snacks, and was doing the navigating. Brilliant.
Wetherspoons was great. My onward route followed the Worth Way, another disused railway line leading to Crawley in a few miles. Not much time to find a camping spot. And railway lines have embankments, cuttings, good fences, not conducive to sneaking into the woods at the side. Luckily I found a path leading off the Worth Way, and this had a perfect wood to one side, although with rather a lot of noisy birds. I guess we're not in Kent any more!
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| Worth Way |
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| Camp site |
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