Newport Pagnell is a regular little town with shops, roads, people and so on, but I couldn't tell you about Milton Keynes. I went through the north of it on 'the Railway Path', maybe five miles of old railway, lined with trees and slightly uphill all the way. Of Milton Keynes I saw nothing - no cars, a few backs of houses, and a few cryptic signs to places like Wolvercote and CMK (central Milton Keynes?). Emerging out the other side, I also dodged Stony Stratford and followed a few more miles of cycle path alongside various roads, with occasional subways to change sides. Easy, safe cycling, but soulless.
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| Buckingham University, The Radcliffe Centre |
Back on the lanes, I was now in Buckinghamshire, somewhat more rolling than yesterday, and heading to the bustling town of Buckingham itself for elevenses. The way out of town was along a grand avenue leasing to Stowe - I went through the first grand entrance, and saw the second, even grander, entrance, but turned off & never saw Stowe itself.
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| One of a pair of entrance houses to Stowe |
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| The Avenue, Stowe (2nd entrance in the distance) |
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| Weston |
Definitely hilly now, nothing huge but continuous ups and downs. The little villages were pretty, with a lot of Cotswold style stone and a bit of thatch here and there. Veering north into Northamptonshire, I stopped at Canons Ashby for late lunch at the National Trust cafe for the Tudor Manor house. There seem to be quite a few big estates around.
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| Church at Canons Ashby |
After lunch, the hills got serious as I headed north towards Daventry and Rugby. At the top of the hill, I would be greeted by a vast plain ahead of me - great! But the route seemed to find another big hill, and another. Daventry was a mix of old fashioned High Street with a lot of modern surroundings, and some nice cycle paths.
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| Grand house |
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| Grand house |
Eventually I found the plain and picked up a bit of speed, but I needed food. Stopped at the Co-op in Crick and couldn't resist a four-pack of jam doughnuts, reduced to 75p. It felt good, but also bad, so I gave two of them to a couple of workmen. In return, they offered to do me a new roof.
It was plain sailing for the last ten miles, crossing the M1, the grand Union canal, and getting almost to Rugby, but I stopped in a farm campsite in Catthorpe, where I found the only flat pitch and had time to shower before walking to the excellent pub. Luxury.
Back at the tent, it was another clear night, but the moon wasn't up, so I could see millions of stars. It was already very cold, so I put every item of clothing on, and settled into a deep sleep.
It got down to 3 degrees overnight, but I was wrapped up warmly. In the morning, the tent was dripping with dew, and it was a chilly 7 degrees. Outside, it was thick mist. I spent an age trying to wipe the tent as the dew was still settling. It wasn't very appealing to go for a bike ride, so I went to the farm shop to consider my options over breakfast. To make matters worse, my overnight warm hat had given me a hairstyle like 1970s David Bowie.
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| Setting off from the campsite |
I'd had a hilly 65 mile route planned, into the Cotswolds, but the forecast was for mist all day, so there would be nothing to see, and it might be dangerous on the roads. If I was going to abandon the ride, I could either ride to Banbury (20 miles), or Rugby (2 miles). The ride to Rugby settled it, and I got a train home to Watford from there. £11 to Watford Junction, and then free on the Lioness & Mildmay lines to Richmond. Not bad.
So that was the rather abrupt end of my planned four day trip. I would have persevered if I'd been trying to get somewhere - but this trip was all about enjoying the countryside. It will still be there another time.
In hindsight, I wouldn't use the tiny, lightweight tent for a multi-day trip again. It's OK on a dry day with no overnight dew. But if there's dew, it's hard to manoeuvre inside it without the inner touching the wet outer. And it would be extremely difficult to pack up camp in the rain. Worth the extra kilogram for a two-man tent.
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| Day 2 Emberton-Catthorpe |
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