Around London 24-28 August 2016

Overnight we left our bikes in the bar area which is only used for special occasions and went to bed. At breakfast we discovered that someone had tried to break in to the bar overnight and the window was half missing. A close call. We rode off along the A5 in virtually no traffic and headed for the canal path along the Grand Union canal. https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/grand-union-canal Riding through London has proved to be really easy and for the first time I actually enjoyed my time in London.

Along the tow path we found a cafe which was full of policemen. We guessed it was smoko time and both agreed we did not need to worry about the bikes getting nicked. We did not know at the time but the day was the hottest of summer but the canal and the shade kept us cool.

At Uxbridge we met up with Deborah and Jon after a six month absence. It was like a home coming. 5000 miles had elapsed since our last meeting. We went out for a meal at an Italian restaurant and went home for a good night’s sleep. We suffered one minor disaster when a pound of butter melted and soaked our food bag and one for the panniers. We ditched the food bag but the pannier still smells of rancid butter even after several washes and rinses. Luckily the contents were inside a rubbish bag so we only had to throw that out.

We left the next morning with the contents of the food bag and the pannier in a large blue plastic carry bag and looked right a real hobo on bikes. At Heathrow we passed under the flight path at the end of the runway and watched several plane land about 2 minutes apart. You would really have to be on top of your game to be a controller at the airport. We got lost again and had to knuckle down for the last 20 kms to our hosts Kirsty and Peter at Farnborough http://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/places-to-visit/north-hampshire/farnborough with whom we had also stayed six months previous. We cooked a vegetarian lasagne and apple crumble for them which went down well. I also took the opportunity to clear a debt. When we stayed with them last time he had repaired our bikes and I had wanted to repay the favour with a dozen beer. So off the supermarket I went and bought as many bottles of his favourite beer as I could transport on the bike and six months late my conscience was cleared.

During the night the phone rang and we heard that Sally's mum had suffered seizures and had been taken to Auckland hospital. The next morning we had a chat to those back home and during that conversation we found out that a nearby village was home to some distant relations in the past. So we followed the Basingstoke canal to Odiham http://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/places-to-visit/odiham-p516521 where we found Bury Cottage without any problems. In the church yard was a gravestone all in French so I asked a local why. Turns out that a local chalk pit was used to house French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic wars. The locals keep his gravestone spotlessly clean as a tribute even all these years later. I hoped the day trip would take Sallys mind off the events back home but I am not sure my plan worked.

We stayed with Christine and Tony in Aldershot and had a wonderful meal of fish and chips. They ran a bed and breakfast but still made time to welcome cyclists occasionally. What a neat couple. The stay was a bit of a blur as we communicated with back home to find out how Priscilla was. Adding to the problem was the fact that Sally’s phone decided to stop working. Her mum was improving so we decided to continue on our way the next day. We passed through Abinger Hammer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abinger_Hammer on our way to Dorking where we stayed with Peter. It was a surprisingly fast day as the roads were smooth and we had a small tail wind. Once gain the evening was a bit of a blur as we found out that Priscilla was not getting better for the moment. We pressed on the next day to Tonbridge where we found a campground which was full up. They ignored the rules and let us stay one night at it was late and there was nowhere else for us to stay.