Poor night’s sleep in the ridiculously hot, stuffy and tiny hostel room, a letter of complaint will ensue whan we arrive home. I collected an Americano from Caffè Nero to accompany breakfast. Another hosteller was in the self catering kitchen, he was in the process of buying Youlgreave hostel from the YHA but could then use their booking facilities, it’s not always apparent who’s responsible for anything. He thought the Cirencester hostel was only managed by the YHA and they had no control how it was designed. Contemporary business practice can be mystifying.
Mist was in evidence initially but soon cleared to yet another sunny and very warm day. It was fairly easy cycling, undulating terrain, pleasant but unremarkable farming country. We paused for a chat with two cyclists on a multi-day excursion from home, one showed us his new electric bike which he’d bought since he was in his seventies. We passed through pretty villages of Cotswold stone then abruptly into Worcestershire where brick prevailed. The attractive small town of Pershore was a good stop for ice cream, the cafe owner told us he regularly had thirty bikes in his courtyard on Sunday mornings.
We weaved through Worcester on an intricate network of cycle paths which avoided the very busy roads, then onto the canal towpath, well populated until we left the city. I spotted a Yes Cymru sticker on a post on the towpath. It went on a lot longer than we expected, arriving at the Pear Tree Hotel around 17:00. In a stark contrast from last night, we had an executive suite with a sitting room. The receptionist said we could take our bikes in, which made it look a lot less executive but was very convenient.
Today’s distance: 51.4 miles (82.7 km)
Today’s ascent: 871 metres
Cumulative: 352.8 miles (568 km), 7029 metres