So, yes, I do get away every now and then….. I went off for one night on a cycle ride from Windsor to Bath mainly on the National Cycle Route 4 which in the main part goes along from Reading to Bath along the Kennet and Avon Canal. A wonderful cycle route along a very pretty and scenic part of the countryside.
My friend Dave and I started out from Windsor in fairly good weather about 8.30am, got into the centre of Reading in the dry, had a coffee and then the rain started! We knew before we started the trip the weather was not going to be very good, so off we went, heading to the Canal in the pouring rain. It didn’t stop for about 2 hours and eventually I had to call a halt to find somewhere to get a hot drink and warm up my hands which had gone completely white and numb.

Kennet and Avon Canal
After a stop of about half an hour the weather improved and off we went again. Slowly the
sun came out and our spirits improved as we got a bit warmer and started to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. After a stop for lunch at a supermarket we continued on along the canal footpath and into Hungerford where we checked into the Three Swans Hotel which turned out to be a right little gem, in the centre of town, clean, comfortable and friendly.
We had a wonderful evening, the sun was out the sky was blue and the beer went down very easily!
Next morning we were off on the road after a good breakfast – great when someone else cooks, but I must admit that after years of cooking a full English breakfast, I’m not really interested in eating them any more, but today was a necessary thing as we were off to use up loads of calories on the next 7 hours of cycling!
The weather was better than the day before so no complaints even when we got wet in the showers. The wind was a little brutal and tended to be right in our faces which made the trip harder work then it could have been, but the countryside was magnificent as were went out of Berkshire and into the hills of Hampshire.
We went through Pewsey which is home to another run a have done a couple of times, The Terminator, an 11 mile extreme cross country run up and down some amazing hills and through the fields around the area. This section had us away from the canal and we could only guess this was because it was no good for cycles….. but soon enough we were back onto the towpath and charging alone through the mud and puddles again….
We made it into Bath around 5pm and headed for the station, too tired to be bothered looking around much, the ride to the station was enough….. the train home was lovely and easy and although we had to stand for most of it we were just happy to have completed our trip and be in a nice warm and dry train!