Are we there yet??: Travels with Gillian

Gillian is a big girl! She is 7.5 m long and 2.31m wide and she doesn’t fit so well down narrow lanes. We discovered this when the sat nav said ‘go left and left again’ as we exited the rental premises. We encountered school mums in expensive range rovers taking up most of the limited road space and a lot of oncoming traffic. Dave handled it with aplomb while I squeezed my butt cheeks in the hope it would help Gillian get through. It worked! But the roads got even narrower as we went further west into Devon and Cornwall. In one instance a large truck coming the other way pulled to the side but left us with no room to pass. He had to get out and guide us through with just a millimetre to spare. We have a new-found love for dual carriage ways and motorways! We have also had to get creative about parking Gillian as she takes up two parks, is not very manoeuvrable and someone always has to be out back when reversing.

We headed to Exeter to find Nick, a lovely man who has given us a good deal on a couple of very fine electric bikes. Turning off the roundabout to go down Nick’s road, we were confronted by a sign telling us if we were over 2m wide we wouldn’t fit (we are 2.31 remember) – so we went around the roundabout again and tried for the Park and Ride. No luck there either - all full with a height barrier. Around again and fortunately, we spied a storage facility with empty car park. After some persuasion they let us geriatric Kiwis park for a couple of hours while we arranged an alternative bike pickup. At least now we can park Gillian and explore by bike.

From a campground near the mouth of the river Exe we cycled up the estuary, lunching in a little pub on a lock, and down the other side to Exmouth, where we caught a local ferry back across the harbour. On another day we took Gillian to Plymouth and treated ourselves to a harbour cruise and seafood meal. Of course, Gillian could not come with us to the town centre so she stayed in a suburban carpark while we caught a bus. (Too wet to cycle that day).

The roads are SO busy here. Fortunately there are lots of dedicated cycle paths but they are not all joined up so sometimes we are forced to take to the highway. It is a scary prospect as we put the bikes into top gear with maximum pedal assist to get through as quickly as possible. Despite this, lots of cyclists do not wear helmets or high viz gear.

After London our constant fine weather disappeared, and it turned a bit variable. We visited the very picturesque Cornish town of Padstow and really tested our bikes for 50 km on the Camel Trail – an old railway converted to bike trail. The ride there was idyllic through woods and meadows, past quaint Cornish cottages and along the riverbank, stopping for cream tea, ie tea, scones, jam and clotted cream. However, it all turned very wet for the ride back and a certain element of panic ensued as our battery levels took a dive just before the very steep hill climb back to the campground. But we made it and turned Gillian’s shower stall into a very effective drying room.

Parking up and biking to see the sights is the theme of our holiday, so we continued this as we abandoned plans to go to Wales and headed back towards London. We have spent the last week or so in the picturesque area around Henley, Marlow, Windsor and Chertsey cycling up and down the Thames path and visiting HM at Windsor. In fact, we spent two nights in a long stay park near Windsor Castle – the second night because we under-estimated the time needed to complete our bike expedition - and I fell off my bike! This mishap meant we had to spend the following night in Chertsey, close to St Peter’s hospital, so I could get my wrist x-rayed. (Good news there though!). The first medical professional we met was a nurse-practitioner from New Plymouth who has been in the UK since 2003. He is related to the Maurinovich’s of fish shop fame and is heading back to NP in a day or two to see his folks. It is a very small world.
Another reunion took place while in this area. In 1973 a group of eight of us travelled overland to the UK in two Model A Fords. We stayed with Jim Blum who owns one of them when we visited Calgary in 2017 (see earlier blogs) and this time we caught up with Lyndon Yorke who owns the other. The Model A is one of Lyndon’s less eccentric vehicles – others consist of a Model T, an Austin 7, a vintage car with wickerwork body, two amphibious cars and an amphibious electric wickerwork bathchair which he sails down the Thames during Henley Regatta. He has also created a mechanical 9-piece ‘buskermatic’ orchestra and (unsurprisingly) was once named Britain’s eccentric of the year! (Here is a link to Lyndon’s website.) It was a very interesting and enjoyable catch-up after 46 years! All the original overland group (minus one) are planning a reunion in Sri Lanka in April 2020.

Tomorrow we head to Folkstone where we will board the train through the tunnel to France. We are hoping to spend some time cycling in the Loire Valley, but if the weather is not good to us we will just push on to Spain and Portugal. Should be better there!