Sunday 13. 05.2018

Axminster - Dorchester.

I have been right about at least one thing - the spring flowers in the hedgerows are glorious, in particular the vast swathes of bluebells; and as we have been blessed with sunshine it has been a pleasure to share the spring with calf, lamb and birds.

We continue to reach new heights of endurance and patience while sharing single track roads with often impatient car drivers. I do have some sympathy with them but it does beg the question as to why you would be trying to hurtle along a picturesque country lane in a brand new Porsche.

Not everyone is driving a Porsche or similar! Teenage numpty was driving an old something when he continued to drive at some speed.  No attempt was made to slow sufficiently for me to reach a pull in, and a wipe out was narrowly avoided. I let fly a few choice words and gesticulations and received a few of similar ilk in return. I was very cross and heartened to see that he was going to attempt to continue the conversation by reversing to join us. I know not whether the slope was too steep for the car to manage in reverse, or whether he had second thoughts, but it was disappointing that our meeting should have been so short!

zoom in for detail of cherry wave!

Now, we did have a tiny incident which we are blaming on the very small signs for the cycle route. We are finding it increasingly difficult to do two things at once and looking for little signs while trying to avoid and second guess oncoming and following traffic, on this occasion, proved too much and we missed a turning. Of itself, it should not really have been a problem, but it was. As a result we found ourselves on the A35 at the top of a 15% downhill (yes, and obviously it went 15% uphill!) To compound the situation, the width of the road was sufficiently wide for just two vehicles and no allowance whatsoever for two cyclists pushing bikes up the hill in the gutter. Not even a grass verge. We could hear Sally Traffic informing Devon drivers of a hold up on the A35 between Axminster and Dorchester and we would like to extend a huge thank you to all those patient car and lorry drivers, who despite our stupidity, refrained from any derisory remarks. Once clear of this terrifying main road, we found, a track a load of cows and a farmyard - heaven.

A final bit of a pull and we arrived at Aquila Heights, a welcoming host and a cup of tea.

Monday.  14.05.2018

Dorchester - Poole.

Lovely, lovely, lovely! As a parting gesture our host of the morning overhearing our conversation regarding a possible difficulty with accommodation for tonight, had very kindly contacted The Acorn Guest house in Poole on our behalf and thus we confirmed our bed for the night.

This is our first day of no pushing all along lanes, tracks and even fields but no serious uphills. The bikes have been tested and found to perform exactly as advertised on just about every type of surface. Unaccustomed to such pleasures, we even stopped in a village cafe in Moreton for coffee and cake. The building was an old school much like Horfield Primary (for those two readers who will remember) much adorned with photos of Lawrence of Arabia who, it appears, is buried in the local churchyard.

We shared the next few kilometres of open country with the local livestock which are free to roam but walkers are under strict orders to shut all gates .Shutting them is not such a problem as opening them as the manouevre requires some contortion of the upper body while, at the same time,clamping the legs around the frame of the bike in an attempt prevent the bike and luggage from hitting the deck. All done with minimum injury.

We were welcomed aboard the Studland ferry by a very amiable young man and clanked our way over the water to Poole. Here, on the quayside we lowered the tone by lounging on the floor to eat our picnic.

Poole has changed a bit since our last visit - more people, more cars , just more. Still, very nice to be here. Thinking to be very, very organized, we thought to book our tickets for the crossing on Wednesday. Easy one, just follow the seashore til we find a very large boat. Mmm …. still needed the willing assistance of a passerby. Weaving our way through pedestrians, pushchairs, dogs and skateboards, we found the port and the office - which was shut! Hey ho.

Did I mention Poole was very busy? Now we had to locate our digs with much help from more locals one of whom was about ten (should have been in school) and said it was definitely up two big hills! Yes. We did , however, feel a little foolish when we asked a couple of grown ups where the station was. He pointed to a clearly visible train about 200 metres away! More questions of taxi drivers and we found our road and our digs and yet another warm welcome.