Land’s End to John O’Groats. Day 18, Weston-Super-Mare to Bristol

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so day 18 from Lizard day 15 from Lanzand has started and I’m following the cycle pathway and I’m trying to link up with a pathway called the peerto-peer route which will take me from Western Super to Cleveland and if that works that’ll be a real bonus um forecast is reasonable i fell for that one yesterday um not sure where I’m going to end up today i suspect it would be Portis Head it was a really great day and I don’t get lost then it might even be knocking on Bristol’s door but I think that’s just too far um and I I’ve got a few logistical problems with today and working out the route so let’s keep my fingers crossed I don’t muck things up too much and let’s get going big shout out to my two cousins Mary and Angela who been really good they’ve posted a little um envelope through for me to Bristol with my spare glasses which should be great because these are digging in now they’re broken that’s my sister up in Rotherham who’s been beavering away trying to raise money and funds for the charity that’s been fantastic thank you so much um but also to Paul of my wife on the other side of the world is beavering away trying to find me these superb last minute deals of accommodation which is not easy when I don’t even know where I’m heading to for the end of the day so thanks he guys so I’ve hardly seen anyone on this pathway it’s taken me very much away from the urban sprawl which has been good and so far so good so the cycle network has taken me well I guess it’s just taken me over the railway line above this station it was a bit strange i hope I’m going the right way i’m pretty sure I am i did notice that all the houses in Blue Bell Road none of them actually had blue bells h very confusing so there’s a small stretch of water I knew I couldn’t cross and I’ve found a way over that’s great i’m almost to Ebton and morning has this morning’s gone well even though I came off the cycle track and have no idea how I think I’ve just refound it i can see a sign post there so that’s good and I don’t think I actually even though I lost it don’t think it’s cost me any time i think I found a fairly fairly good route through the suburbs towards the end there so that’s good here we go and in fact that little brown bit on that sign is exactly what I’m looking for the peerto-peer way that takes me all the way to Cleveland fantastic great school this is Dan from Western Super Mayor and he’s just pulled me to one side and just taken a picture and then he realized um he must have seen the glaucoma New Zealand sign so um he just had his honeymoon in in New Zealand last September how amazing was that so thanks for stopping me Dan great chatting no worries well done buddy he’s got he’s got the black and white colors of New Zealand on as well delivery walkway has been open for less than a year so I’m very fortunate nice straight stretch to start with um it’s very peaceful nobody around beauty of this new walkway is that it gets me over these stretches without having to do long detours i would have had to tried to get my way over that sort of thing otherwise that’s really good so I’m really pleased young Danny again going just hung up from a call with um Neil and Julie neil’s thinking of coming to join me for a couple of days next week which would be great uh the boost Dave gave me for joining me a few days ago was was pretty good so it’s just wonderful if people can pop out and visit so 15ks in just under 3 hours and it’s time for a bit of a break and Jody from the 33 Cafe I’m going to have you a little slice now thank you it’s been quite a tortoise little route getting closer to Clifton now it’s getting close to half 12 so you know a good chunk of the day is gone already and I’m going to have to start to make decisions about what I do this evening but make good progress not many cars one behind me right now so I’ll turn the video off in a moment but a few more cyclists coming into Cleveland now in Cleveland for a quick cheese sandwich and cup of tea i’m heading now outwards towards Een and Gardano still not my in my mind up where I’m going to stop tonight possibly Port Head possibly push on met the lovely Tina just before I went for a quick bite there in Cleveland and she pointed me in roughly the right direction for a cafe or where the cafes were and we ended up see eating at the same cafe she took a picture of the back of my pack and wish me well which is great so thanks Tina if you happen to be on the channel lovely meeting you found the street I want or the lane I want you to say four miles to Clapton and Gadano and it’s going well nice shade temperature’s definitely been picking up so it’s a cycle it’s part of the AAN cycle route so hopefully that means it’s actually quite a a quiet road so far so good and a bit of a mention for David Smith from the Avent North Rotary Club i’m very much heading into his territory now so David I’m going to have a quick look out for one or two of the landmarks you mentioned that was really good from a distance I thought that was the road as I got closer I realized that was someone’s house i thought I was going to be climbing into the hills then this looks very pleasant walk only pass two cars so far and I’ve been on here probably 20 minutes or so this has been such a pleasant walk on this country lane it’s so quiet still haven’t had a single car going in my direction about two miles into it all this time without realizing I knew it was pretty close to the M5 but that’s actually a motorway bridge the M5 around the B Bristol area i’ve been so close I guess I’ve probably subconsciously heard the noise but it’s the first visible sign I’ve seen of it i reckon passing this little farmstead with the horses and the motorway in the background and the first car to pass me in this direction after an hour is actually marks the 300 mile mark from Lizard Point which as a reminder was 3ks further south than Lansen sorry 3 days further south than Lanzen not 3ks now this um little clip is especially for David Smith who’s in Havlock North New Zealand whose brother used to live in this village and he tells me whose garden was almost across the road from the black horse and we are approaching the black horse david posted a little note today about about the fact and I sort of made a point coming out of our way to come to this village and in actual fact now I’ve looked at the map David’s done me a big favor because I reckon this has shaved an hour off my journey today so thanks David and I’m not sure which which garden you’re referring to but I’m guessing could even be that one maybe so I hope you enjoy the clip David i might even pop in and have a drink so I just popped into the Black Horse um especially for David and this is where his brother used to live and Joe and Lauren lauren lauren have just shouted me a bun and a orange squash they work at the pub here thanks so much and we wish you well thank you just leaving Clapton in Gadano now and the people you meet give you a real bounce joe and her daughter there Loren just um got a real spring in the step again so thanks guys it’s really nice to meet you if you watch the YouTube tonight and they’re telling me I’m about maybe just over three miles from the bridge so it’s going well today happy with today but a bit just um just didn’t feel right this morning not motivated as much i think after a day off a couple of days ago it’s just hard to get going again here we go very short short stretch of road after the village there that got really busy unfortunately I’m back off the road again now it’s probably about 7,500 m or so there’s a little pavement there but it was so overgrown had to be very careful just see the blue motorway sign for looks like a junction sign through the trees there and I think this is the point where the road dips down underneath the motorway here and I’m heading to a place called Portbury and I’m probably just about a mile short of there and probably only a couple of miles short of the bridge that’s going to be exciting feels a bit strange having so much noise after all the quiet of the countryside for the last couple of weeks [Music] between Port Burie and Eastern and Gadana there was no footpath on the road it was a really busy road traffic was just flying past soon as I got to the end of the um available footpath I knew I had to find something different and I found this little footpath here and it’s pretty cool it’s so busy around and here I am judging through these fields with a big find big score it’s getting pretty windy i’ve got that bridge to cross over as well it’s going to be fun paddocks that was irritating not as flexible as I used to be just crossed at that junction there well like though so it’s pretty good but um it’s pretty busy just not used to it anymore i’m heading into eastern Gordano and then onto Pill and then onto the bridge that’s the bridge I’m going to be walking over in a few minutes time it’s going to be interesting climbing up to the M5 bridge now that goes over the River Haven this is going to be pretty freaky I reckon about to hit it right now the Avon now it’s a busy motorway this one so crossing the bridge is my end point for today and I’m going to mark this spot and resume on my way up um heading slightly north probably tomorrow so tonight I’m staying with the amazing Joey and Scarlet who I met on Tiaraoa and there’s a quite an interesting story cuz um Scarlet and Joey met on at university on a course that was called circus and theatric physical theater physical theater which is amazing course and that was done through Bath is that right yeah accredited by Bath but in Bristol great now we met on Tiaraa and that has to be one of the coolest experiences of my life how would you Yeah it was pretty good wasn’t it lots of fonds memories i was just going to say Leon remembrance any particular ones oh that’s a hard question that’s not fair it’s not fair to stump you on that one straight away so every day I I just love being able to look back and have such a clear like image of each day like I think often life can pass by quite quickly but when you’re moving very slowly like and absorbing each day it’s very easy to think back brilliant all of the experiences i really appreciate you guys both of you for putting me up tonight and um here in Bristol it was great to be able to make it in in one day from Western Super and really appreciate you giving me accommodation short notice oh you’re so welcome a pleasure to have you thank you very much day 18 from Lizard and 15 from Lens’s End and I got all the way to Bristol it was a really good day um really easy finding the roots really pleased got to Cleveland quite quickly and ended up really enjoying myself over the over the bridge and I’m staying tonight with Scarlet and Joey who I met on Tiara in New Zealand and they are amazing hosts scarlet even picked me up off the trail after I finished marking and we’ll drop me back off at the same point tomorrow to make sure it’s a continuous line um highlight of the day well meeting Scarlet and Joey again is a big highlight that’s for sure but also meeting Dan he I was very flat this morning i think I met Darren on his bike and he actually made a point of coming over to me and finding out what what everything was all about and put a real spring in my step and then we had Tina in Cleveland who was just lovely pointing me the right direction of a cafe shop and um just very positive so thanks Tina if you stumble across this and then in the afternoon Joe and Lauren the um and the black horse in Clapton on Gadano get that right um and thanks David Smith for the recommendation because it just works a treat so all in all a really good day disadvantages low lights or a bit of a sore right leg um but that’s subject maybe something I just need to manage i’ve done quite a few KS in the last couple of days so we’ll see how that goes and that was day 18 from Lizard and day 15 from L’s End