Day 3 – Tuesday 24 July

Taunton to Monmouth

This was another long day at 77 miles, with the prospect of having to negotiate our first major city: Bristol. We had arranged to meet Liz for lunch at Rooksbridge but we arrived earlier than anticipated so we left a message at the pub and carried on.

This was not the most imaginative route but at least in the morning it was flat. A route further to the east directly through the Somerset Levels would have been more picturesque and probably no longer. As it was we negotiated Bridgwater and persevered up the A38 which surprisingly was not too busy, as much through traffic was using the M5. Eventually we meet up with Liz at Redhill (very aptly named and steep) north of Cheddar Gorge, which was in direct contrast with the open terrain further south. We had lunch in a field and then pressed on towards Bristol.

Shortly after leaving the A38 we passed a signpost for Abbots Leigh which Mick gave a reverent polish, it being the name of a well known hymn tune. We crossed over the Clifton suspension bridge and then had difficulty in navigating through the outskirts of the city towards the Seven Bridge, eventually coming out of the conurbation and down to the banks of the Severn estuary towards the Severn suspension bridge (there was only one there in those days). There was a bicycle and pedestrian causeway suspended to the side of the main carriageway so that we crossed safely shielded from the rushing traffic. On the other side we pressed on up the Wye valley passing the ruins of Tintern Abbey where we stopped for a breather, reaching Monmouth and a camp site at Mitchel Troy in the early evening. I zoomed off the tarmac through entrance to the campsite straight into deep gravel and nearly came a cropper.