I know I’ve already sung the praise of Warmshowers on here (and probably will do some more once we start our trip), but I can’t not mention the guests we put up on Saturday night. Arend, Mireille and their children Emrys and Kiren, from Mechelen in Belgium were passing by on their way to Lands End. They had cycled from London to Bristol in one of the wettest weeks of the summer, so we were very pleased to host them for the night with a dry, warm bed a washing machine and of course a warm shower.

Thankfully, the weather looks much kinder for them this week as they wend their way down towards Cornwall. They’re travelling at a far more leisurely pace than we’ll be going at which is rather enviable, but it’s hard work: Arend and Emrys are on a tandem with a well-loaded bob trailer, while Mirelle was cycling with Kiren on a pull-along. I don’t think that Kiren was doing much pedalling – but she was quite small, but this meant lots of work for Mirelle. I hope that the Teddy makes it to Cornwall (and back to Belgium) – Kiren was holding it dangling from her handlebars in a very precarious grip as they set off.