Well, it’s official: having a half-day off the bikes worked! After struggling with fatigue and various niggles all the way down the English-Welsh border, we awoke this morning feeling totally refreshed. Whether it was the shorter mileage of the previous day, or the mental lift we got from seeing our friends and family in the evening, we all had a spring in our step as we met first thing this morning. It was like someone had hit the reset button.

In fact, today was one of the most enjoyable of the trip so far. The ride down the cycle track into central Bristol was slightly surreal, what with it being the same route as my usual daily commute, but somehow it felt completely different. The day was bathed in glorious sunshine, and as we passed through the city centre via the docks and the river, in the shadow of Brunel’s Suspension Bridge, it was easy to see why Bristol was recently voted the best place to live in the country by a couple of national newspapers. Of course I’m biased, but Bristol, you rock!

From the UK’s number-one city we headed south via Ashton Court and NCN33, before joining the A370 for some quick miles. At Cleeve we called in to see one of Bailey’s friends for a quick cup of tea and some route advice (thanks Andy!), before hitting the Strawberry Line cycle path down to Axbridge. This was a beautiful route that took us through miles of apple trees – exactly what you might expect from Somerset! We had to keep the Dawg on a pretty tight leash as we passed the orchards belonging to Thatchers Cider, or else his trip could’ve ended right there!

Across the Somerset levels, whilst the going was good (and flat!), we decided to crack on and get some miles under our collective belts before the sterner challenges ahead in Devon and Cornwall. Again, it was a lovely ride – not spectacular like some of the scenery we’d seen in Scotland or the Lakes, but more understated. Despite the fact we managed another 80-mile day, we felt pretty relaxed as we rolled down quiet country lanes and shady canal paths in the warm light of the late afternoon. (It helped, of course, that the journey was amongst the flattest of the entire trip!)

The day was also remarkable for the birth of the scone-wich, the Dawg’s novel approach to eating a cream tea. Having plastered his scone with a ridiculous amount of jam and cream, he then proceeded to put the two halves together and eat it like a burger! I’ve genuinely never seen that done before. Brilliant.

The day ended (following our first taste of those Devon hills) in a great little pub called The Globe in Sampford Peverall, where we enjoyed (if that’s the right word!) the most ridiculous portion sizes I’ve ever seen. Geoff and I had the rack of ribs, and you could honestly feed a family of four on what I didn’t eat. Stuffed!