Day 4 - Wednesday 1st August - Taunton to Bath

Weather - Damp start and sunny and warm later

Distance - 65.5 miles

Camp Site - Bath Recreation Ground, Pulteney Mews, Bath

We left Taunton this morning in rather damp weather and it was much cooler than it had been. The first few miles were flat and gave us a nice gentle start to the day. There were hills around Langport and Somerton to Glastonbury and then a further flat stretch to Wells but this was easy riding compared with previous days. Some of us were confused by the directions toward Butleigh and looked for a green arrow which we did not see until someone else pointed it out - stuck on the road in the middle of the junction in the narrow lanes.

Leaving Glastonbury we were directed on to a side road which took us away from the main road for several miles but the road surface was very rough. Anyone who was at all saddle sore found this part of the route to be most uncomfortable!

Immediately after Wells we arrived at the Old Bristol Road to climb up on to the Mendips which again was mostly a long but not too steep hill as it wound its way up the hillside and passed just below the TV transmitter mast on the highest part of the Mendips.

After the effort of the climb I found it quite cold riding along the top of the Mendips and was pleased when we arrived at the Castle of Comfort pub for lunch where I had the usual long drink and sandwich. There was a group of cyclist on our tour already inside the pub and as we had our meal several others arrived. Some obviously did not feel the cold and had their lunch outside in the garden although I noticed that they were well wrapped up against the colder air on the high plateau.

When we left the pub the route took us down a very steep hill towards West Harptree passing the end of the Chew Lake and so into the lanes from Bishop Sutton to Pensford and on to Compton Dando and Saltford where we joined the Bath to Bristol cycle track to take us into Bath along the riverside. As we came down off the high plateau of the Mendips it became noticeably much warmer as we lost altitude and the weather remained sunny and warm all the way to Bath.

This route is very familiar to me as I have cycled it many times on training runs and I made good time over the last 15 miles in spite of the many short but sharp hills along the way. I stopped for a few minutes just after the end of the cycle track to see Sue who came out from her office very near here to welcome me back to Bath. Molly was also here waiting to greet me so it was very nice to see them both. I could not believe at this stage that I had actually cycled all the way from Land's End back to Bath. After a few minutes chat I went on to the centre of Bath and finally crossed Pulteney Bridge into Pulteney Street and on to the Recreation Ground where the council tents and tea were ready and waiting for us.

Molly soon arrived in the car to see our camp and also to collect all the dirty washing which I had accumulated over the first four days cycling which she was taking home to be washed and dried in the washing machine. I was to miss these facilities in the days to come!

The showers and toilets here were in the Rugby Club building and were very reasonable. We also had the use of facilities including the swimming pool at the Bath Sports Centre but most people decided that this was too far away across the Recreation Ground.

During the evening we had dinner on site as usual and later on I saw Bath in a completely new light - as a visitor. I had not seen the illuminated Abbey from the Recreation Ground before and now I realised why visitors to the city find it so attractive. We were joined at dinner by Jenny and Emma from the Bike Tours office in Bath who came to check on our progress and to wish us well for the remainder of the trip.

I had decided not to sleep at home as I was just becoming used to the tent and air mattress and thought it would spoil this if I broke the routine after only four days cycling. At Alex's suggestion some of the group were going off to visit a pub where there was music in the bar during the evening but they soon returned saying that the place was full to overflowing and there were people outside on the pavement making it difficult to get drinks so they did not stay long.