June 21 2017 Exeter to Langford

The heat wave continues today with record high temperatures through most of England.  Scotland on the other hand is having record lows.   I believe that the high here in Langford was 34 c which was a record.   The forecast looks like a cooling trend so I am optimistic that riding will become much better.  Making more than 16 kms (10 miles) on a bottle of water will really help.  

This morning we rolled out of the B&B at around 8:30 and it was already stifling hot.  Fortunately we were headed down river from Exeter along the river. It was a gorgeous ride down the river to estuary at Exmouth.  The ocean had cooled things down considerably.   It was a great ride down a paved path.  At one point we passed the Royal Marine Commando Training Center.  Miles of chain link fences with coiled razor wire on top.  We stopped and talked to the gate guard. He was a really nice fellow who offered to let us in however his condition was nobody gets out. 

On the route today there was miles of wooden board walks out over the tidal marches.   They were lots of fun to ride and the boards made an interesting clatter as you rode over them.  There was lots of bird viewing platforms along the way but we never stopped to watch.

After we left Exmouth we turned along the Jurassic coast.  I believe it is called the Jurassic Coast as cliffs are all of Jurassic age.  It was so hot and humid that there was a huge heat haze which limited the views of the coast.  We stopped in a little town called Lyme Regis for lunch.  What a cute little town perched on the side of the cliffs.  Little narrow streets crowded with summer tourists.   There was a beautiful sand beach which was crowded with sun bathers and swimmers.  Too cold for me and we had to hurry along so no time for taking a dip.

Tonight we are in the Mayfield cottage in Langford.  We have the entire cottage to ourselves and even though it is billed as a cottage it is really a huge three bedroom house with a lovely English garden and patio out back.  Being such a nice day we decided to get rotisserie chickens from the super market and eat on the patio.   A two liter bottle of cider to wash down the chicken, salad and fresh sour dough bread, followed by a generous helping of ice cream topped another great day of touring.

Tomorrow is a 45 mile ride into Bath for a two day lay over.  This is going to be classic ride as Jos has us routed down a rail line through several tunnels.   WOW!  It is supposed to be cooler tomorrow.   

Terry

PS: Jos was just talking to the cottage owner and he was say that the last dragon in England was slain on the top of the hill directly behind this cottage.   Cool!