Friday 27.05.2011 - we reached Chester late afternoon and found our digs, the Bridge Hotel and checked in. The parking for the bikes was around the back via a narrow, cobblestoned alleyway beside the hotel that was covered with moss and very slippery. As Greg said 'good location for bike dropping me thinks.' After safely negotiating the alleyway we secured the bikes, ditched our gear and headed off for a walk around town. Chester is famous for two things, (th...

Friday 27.05.2011 - we woke to a clear and sunny day; glee after yesterday's rain, wind and cold. We packed up and headed north towards Llandudno, a very beautiful seaside town on the north coast of Wales that we had stayed in way back in 1982 when backpacking around the world. We had found memories of the place and so we wanted to return for a memory refreshing visit. The ride through the Welsh countryside was glorious to say the least. The roads were dry,...

Thu 26.05.2011 - we headed out of Birmingham and made our way westward into Wales to ride across the beautiful Welsh countryside. We set Tom the job of navigating us to the coast to the university town of Aberstywyth. The weather forecaste before we set off was for clear skies. It ****** down! Our plans for a scenic ride taking in the Welsh scenery were ruined - b*****! What turned out to be a promising day on the bike ended with our tales between our legs mak...

Wednesday 25.05.2011 - we rode through the Cotswolds after leaving Bath. We were fortunate that the weather was fine if a bit cold on the bikes. The Cotswolds are famous for their thatched roof cottages but we could only find one. We stopped for lunch in a small village that had markets set up in the main street. We bought a delicious sausage & bacon sandwich that we ate in a covered area adjacent to the BBQ where they were cooked. We then followed the sto...

Tuesday 24.05.2011 - we left Cornall behind and headed for Bath. Kerrie and Greg had previously stayed in Bath in 1997 when they were on a Trafalgar bus tour of the UK and had very fond memories of the place so we decided to stay there again. On our way to our hotel we had to cross a stone toll bridge where cars were charged 1 pound and motorbikes 40 pence. The owners of the bridge had a royal charter to collect the toll and not pay tax. We were told that abou...