England 27 August

The ride from Wales was more interesting than expected. The valleys are not full of coal mines or slag heaps but very attractive country lanes and villages.
Soon however it was over the river and into England.
Bath, the city, is as the posters say a delightful old Roman city to visit. I couldn't find the Roman Baths, Garmin have problems keeping their maps current in Europe. In my experience their maps outside the US are embarrassingky out of date. This was another example. The same problem existed right across Europe. Very frustrating.
So the backroads of England unfolded as I headed toward my unofficial base in the south of England at Tunbridge Wells. Its a pleaseant town of two halves, the old bit and the new part.
The old part contains the Pantiles a paved area about the site of the "baths" that royalty visited in times past. The new is standard issue in England. Mall, shops, rows of them, town centre full of kids on mobile phones, and houses cheek by jowel, row on row.
So that leg of the journey was over. The bike put in for service and I was now to head south to Spain for a holiday. More of that later.
I had travelled from London across Belgium Germany Latvia Lithuania and Estonia. Then the ferry to Finland, and up the coast to Lapland. Throught to Norway and up to the North Cape or Noordkap as I since discovered they call it. A wild remote and windy place looking right in to the Arctic with little sign of global warming the day I was there.
Then the wonderful ride south through fjords over mountain passes, into fantastic villages, on to beautiful islands, out to remote places, round lakes, over glaciers and down to the sea. What a great ride. Then to wonderful Scotland, romote and windswept, purple heather and cottages set in the wilderness along with wolly sheep and hairy cattle. The Isle of Skye with numerous distileries but just one I visited, and then through the rain to the ferry to ireland. Another complete change as I visited the Giants causeway, then through the northern hills and down the coast toward Kerry. Just as well I enjoyed the coast and the odd quaint little pub with its even quanter occupants, because when I got to the ring of Kerry it was hidden in mist.
The south coast of Ireland showed some of the beauty it is renowned for but all too soon it was ferry time again and Wales and then back to where it started 12,000 kms and 6 weeks ago.
nzl04