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Saturday 15th May 2010 St Arvans to Leominster Today was a beautiful day and the first stretch up the Wye valley was very pleasant indeed. En route I called in at Monmouth briefly and sure enough it did seem like a very nice town. I carried on towards Symonds Yat, following a proper cycle route with no motor traffic, and when I got there I was able to watch a load of canoeists practicing their skills and trying their best to paddle up some rapids. Paused for a cup of tea at the Rose Cottage café.
I came across clouds of black flies in the wooded areas, hitting me hard in the face like bullets as I passed by, having to ride with my eyes squeezed almost shut. The roads were very easy though and it was a nice ride to Leominster where I got B&B for £37.50. Another solo Lejogeur was staying at the B&B but I didn’t meet him straight away. His bike was locked up in the shed when I was stowing mine away – it was a Dawes Galaxy, a popular choice for many people making the trip. The landlady told me that he had taken today off as a rest day, having come up from Bristol the day before, and that he intended heading for Market Drayton next which is about level with Ellesmere, my own next destination. His name was Simon and I finally met him next day at breakfast although he was just about to leave. A slightly reserved young bloke in his twenties he chatted with me briefly and it seemed we were both following a similar route but with different stopping points. I never talked to him again yet saw him on another two occasions: the first time I saw him cycling past while I was having a cup of tea and a bun in a café in Lockerbie, then once again, right at the very top of the country as I was approaching Thurso, I had stopped for some reason and saw him ride by.
After I’d done my usual evening chores I walked into town and ate in the first pub I came to, the Royal Oak. Inside I asked for a pint of Wye Valley Bitter as that was the name on the beer pumps but apparently the labels were now only there for show as, according to the barman, real beer ‘went off’ after a couple of days. In other words they only had fizzy keg beer. I asked for a Guinness instead as at least that’s generally dependable. They had none of that on tap either – could only offer me a tin. In the end I just settled for a Fosters lager. Looking at the menu I saw there was a vegetarian version of the Tagliatelli Carbonara available on request - that turned out to be no longer an option either. In the end the cook did make me something along those lines though, using their ‘spicy ragout’ as the base. She made the effort and it was ok so thanks to her for that. When I mentioned all this to the B&B landlady she was horrified that I’d been to the Royal Oak for a meal and said she should have warned me about it. It was certainly a place in need of something or someone to stop the decline. It had a distinct air of neglect about it but having said that the barman was friendly enough and the cook did go out of her way to come and see me and try to knock something suitable together. Distance: 55.06 miles Average speed: 10.7 mph Max speed: 35 mph observed | |||||||||
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