Sunday 5 June – Tiverton to Bridgwater – 40 miles

I look out of our bedroom window over the sumptuous garden of our B&B.  It's a bit grey and damp today, though not raining at the moment.

At breakfast we meet a couple who stay quite often at this B&B.  We start talking about grandchildren. This is their second marriage and the grandchildren are his really but the woman is obviously devoted to them too. They don't live near their grandchildren, aged 6 and 3, 2 boys, but have them for a week 3 times a year.  They've just taken them to Spain for a week – in fact I think they'd just got back from taking the boys away for half-term.  We ask if they find that exhausting – they say yes, but they love it, and there are little holiday clubs at the hotel where the children spend a couple of hours each day as they enjoy the activities.

Here's the sadness.  The children belong to the man's son, who is divorced.  Unfortunately the couple we are talking to don't seem to get on that well with the son.

“He lives in Tiverton.  We saw him last night and will pop in this morning.  That will be enough.”

Do they get on well with their son's ex-wife, their grandchildren's mother?

“Oh, yes.  She' s getting married again and we're invited to the wedding.  She's promised that whatever happens, she's never stop us seeing our grandchildren.”

That's good to hear.

Today we're cycling to Bridgwater.  The good news is that although there is one quite steep hill, the majority of the journey is flat, alongside canals and old railway paths.  We are soon on the canal path and it's really beautiful – and so nice to  be cycling on  the flat! The misty weather has turned into a slight drizzly rain.  I get a whatsapp from my daughter in law Marianne telling me it's going to be really hot  today (it turns out she's right).

It's still drizzly though when we come across a pub which is open.  Yey!!  We can have our morning coffee and green tea.  It's good to relax for a while.  A woman is arranging flowers behind the bar and she comments on my cross.

“What a beautiful crucifix,” she says. I tell her how I've lost it twice (the first time in Cambodia when it was snatched from my neck by a motorcyclist, when we were in a tuk-tuk, on our way to The Killing Fields – and to my amazement it was on the seat of the tuk-tuk when I got up – the thief only got part of the chain). The second time was 2 days before my daughter's wedding last year – and I didn't get it back.  Luckily it was insured – but Reggie, was it time to replace it for me in white gold (instead of silver) with a yellow gold crucifix as before?  Luckily my lovely husband said yes, and the bespoke jeweller who made it originally did exactly that.  He made it the same as before – with the ragged edges to represent the brokenness in our lives.

The steep hill I mentioned earlier is quite an incline, but there is lots of lovely downhill coasting afterwards.  By 2.00 pm however, we still haven't come across a pub for lunch and we badly need a break.  We have our flasks and some biscuits and crisps with us (no sandwiches) – I spot a children's play park with picnic table so we stop there.  I even enjoy a relax in the saucer-swing!

We haven't cycled many miles after this when we see a pub with lovely gardens, which serves all day roast dinners.  They also do us baguettes for us to take away.  As we are about to leave, a young couple wheel their heavily-laden bikes into the pub gardens.

“Are you doing Land's End to John O'Groats?”  I ask them.

“Yes!”

“So are we!”

However, they are doing it in 16 days at 60 miles a day.  Phew!  I have heard of people who've done it in even less time.

As we carry on along the canal path, a Canadian cyclist called Nigel catches us up (which isn't difficult!).  He's our age but looks very young and fit!  He's also an “end to ender”, and like the young couple we met earlier, is doing an average of 60 miles a day. 

Nigel explains that he's not been able to get an ordnance survey map for this area and are we making for Bridgwater? Could he come with us, since we know where we're going?  He also needs to find an hotel as he isn't booking in advance.  Nigel cycles mostly with Reg but sometimes with me.  He explains that he's divorced, but still sees his ex wife, especially in connection with his grandchildren.

“Recently my ex wife and I took the grandchildren out for the day.  It was great,  We all really enjoyed ourselves.”

The canal path has beautiful scenery but it's quite bumpy on this particular section.  It's very hot now, I've had a roast dinner, I'm tired, I have a headache and feel quite queasy. Only a few miles to go.

Finally we arrive at our hotel (not a B&B today).  I'm so glad to get here, and Nigel manages to get a room here too.  The hotel is nothing like the lovely B&B's we've been staying in, and no chance of a bath.  Our room is 2 floors up, in the eaves of the hotel – it has sloping ceilings and isn't very inspiring.  However, it's spacious and  clean – and all I want to do is go to bed.  It's about 7.00 pm.