The UK has thousands of miles of cycle paths, and one of its longest, National Cycle Route 4, runs from the centre of London to the shores of west Wales, following old railway lines across flat plains, country lanes up steep valley walls, and main roads through urban settlements over many hundreds of miles. In late August last year, I set off on a cycle ride that lasted for almost two days, with about 20 hours of my life spent peddling over a distance of 100 miles. While my original goal was to ride from my home in South Wales to the city of London, I reached my limits just as I was approaching the city of Bath in Somerset. It was perhaps the most trying experience of my life, and yet one of the most rewarding, and is one that come next summer I am eager to repeat and exceed. Naturally, I took plenty of snaps to share with you as I relay the trials and triumphs of my time on the trail.

The beginning of day 2 of my journey was a somewhat uncertain one. I still felt a bit off from the previous day, and so I decided to see how I felt after a big cooked breakfast. Several hundred calories later, I had a brief peddle around the hotel car park, and judged myself as fit to continue. I checked out of the hotel, stopped at a bakery for some additional water and some more energy, and followed the path to the mighty Severn Bridge.

The Severn Bridge is actually a series of bridges spanning two rivers! The main suspension bridge is the Severn Bridge, constructed over three years and at a cost of 6 men as the first ever crossing of the estuary, and the most convenient route from the South West of England to South Wales. This bridge leads to a viaduct that runs overhead the British Army’s Beachley barracks, consequently taking the name of the Beachley Viaduct. The final part is the Wye Bridge, which crossed the River Wye which officially marks much of the southern border between England and Wales. Road traffic over the bridge was tolled until from its opening in 1966 right up to 2018, when the tolls had fully paid off the cost of the bridge’s construction. Yeah, bridges cost a lot to build. :P

Hope you enjoy!