Another great ride. Appreciated the history a lot. The fort was cool, as was the causeway. I was surprised some of the fens are still below sea level. You ride, I learn.

Could be a groundling. Fledged but not yet sure of its wings. Crows are one species that do that.

No, but an appealing presentation of it.

Never heard of the Cardington Sheds until a few years ago when they had a twitter conversation with Moffett Hangar 1, also an airship hangar here in California. (Hangar 1 is now just a frame since its shell was removed because it was full of asbestos. The Google Boys paid the $1M to have that done. For a while they were allowed to fly their personal 747s in and out of Moffett Field next door to the Googleplex.)

Another interesting ride,Jon.

Ah, that's why!

I have helped remove trees growing through fences. Leaving branches that have grown around the wires is often the best course of action.

Cheers Mike!

What a wonderful story about Cherry and your quest to find his grave. "Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" was a seductive theory - I did not realize that lives were lost in vain efforts to prove the hypothesis.

Thanks for sharing another great ride, Jon

Cuzzy Mike

Thanks Mike!

Thanks for sharing another great ride with us, Jon.

Mike

Thanks Kathleen, really glad you're enjoying them (and apologies there haven't been any updates for a couple of weeks - I've been doing the rides, but getting roped into virus-related stuff at work which has eaten into my time to write them up!).

We've certainly had a pretty amazing few weeks in terms of weather and conditions - four weeks of nearly continuous sunshine, no rain, and it's nearly empty - so it's definitely showing the countryside at its best. It's a bit bleaker if you get stuck out in the flats fens on an overcast day with a headwind!

Yeah, the public rights of way are one of those weird things we kind of take for granted (and many Brits aren't 100% sure of the rules themselves) but are a huge benefit. One problem is I've become less and less keen on riding with any sort of traffic anymore: a few years back I'd happily ride A roads and even the odd separated highway, but it just doesn't seem fun anymore.

That sounds like a great trip, and a classic encounter with Francis Drake - and probably the best way to approach Stonehenge. My mother grew up in Wiltshire and in the 60s would sometimes go for picnics sitting on the stones, which then were completely unrestricted - it's a bit harder to get that close to them now!

Ah, so those are new to me - I'll have to check them out!

Thanks Scott! Yep, I'm always terribly lax with charging devices - as a consequence, I tend to go for things that don't need to be charged for weeks, then forget to charge them for even longer periods, and am then terribly surprised when they drop out unexpectedly. The chalk is surprisingly ok - it's very permeable and well-draining, though it can get slippery. The real killer is the Cambridgeshire clay - there have been times when I've managed to get so much stuck on the tyres it's locked up the wheels, and I've had to spend a muddy few minutes digging it out with a stick - and that's without mudguards!

Happen to be few hurricanes in Harston and Hauxton, but Histon and Hinxton have heavy hail haphazardly.

Do you know Jack Thurston's Lost Lanes books? He seems to be a kindred spirit but his southern England routes are tamer than yours.