Day 14: Bath to Buckland Dinham: At Home in the Pub

June 2, 2012

We needed to backtrack a bit, along the Kennet and Avon canal, before we could pick up NCN 24, our ticket to Salisbury and points south-east. The canal, once again, was super. Being a Saturday we also encountered many day cyclists and answered many a Usual Question for them.

A backward glance at the Kennet and Avon canal

One couple that got a barrage of questions from us had a Bionx assisted bike. The design is devilishly good. You set the amount of assistance you need on an LCD screen, and when you pedal (but only when you pedal) the thing gives you a gentle boost. We tried the bike out on a fairly steep hill, and it was miraculous. It quietly and without fuss or noise just levelled out the hill. Then when you pedal normally or go downhill, it is recharging.

Some could debate if this is really bicycling, but we think it is. The lady with the bike had a medical problem, and this was her ticket to still being out here. However, this would be a good topic for a Crazyguy forum.

NCN 24 follows a Rail Trail into Somerset, which had been a major coal mining area. The trail is known as the Colliers' Way, and features trailside illustrated explanations. Not only is the trail quality good, but now we entered a region of small villages, all with stone walls and quintessential English flower gardens. The villages are set in the most picturesque, lush, English countryside. We are just beside ourselves with how typical and beautiful this is.

We enter a part of Somerset with stone villages

We are following a Rail Trail called the Colliers' Way

In the village of Wellow we stopped by the pub, really just say hello. We have found (with the exception of one nasty lady in London) the British to be extremely friendly and fun to talk to.

The village of Wellow all looks like this

We stop at the Fox and Badger just to say hello

Here is Tom and his parents at the Fox and Badger. Tom, 23, is a pharmacist living in Bath. The family came out to celebrate Tom's birthday. We all talked for about 1/2 hour. We feel so at home in the pub and with the people we are meeting there.

Jacob sheep (only ones that are spotted) along the trail near Shoscombe

An hour or so after Wellow, we decided we were really hungry, and so took a turn toward the village of Kilmersdon. To us, it was just a name, and there had been a sign on the trail about the pub there. However, Kilmersdon has a deep history. Wikipedia tells us: Kilmersdon is a small village located in the north of Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. The settlement is recorded in William I's Domesday book and dates back at least 1,000 years. Kilmersdon is said to be the "home" of the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme, the fabled hill being recently restored as part of a local Millennium scheme. Immediately adjacent to the newly restored well is Kilmersdon Primary School, which was established (though not in the current building) in 1707. Other local amenities include Norton Garden Machinery (formerly a petrol station and garage) and The Jolliffe Arms - named after the Jolliffe family, whose estate is responsible for building much of Kilmersdon.

So, the Grampies are romping through history as well as green fields and pubs.

At the pub, we found (as is often the case) that there is no food in the afternoon. However, they volunteered kindly to whip something up, before we died on their doorstep.

Other patrons took an interest in our "plight", and of course we soon were chatting amicably. We had noticed a sign about "Jack and Jill" hill, and Trev explained that this was the home of the actual hill.

We talked about Canada for a bit, and Trev said he had a real affection for wolves. He showed us a photo of his Siberian husky, the closest to a wolf he could get. He also showed us his wolf oriented tattoo:

At the Joliffe Arms, emergency cheese sandwiches

We were running out of fuel and so took a detour (British: diversion) to KIlmarsden

Trev also gave us the tip that up the road there was a cider and tobacco festival, at a pub where we could also camp. We set off in search of this. On the way we found more super houses, included yet another well thatched cottage:

Because we had left NCN 24, we were first on a B road, and then on an A road. We had earlier resolved to stay off A roads, which by North American standards are narrow, high speed, and with zero shoulder. However this one, on the way to the sort of major centre of Frome was not so bad.

The A road is not too scary, but drivers still have to cross into traffic to avoid us

Pretty soon we will break our hearts and go to bed, with our down bags. What a rough day!

Pub atmosphere. It may be raining but we are snug, with tea and internet!

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