Day 13 – The Last Day on Land: Reaching Land’s End
Today our team completed the JOGLE leg of the Pedal 4 Parks expedition. Over the past twelve days they have cycled an impressive 1,200 miles on land, seeing the beautiful green spaces the UK has to offer and interviewing some of the people who are trying to make a difference. It was as if the sun knew today was an important day for our team
Day 12 – A Warm Welcome to Cornwall: From Devon to Newquay
This morning the team finally woke up to sunshine and the forecast promised much more! Today’s route would take the cyclist into Cornwall, the final county of the expedition! If you have ever travelled to Cornwall you know that the hills are constant. So although our team were cycling a shorter distance, they had around 3,500 feet of elevation to climb in one day! Sunny start
Day 11 – Misty in the Moors: Exploring Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks
Today was an exciting day of exploring our final two national parks of the expedition. Exmoor and Dartmoor are renowned for their difficult terrain and unusual weather conditions, both things that our team battled with today. After the heavy showers from the night before, none of us were surprised to wake up to the sound of rain on our tents. Nevertheless, come rain or shine
Day 10: Say Cheese! Journeying from Hay-On-Wye to Cheddar
The day kicked off to a hilly start, weaving into the Brecon Beacons as we made our way towards Cheddar, the birthplace of Britain's most loved cheese. As well as hitting our fourth national park, today was full of interesting locations and sites to take in. Now at day ten, the team are really feeling the stress of the expedition. Cycling 100 miles a day
Day 9: Back to the Countryside: Hard Hills in Hay-On-Wye
Getting up felt a lot easier today with the lovely breakfast offered by Rebecca and Maddie at the Durham Heifer Cafe. Cycling takes up a lot of energy and breakfast is super important to set off the journey right. Once topped up with yummy breakfast sandwiches it was time to set off towards Hay-On-Wye, renowned for its book festival and shops. Today we also crossed
Day 8 – From Chaos to Calm: Bike Fixes and Friendly Faces
After surviving the majority of the trip without rain, we certainly got our fair share today. From the moment we woke up the downpour didn’t let up, making for a tough start and some very wet tents! With the torrential rain, Sal made the decision to hold off getting on her bike to recover a bit more from her injuries. We would much rather her
DAY 6 & 7- Leaving Scotland: City Cycling and Disaster in the Lakes
On Day 6 the team sacrificed the extensive green spaces of the past week to cover a bigger distance and make a leap down the country towards the Lake District. The 95 mile route was mainly on road surfaces increasing the risk for our cyclists but also bringing home the purpose of this journey. We are lucky to have had a week immersed in nature,
DAY 5 – From Park to Park: The Cairngorms to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs
Boosted by a great night's sleep the team set off from the Loch Tay Highland Lodges and Glamping Park ready for a morning gravel cycle and an afternoon of city riding. Moving out of the Cairngorms, today’s route took us through beautiful mountains and waterfalls. Cycling west meant as we left the Cairngorms we would enter our next national park, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.
DAY 4: Mountains and Gravel Path Madness: Lock Morlich to Lock Tay
A night spent on uneven ground and surrounded by midges might not sound the most appealing to most of us, but these things become minute when you are fully immersed in the nature around you. Other than our tent and each other we were near enough alone on the edge of the loch, an experience that the whole crew will cherish for a long time.
DAY 3: Camping in the Cairngorms: Cycling from the Ocean to Loch MorliCH
Up at the crack of dawn, the cyclist set off early to make a start on their 150km trip through the Cairngorms! The Cairngorms is the largest national park in the UK, stretching across 4,500 square kilometres of mountain ranges and lochs. As you can imagine, the mountain route was full of natural beauty… but it also meant the elevation was about to get a