The Newent Loop is a 45km cycle route, starting and ending in Newent (funny that).

We discovered its existence when we spotted a few signs on a previous ride, so for last weekend's Sunday evening ride, we went and rode the full loop in an anticlockwise direction.  The big car park in the town centre has a large map on the side of the toilet building, but the entire route is very well signposted - we didn't need to stop and check directions at all.  There's also a signposted shortcut that splits the route into two smaller loops.

The roads were quiet... continue reading »

Camping in July with the usual gang of friends from uni.  That'll be nice - most likely warm(ish) and hopefully dry.

Or not.  After a ridiculously slow drive (thanks M5 roadworks and 'start of school holidays' traffic) I arrived at a very wet Ruehill campsite to find Jo having a major tent disaster - she'd left the flysheet at home!  I quickly popped my tent up, then retreated to the car to wait for the others to arrive while she went and bought an emergency new tent from a local halfords.
(Fun fact: 'showerproof' £10 tents very definitely can't cope with rainy... continue reading »