Pretty epic day today! Weather was stunning, the legs were still working after yesterday and we had a flat morning which was a delight!
A couple of small ups as we left Taunton, but we set off slightly earlier at 8am and the traffic was not too bad!

We passed through many towns, Petherton and Bridgewater stood out, and plenty of traffic lights! Our first coffee break was at 23 miles in Wedmore and it was a lovely cruise in on the flat to warm up the legs!

After the break, we were flat for about 6 miles. We were in a basin surrounded by hills and the only name I could see was Basonbridge. This was a very lovely ride again, flat and easy!! It was through and area which had a river running through the middles and lots of irrigation canals along the side of the road so the Flora was really stunning along the road. Most of the houses were very pretty and I noticed a lot of roses and manicured gardens. As we were leaving the flat we came to the town of Cheddar, the home of Cheddar cheese which used to be stored in the caves of Cheddar gorge. Our biggest climb today was up cheddar gorge, pretty stunning and England’s version of the Grand Canyon! It was a steep start but the climb levelled out over the Mendips hills and the ride was pretty stunning! As we got to the top, we rode along for a few miles before we started our descent to lunch which was in the town of Shipham and at the Lillypool cafe. It was a further descent after lunch which was lovely and then we headed towards Bristol!

To avoid the bustle of the city we went a lot of little lanes which are now bike lanes. We had to take these at a fairly slow pace as either sides of the road and huge hedgerows and there was not great visibility. As like Mull this year, the hawthorns are amazing and the smell was just delicious!

We were due to skirt round the edges of the city and were told we were crossing the Severn Bridge, I posted a post on Facebook from there, but apologies as this was actually the Avonmouth Bridge!
After a bit of a hairy time in Bradley Stoke where our GPX files were sending us on some bad routes which were steps, paths and one way streets going the wrong way!!

We eventually made it to the real Severn Bridge which was a cool 2 pmile ride and we had a quick uphill into Chepstow!
A night in the Beaufort hotel in the centre of town and we are just off for a wander to stretch our legs before dinner!