Day 7

Accomodation;   Royal Oak Hotel
www.royaloakhotelgarstang.co.uk

The weather was forecast today as very heavy rain and winds of up to 40 mph. Plus, we needed to navigate
the urban areas around Runcorn and Widnes so we would need to proceed with caution.

We set out from Frodsham after another fine breakfast, both Steve and I agreeing that the standard of cuisine in the UK's small hotels has definitely improved over the past ten years with much more use of local products.

Cumbrian hills and weather turning for the worst

We headed first to Frodsham and then via a small estate road that delivered us directly to the Runcorn bridge and then into Widnes where,  having covered 20 miles we stopped for morning coffee and cakes.  We felt very pleased with ourselves having navigated this tricky section so easily.

Once out of Widnes we chose a route via lanes towards Preston through squally rain and strong winds that thankfully stayed mostly on our backs. We have found that if we get 50 or so miles completed before lunch it allows for a fairly relaxing afternoon and we found a very nice welcome at the Farmers Arms at Heskin about 10 miles south of Preston.

Both the rain and wind intensified over lunch and,  learning from previous days we resisted the temptation of getting too comfortable, Donning our rain gear we set out for our overnight stay at Garstang, propelled by strong winds, maintaining 15 - 20mph for the rest of the ride.

Excellent accomodation at the Royal Oak. Garston

As we apprpach the half way stage both Steve and I are feeling strong and are really enjoying the experience.  The main problem for Steve is, having lived in Spain for so long, he stuggles to stay warm. So while I am comfortable with a couple of layers up top, Steve has 4, maybe five.

By the way, we both nominate Preston as the most bike hostile town so far. Few bikes lanes and rubbish road surfaces. More on road surfaces tomorrow....

Accomodation;   Royal Oak Hotel
www.royaloakhotelgarstang.co.uk