Had a great send-off this morning at 8am. Many photos were taken, which will no doubt appear here eventually. Sam et famille intercepted me close to Saffron Walden and Sophie brought coffee and pain au chocolat, which was wonderful. No rain to begin with though skies were very overcast. The light rain started at about 11.30, making me damp. I stopped for a pint in Much Hadham, and came out believing the rain to have stopped. This was a mistake. Around Stansted Abbots it began in earnest, and since the roads were narrow and incredibly busy, I couldn't easily stop. I eventually reached the Marriott at Waltham Abbey (after a few navigational errors) about 3pm, thoroughly wet and cold and not a little dejected. Tried drying my jeans with the hotel iron, but that seems unlikely to work, so that task must await better weather. Went out to refuel, and met a French family at the gas station. They knew Cahors well , and were slightly surprised, but not discouraging, to hear I plan to drive there.
Tomorrow it should be London Bridge and then south, We'll see.
Saturday 29 May 2010
Wednesday 26 May 2010
Dress rehearsal
Just 3 days to go before my departure for France. Today was the final trial run, and the longest yet. To Saffron Walden and back via Balsham and Linton. Total distance was 82.2km (51miles) at an average (moving) speed of 20km/h. It used about 20 litres of petrol so, in spite of having weakened the mixture a bit yesterday, the fuel consumption is still only about 12mpg.
The trip to SW had a bit of everything - very narrow lanes, some busy and some not; busy country roads but wide enough for overtaking; towns with roundabouts. In some ways the first are the worst because people can't overtake and half the time I can't see them waiting because my wing mirrors (on loan from Beryl) are obscured by all the stuff on the back of the tractor. Actually, I'm thinking that while in the UK at least, I'm going to make more use of A roads than I had planned; the traffic may be heavier and faster but at least there will be fewer parked vehicles (which are a nightmare when you have more or less non existent brakes) and people can overtake easily.
Final packing will happen on Friday - I now have equipment for most contingencies, including a sleeping bag just in case a planned overnight stop in France fails for any reason, and the next hotel or chambres d'hôte is 30km away. I don't intend driving in the dark. The plan is to get away about 8am on Saturday and to stop the night at Waltham Abbey. I think I can cope with Saturday morning traffic in Saffron Walden, but I really want to avoid Bishops Stortford and Harlow, so I'm going to take a country route via the Hadhams. I reckon the distance is about 55 miles so it's much the same as I've done today. Should be an opportunity, indeed a need, to stop for a modest liquid lunch. Then it's up and away early on Sunday morning straight down the A10 into central London to cross London Bridge before the traffic gets too heavy. I plan to take the A21 south and east and then head for Bromley, Biggin Hill and Westerham, to reach Edenbridge where I shall spend Sunday night. Monday ought to be an easy run down to Alfriston, which is only a few miles from Newhaven from which I depart for Dieppe on Tuesday morning.
That's the plan. The reality will be revealed onthis blog as internet access permits.
The trip to SW had a bit of everything - very narrow lanes, some busy and some not; busy country roads but wide enough for overtaking; towns with roundabouts. In some ways the first are the worst because people can't overtake and half the time I can't see them waiting because my wing mirrors (on loan from Beryl) are obscured by all the stuff on the back of the tractor. Actually, I'm thinking that while in the UK at least, I'm going to make more use of A roads than I had planned; the traffic may be heavier and faster but at least there will be fewer parked vehicles (which are a nightmare when you have more or less non existent brakes) and people can overtake easily.
Final packing will happen on Friday - I now have equipment for most contingencies, including a sleeping bag just in case a planned overnight stop in France fails for any reason, and the next hotel or chambres d'hôte is 30km away. I don't intend driving in the dark. The plan is to get away about 8am on Saturday and to stop the night at Waltham Abbey. I think I can cope with Saturday morning traffic in Saffron Walden, but I really want to avoid Bishops Stortford and Harlow, so I'm going to take a country route via the Hadhams. I reckon the distance is about 55 miles so it's much the same as I've done today. Should be an opportunity, indeed a need, to stop for a modest liquid lunch. Then it's up and away early on Sunday morning straight down the A10 into central London to cross London Bridge before the traffic gets too heavy. I plan to take the A21 south and east and then head for Bromley, Biggin Hill and Westerham, to reach Edenbridge where I shall spend Sunday night. Monday ought to be an easy run down to Alfriston, which is only a few miles from Newhaven from which I depart for Dieppe on Tuesday morning.
That's the plan. The reality will be revealed onthis blog as internet access permits.
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