Day 4 - Monmouth to Shrewsbury

By the time I set out at 9am it had started to rain and didn't really stop until about 6 hours later by which time I was so wet I didn't care.
Breakfast had been at 8am as promised (porridge, scrambled eggs, lots of toast, juice and coffee). I packed my stuff, carried it and my bike downstairs when the rain came down. So I put on the whole wet weather gear (jacket, trousers, overshoes, cap) whilst chatting to the hotel owner about what I was doing, how far, what time etc. He asked me what was worse, rain or wind. My answer and probably most cyclists is that wind is far worse since you can't accommodate for it in any way whereas you can always put on waterproofs.
Anyway, I set off into the rain on a steady climb out of Monmouth. I soon passed a (I presume) husband and wife with full panniers and waterproofs. Turns out they started the same day as me and travelled from Taunton to Monmouth yesterday as well. They were heading to Whitchurch which is about 20 miles further on than Shrewsbury. We chatted for a few miles about the hills of Devon and Cornwall and how beautiful the Wye Valley was as well as the descent that preceded it. They pressed on and I carried on cycling to my first checkpoint, Hereford.
Today I had decided, or to be honest because of the rain it was decided for me, not to wear headphones all day. Since I was travelling up through the Welsh Marches and passing through beautiful English and Welsh villages and countryside I thought it would be nice to listen to what was going on around me. Lots it appears. Birds twittering away, farm animals mooing and baaing and cars and lorries zooming past.

I had planned a circuitous route that bypassed the A49 which would be the most direct and boring route to take. Even though some of my journey did take me onto the A49 for a few miles. Before I got onto it I was wondering whether I should just take the A49 all the way considering that I had started late, it was miserably wet and it would cut about 20 miles of cycling out which is roughly 2 hours.
Once I got onto the A49 my mind was again made up for me. Hairy and in parts truly frightening would be the best way to describe it. 18 wheel lorries flying past 6 feet from me was not pleasant. I would stick to my original plan and give my chances of living a significant boost.
I came into Hereford about 2 hours after I had set off and made a quick detour to get a quick photo of Hereford Cathedral wherein is housed the Hereford Mappa Mundi which is the largest medieval map of its type in the world (I didn't go to see it what with being soaked and keen to push on and everything).


I left Hereford and headed towards my lunch stop at Craven Arms. It was still raining heavily and every part of me was soaked but once you're wet you can't get more wet so I just kept cycling on. I can't remember the names of all the villages I passed through but they were very pretty. I did pass through Mortimer's Cross which was made famous by the War of the Roses (the battles not the film). I think Yorkshire won this particular battle, sorry Lancashire fans.
Finally arrived at Craven Arms and sat opposite the pub of the same name (chicken or egg?) and ate my lunch (7 mini flapjacks, a couple of biscuits nabbed from last night's hotel and a bag of nuts and raisins).

Again avoided the A49 and headed on my last leg of the trip via Bishops Cross. On the way I passed some Romany gypsies with a cool horse drawn caravan enjoying a spot of outdoor cookery (didn't take a photo, didn't think they'd appreciate it).
At Bishops Cross I began a 6 mile ascent that wasn't too taxing but seemed to go on forever. The payoff being that this was followed by a 4 mile descent where I didn't have to turn my pedals once. The wind sizzled past my ears as I flew down some beautiful scenery. There's worse things you could be doing on a Wednesday.
All day left knee had behaved himself and even right knee was more cowed than usual. But now fatigue was setting in and they both started to shout angrily. Fortunately it was a relatively flat 10 miles into Shrewsbury so neither was put under too much stress.
I reached my hotel at 6pm which is not ideal as it doesn't give me much time to recover in the evening. Also I don't like to eat too soon after finishing because I haven't got my appetite back yet so end up forcing myself to eat.

Had a wander and found Shrewsbury to be similar to Monmouth albeit slightly larger. Found the statue unveiled 3 years ago in honour of Charles Darwin (religion confuser and the city's most famous son). I think it looks like a giant slinky but it's meant to represent DNA (I thought that was Watson and Crick but who am I to argue?).



Tomorrow is another later start (8am breakfast), and then I head over the Cheshire plains and up towards Preston.

Day 4 route:

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Location:Shrewsbury,United Kingdom