We got a nice early start the morning after the big race, leaving our little spot around 8:00 – there had been a ‘no parking’ sign put next to us while we slept, but we were ready to leave anyway.

The mist was lifting as the rising sun hit it – the trees and fields we passed were very pretty.

We got back to Worcester before noon, having time for a shower before repacking and leaving again for the south.

We went down to Bratton and headed straight to Pickleberry, where we parked in the overflow parking area for the night. Once again we hadn’t brought our bikes due to the forecast of rain.

In the morning we had our usual tea and breakfast, then waited for some of Colin’s friends to start appearing. A large group of them still meet once a week at the coffee shop, some on their bikes today, and more in their cars.

It was very nice for Colin to see the fellows – he’s known and ridden bikes with some of them for many years, and they seemed happy to see me again. We chatted with several of them for well over an hour before they started to leave one by one.

Since we had a couple of hours to spare we drove up to the White Horse and had a walk around. Apparently there used to be four or five of them in the area, and this one has been cleaned up and filled in with cement to prevent degradation.

It’s near the top of a very windy hill and can be seen for miles.

Sheep and cows graze on the hills, and the view is wonderful.

We watched as a storm moved in, but made it back to the campervan ahead of the rain.

Our next visit was with Colin’s very dear friends Mike and Sandra, whom I’ve met before. They were just as nice as I remembered, and Mo even came inside this time – I wasn’t sure Sandra was going to let her go when we left she fussed over her so much. Mike showed us one of his bikes – it’s very old and he’s been restoring it bit by bit.

Upon leaving from our visit we headed into Frome and walked around before choosing a little pub to have a beverage in. I got a local cider that was very tasty – not sweet or fizzy, but very refreshing. There was a large young dog that the owner had rescued – it liked to sit on one of the window chairs and watch the people go by outside.

Our final visit of the day was with Colin’s sister Joan and her husband Derek – we met them for dinner at the Royal Oak pub in Corsley Heath. I’ve met them before and they were once again very nice and welcoming to me – we had a lovely meal and visited for a couple of hours.

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