Leaving Britain

September 11, 2022

As usual, we’re wrapping up one journal and immediately moving on to another one. We depart for France this evening, which doesn’t leave much time for reflection or retrospective. Britain has been such a surprise for us though that it’s worth at least a few words. First, in no particular order here’s an incomplete list of things we especially appreciated in our three months here:

The people! We were well received everywhere, and we really enjoyed being able to have regular random encounters with strangers who spoke something approximating our own language.
The dogs! The Brits love their dogs, and you see them everywhere - on the streets, in the parks, in the cafes. We like a shapely dog as much as the next person, but what we especially appreciated was how well behaved and non-threatening they invariably were. We didn’t encounter a single dog that felt at all menacing or that we had to take evasive action against.
The sheep! One of our abiding memories from our one visit to northern England and Scotland long ago was how cheering it was to encounter free range sheep and lambs everywhere we went. I was surprised to find that this occurs throughout many parts of the island.
The scenery and diversity! I have no idea why I was surprised at how beautiful much of Britain was, but we kept passing through one glorious region.
The train system! This isn’t unique in Western Europe of course, but as an American it’s impossible not to be envious of a country with such a dense rail network that’s generally easy to manage by bicycle.
The history and culture! I really like coming out of this summer with my mental image of Britain filled in by first-hand experiences in places I’ve heard of most of my life
The foot and bridlepaths! This is another big contrast to America, where so much real estate is privately owned and closed to the public. In Britain there are public walkways everywhere you go. If you’re a walker the opportunities are endless.

We’ve got a pretty short list of features we were less enthusiastic about. Certainly one aspect that surprised us was how hilly and challenging the terrain was, nearly everywhere we went but the Fens. Another was some of the less cycle-friendly roads - in particular, routes that would cross busy highways where you have to time the traffic and move fast to make it across. And, of course there’s the problematic fact that they drive on the other side of the road from us and you have to reprogram yourself quickly or die trying. Also, other than the dramatic scenery it’s a pretty tame environment - miles and miles of grain fields broken with hedgerows and shorn fields with sheep and other livestock roaming across them; but no lions and tigers and bears running around. The birds at Flamborough and the red kites in Wales were inspiring, but other than birds and rabbits we hardly saw any noteworthy critters at all.

We’ll have to see how soon we make it back, if ever. It could even be as soon as next year, or much longer - maybe not until we’ve moved on to eBikes. If we do make it back though, there are some places we’d especially love to see again in addition to places we didn’t get to this time. We’d both love to see Conwy, Salisbury, Dorset and Keswick again, and the Yorkshire Dales and Moors. And more of the northeast coast. And more of Wales. And if/when we come back, I imagine we’ll approach it differently and pick some bases for longer apartment stays this time, maybe linking them up with train rides.

Thank you all again for following along and participating; and a special thanks to Polly, Graham and Stewart for their sharing their local insights insights along the way.

Below are a few collections I’ve been saving up - I’m sure some of you would be disappointed to not see a summary of the beer project - as well as a map of the actual route followed, excluding day rides. On to Brittany!

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ann and steve maher-wearyThanks for your stellar blog writing, photos and videos. It’s so well done it almost feels like we are along for the ride. Lots of ideas for a UK cycling trip. We will be in the UK twice this year, we aren’t planning on cycling though. Maybe we should reconsider after your fab recommendation. Thanks again for sharing your trip.
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1 year ago

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Suzanne GibsonIt was wonderful following your through Britain. Previously I had no idea what beautiful landscapes there are to discover, your ride was a real eye-opener. And those hills, well, I'm not tempted to go there myself, but am more than impressed by the Andersons' physical fitness coping with impossibly steep climbs, again and again. Many many thanks for taking us along. It was an adventure for all.
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1 year ago

Polly LowI’ve enjoyed following you around - it’s always interesting to see your country through an outsider’s eyes (esp when those eyes are so observant, and so tolerant of the UK’s very many foibles…).

Excellent work on the Project too, though I’m sure there’s scope for a follow-up…
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1 year ago

David MathersCongratulations on the British leg of your grand tour and a great photo collage of your research project. That’s reason enough to go back! I don’t think we’ll cycle but another hike like C2C is likely in our future. Great journal, Thanks.
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1 year ago

Jacquie GaudetAll good research projects should be verified by other researchers. I think I'll volunteer myself and Al. It looked fantastic!
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo David MathersIt might be even better hiking country than cycling. If I thought my knees could carry me that far I’d love to do the C2C, or a traverse of Wales.
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1 year ago

Kathleen ClassenWhat a great way to close this part of the journey. Looking forward to what comes next.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetI think I left a few brew left for you to discover first. I hope you come over and show us what we missed.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Polly LowThanks, Polly. It does feel like I’ve left a few brews untipped. It’s always good to leave a place with a reason to want to come back.
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1 year ago

Jen RahnThanks for mentioning the places you'd visit again!

I haven't kept up with your journal as regularly as I'd like (every day!) .. and when I do it's always a highlight of the morning.

Looking forward to the next leg!
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnThanks for following up again, Jen. You’re right, it’s a lot to keep up with. I can’t believe we’re well into our fifth year on this experiment!
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1 year ago

Emily SharpCondolences to you on the loss of your Mom, Scott. Even when you know it will bring your loved one peace, it is never an easy thing. I'm glad you and Rachael had such an excellent time in England/Wales though. It's always good to have more pleasant surprises than unexpected problems. As for free-ranging sheep, oh my goodness, do we have a lot of those here and I could never imagine getting excited to see them, lol. I've herded a lot of sheep unintentionally in my time. Looks like autumn in France is off to a good start, too. Wishing quick healing for Rachael after the spill - hope the back pain diminishes rapidly! It sucks to be slowed down when you are an always on-the-go person.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Emily SharpThank you, Emily. We’ve been so fortunate to have had her with us for so long - she really didn’t start fading until about a year ago, and then it went relatively quickly. She was in good care and had members of the family around her until the end.

Rachael’s doing fine, fortunately. Nothing that a couple of days of ibuprofen couldn’t help her through!

I see you’re going back on tour again! We’re both so happy and relieved over the recovery of your health, and looking forward to reading about your experiences back on the trail.
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1 year ago