Day 5 – The Worlds Press Descends on Cheltenham

Cheltenham to Bourton on the Water

There must have been a major news story breaking in Cheltenham as only the Gloucestershire Echo was able to attend the photo shoot. We paraded up adn down the promenade, posing for shots, enjoying our 5 minutes of fame, with even the local fire thrower pausing out of intruige to find out what was going on.

Our day off (a mere 16 miles) began with a full english breakfast after a good nights sleep in a proper bed. Feeling revitalised we made our way to Cheltenham town centre in search of an internet cafe and a rumoured lido (outdoor swimming pool). As we manouvered through the town centre we were rocked by a bollard rising from beneath us, clipping a pedal on the tandem causing us to lose our balance, but luckily we din’t topple. This moving bollard is designed to stop cars going down bus lanes – it seems tandems aren’t welcome either!

I was further rocked this morning when quietly sampling a slice of carrot cake in a local cafe when a friendly local declined Will’s offer of moving his chair to let him pass. This gentleman stated ‘it’s only my big coat, I’m quite skinny underneath’: he then drew attention to my quiet self by pointing to my stomach and exclaimed ‘look at the podge on him!’ He then promptly left, leaving me to devour the cake with slightly less pleasure, but you don’t want to let good cake go to waste. Finding the lido to get some initial exercise in was all the more urgent, where Phil and I managed to put in a good few lengths, while Will spent his time on the water slide.

7 miles on, for lunch that afternoon I decided that 2 courses were sufficient, rather than 3. The ibuprofen as been seeing Beth and myself through the pains in our knees and ankles, but soldier on we did. We arrived to set up camp in Bourton in the Water, and back to the realities of our cozy tent, after the luxuries of the Cheltenham B&B last night.