Day 3 Pewsey to Bitton

72km, 150m climb

 I've realised that I haven't mentioned the weather yet. Our last two cycle tours to Sapain and Italy were dominated by rainstorms. So far on this trip the weather has been beautiful. There's absolutely no point going to the Mediterranean to find the sun - it rains all the time there!

We were so tired after a couple of days cycling and the noisy night in Reading that we decided to lie down and read at 9pm, before going to the washblock to clean our teeth etc. The next thing I knew it was 6am!

We packed and left early, deciding to stop off in Pewsey just down the road and get breakfast. Marshall's Bakery has been in the same family for four generations and is absolutely superb. We stocked up on carb-rich goodies to sustain us through the day, topped up with coffee and set off on pretty rural roads through the Vale of Pewsey.

The area is famous for its white horses on the chalk hills. We saw a couple. There's one on the hill behind me in this picture.

After about twenty five km we rejoined the Kennet and Avon canal at Devizes. Just after Devizes we came to the famous Caen Locks, a flight of 29 continuous locks. Extremely impressive. We were glad we were going down though as they were steep!

The towpath was bumpy all the way to Bradford-on-Avon with its bustling, attractive waterfront. 

Fortunately the path improved as we approached Bath and we enjoyed contouring round the hillside above the River Avon with the canal. There were a couple of aqueducts taking us over the river and railway. There was also the unbelievably narrow entrance to the Somerset Coal Canal built in 1801 and leading to Paulton.

The route took us the scenic way into Bath, over Poultney Bridge, past the Abbey and Pump Rooms and out onto the Bristol and Bath Railway Path which we followed for eight km before turning off to Bitton and this campsite. It is just a field with two portaloos (very clean) and a tap. What more do you need? Certainly at just £8 for a night it will be the cheapest on this trip.