- Oct 18, 2021
- 2,840
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- Camping since 1954, MoHo 2022
With clocks put forward and a sunny day forecast, I thought I’d put a few more km on the new Cube e-bike before it goes in for a post-sale check over and to have the Bosch Connect module fitted before France & Spain beckon.
Taking to quiet back roads out through the Knighthayes Estate I headed towards Huntsham, Clayhanger, and then Raddington - looking back towards the Blackdown Hills in the hazy distance:
….before a brief stop over the border at Clatworthy Reservoir.
There’s a real feeling that Mother Nature is kickstarting the countryside back into life, with daffodils well established on the verges and the hedgerows starting to bud, but even so some of the avenues of trees here on the edge of Exmoor still offer a stark comparison
To comply with the established convention of a ‘bummel’, I headed west to Haddon Hill, overlooking Wimbleball Lake before descending down to Morebath and then Bampton, before taking the old road over Bampton Down
…..before dropping down back home to Devon, the Exe Valley and Tiverton
All in all a very enjoyable 56.9km, with the electrons providing very welcome assistance on the 1031m of ascents - did I not mention that we have a few hills around here?
Oh, and as per Jerome K. Jerome’s sequel to ‘Three Men in a Boat’, I’ve left the explanation of a ‘Bummel’ until the end:
“One of the characters in the book asks, "how would you translate [bummel]," to which the narrator replies, in the very final paragraph of the book:
"A 'Bummel'," I explained, "I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end; the only thing regulating it being the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started. Sometimes it is through busy streets, and sometimes through the fields and lanes; sometimes we can be spared for a few hours, and sometimes for a few days. But long or short, but here or there, our thoughts are ever on the running of the sand. We nod and smile to many as we pass; with some we stop and talk awhile; and with a few we walk a little way. We have been much interested, and often a little tired. But on the whole we have had a pleasant time, and are sorry when it's over."
So there you have it!
en.m.wikipedia.org
Taking to quiet back roads out through the Knighthayes Estate I headed towards Huntsham, Clayhanger, and then Raddington - looking back towards the Blackdown Hills in the hazy distance:
….before a brief stop over the border at Clatworthy Reservoir.
There’s a real feeling that Mother Nature is kickstarting the countryside back into life, with daffodils well established on the verges and the hedgerows starting to bud, but even so some of the avenues of trees here on the edge of Exmoor still offer a stark comparison
To comply with the established convention of a ‘bummel’, I headed west to Haddon Hill, overlooking Wimbleball Lake before descending down to Morebath and then Bampton, before taking the old road over Bampton Down
…..before dropping down back home to Devon, the Exe Valley and Tiverton
All in all a very enjoyable 56.9km, with the electrons providing very welcome assistance on the 1031m of ascents - did I not mention that we have a few hills around here?
Oh, and as per Jerome K. Jerome’s sequel to ‘Three Men in a Boat’, I’ve left the explanation of a ‘Bummel’ until the end:
“One of the characters in the book asks, "how would you translate [bummel]," to which the narrator replies, in the very final paragraph of the book:
"A 'Bummel'," I explained, "I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end; the only thing regulating it being the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started. Sometimes it is through busy streets, and sometimes through the fields and lanes; sometimes we can be spared for a few hours, and sometimes for a few days. But long or short, but here or there, our thoughts are ever on the running of the sand. We nod and smile to many as we pass; with some we stop and talk awhile; and with a few we walk a little way. We have been much interested, and often a little tired. But on the whole we have had a pleasant time, and are sorry when it's over."
So there you have it!
