Devon today. The landmark at Teignmouth ("lamp post gift") has been causing people some problems and I'm not surprised. I opted for a wander about photographing any lamp posts that looked out of place. Wandering through some chalets on the beach and came across a cast iron lamp post worthy of Narnia with a small plaque at the base. I suspect others may not have been so fortunate.

Had a good old whang along some insanely twisty C and B roads in Dartmoor to visit an old gunpowder mill, pictures of the mills, chimney (complete with finger in shot) and the proving mortar to test the gunpowder with.

Three checkpoints today and off into Cornwall tomorrow. Weather is holding out ok, quite sunny if a little breezy.

And bringing things back up to date. Currently sat in Tescos in Exeter with a 3G connection. Went down through Somerset yesterday and got the checkpoint which was an old canal lift. Where the canal met the railway, they lifted the boats over the railway, not put the railway under the canal. Strange but true.

Heading down into Devon today, the checkpoints here are fairly close together but pretty cryptic, I'm going to have to go there and have a search about. Camping up on Dartmoor tonight at the club site there, need to do some washing!

More pictures.

Much belated picture update.

Canoed 15 miles down the river Wye today in a 2 person open canoe! I'll be falling to bits tomorrow.

It's bucketed it down all day so I was thoroughly soaked by the time I got to Monmouth despite not falling in at all.

Got some new tyres on the Enfield.

I think my feeling about Ross on Wye has been justified. As I was changing the bike wheels in a carpark yesterday, one drunk bloke knocked another one down and gave him a kicking at the other end of the carpark. Despite there being loads of people there, I was the only one who seemed to be in any mood to make sure he was still alive and call an ambulance. Funny how folk are, an old guy lying unconcious on the ground and they didn't even stop to check he was still breathing.

All ok in the end though, they carted him off to hospital where I'm sure he'll at least get a feed and a clean up.

Possibly cycling tomorrow in the Forest of Dean if the rain holds off.

Got three checkpoints on the way East across the country after staying on the Baden Powell memorial campsite at Hertford. Met an Aussie couple starting a tour of Europe by bicycle so I gave them some tips on what wine and cider to buy as they pass through France. Probably the nicest of the club sites I've stayed at, plenty of room, lots of established, mature trees about which goes a long way to damping out the noise of kids tantrums and tentpegs beng hammered into oblivion.

One was a Dovecote at a big house with a walled garden that somewhat improbably has the road running right through the middle of their garden.

Next came a wellhead and pump outside a pub in Berkshire. They seem to be in the process of digging this one up but I found a sneaky additional pump round the back of the pub so I took a picture for good measure.

The third was a church clock at Wooton Rivers before camping up at the Bruce Arms pub campsite.

Next day and two more checkpoints, Claverton pumping station near bath and Kimbolton Dovecote in the vicinity of Stratford on Avon and another club campsite.

The Enfield had a minor tantrum, I noticed clouds of smoke when i stopped at some traffic lights. These were coming from a steady flow of oil blowing past the o-ring on the tappet inspection cover. A leaky o-ring aside, that part of the oil system shouldn't be under pressure so I should at worst have been getting a slight ooze of oil.

Simple solution, the crankcase breather hose had become kinked leading to a pressurised crankcase and oil leaks. After unkinking it, i noticed the idle speed increased and it climbed hills a lot better. I'll know what to look for if that happens again in future. New o-ring 50p from a car spares place.

I'm having a week off at Welsh Bicknor Youth Hostel. The plan is to go canoeing on the river Wye among other things before setting off again to do the South of England. Got all the checkpoints North of London now.

I'll post the pictures another time when I have a better internet connection, it's taking an interminably long time from where I am.

Into London i go, armed with a not very good map for navigating such a densely packed town. Got more or less straight to Harrow on the Hill and found the plaque marking the site of the first automobile driver fatality.

Getting back out was fairly straightforward by riding until I found a sign for the M25 and following it but I landed up a fair bit away from where I started. As it happens, roadworks and such meant the Enfield was probably the fastest vehicle to go on.

I've camped on a much quieter, very scenic club site at Hartford for a bit of a wash up and suchlike (and to charge my laptop) because one of tomorrows landmarks is in a village too small to show up on my map.

Also popped up to Hunsdon to visit the airfield memorial which involved a bit of dirttracking to get to the site of the old runway. Nothing to say I couldn't go there and noone shouted at me so i think there is a presumed right of access there. Took a picture of the memorial plaque on the village hall for good measure.