Day six was probably the most enjoyable so far and the first day when I had some company. Tricia drove Marcus and me back to Taunton where I had finished the previous day. Taunton is the county town of Somerset and was looking peaceful and attractive in the Sunday morning sunshine. 

We set off along the Taunton and Bridgewater canal tow path towards Bridgewater. It was perfect cycling along the flat towpath in the sunshine. As we left Taunton we passed a number of couples ambling along the tow path carrying packed lunches as they made their way to Somerset County Cricket Club to watch the match that day – a very English scene.

The route looped into Bridgewater to take us on to the bank of The River Parrett and then back out onto The Somerset Levels, which as the name suggests, provided just my kind of cycling. Bridgewater looked like a bit of a gritty town and not one to spend a lot of time in, but that might be a harsh conclusion based on a ten minute cycle through the town.

Marcus is a proper cyclist who can do things like cycle with no hands while videoing behind him which has provided me with what is likely to be the only video record of my ride, taken as we cycled across the Somerset Levels.

The route then joined the old Somerset and Dorset railway line which provided more good cycling and from this point on we had a view of Glastonbury Tor overlooking the town of Glastonbury, where we were making towards. In the further distance beyond we could see the line of the Mendip Hills which would have to be crossed later in the day.

When we got to Glastonbury, the Lord Mayor and his entourage were presiding over the opening of the annual carnival on the main street with attendant bands and marching. We sat in the sunshine outside a café and had some lunch while watching the merry throng. Glastonbury seems to have a permanent population of hippies, presumably waiting for the next festival and the scene again had a very typically English feel, as it should I suppose.

After Glastonbury we had our first hills of the day to contend with as we made our way to the city of Wells which is England’s smallest city. Wells is a particularly attractive little place with its cathedral and city wall. We sat outside another café having a drink in the sunshine while watching the most typical of English scenes – Morris Dancing.

After Wells the day got serious as we left Wookey Hole to begin the ascent over the Mendip Hills – a seriously strenuous climb followed by an exhilarating descent down to Chew Valley lake and the village of Chew Stoke, where Helen was waiting to take us back to Bath.

This was a great day with lots of pleasant cycling on the level in sunshine and lots of interesting places to see in contrast to some earlier sections. The distance covered on the day was 61 miles, taking about 6 hours with about 2,400 feet of ascent.