Somerset to North Devon.

Our stupendous cyclists have again made good progress today, first heading south from Exford to Withypool, then south west to South Molten. Here they stopped at the (reputedly) world-famous Corn Dolly Cafe (top) for tea & crumpets, but they also picked up some advice about which route to take; unlike some of the previous 'pointers' they've been given, this proved to be very welcome local knowledge which helped them avoid a 3 in 1 hill &, instead, put them on less frequented B roads to Barnstaple.

This is not to say that it hasn't been hilly, but the real joy of the ladies' recommendation was to follow the Tarka Trail (middle) which follows a disused railway line. It was a beautiful, smooth &, above all, flat route which took them from Barnstaple, through Fremington & Instow, to Bideford. From here they left the trail in order to make their way to their overnight destination at Westward Ho!

Tonight they are staying in another youth hostel (bottom) which has lovely views of the sea but is, otherwise, a bit on the tatty side (much like themselves after so long on the road, I should imagine!!). After riding through rain & pedalling through puddles much of the day I'm sure they will be grateful to use the showers, so thank heavens there is hot water tonight - hurrah!

And just to illustrate how far they've come, Johnny says that they started on page 94 of Mark's map book, & they are now on page 6 - keep turning the wheels (& the pages), boys, you're nearly there :0)