Ground Zero - Wales to England — The Candid Explorer

After being settled in Cardiff from July 2023, it’s no surprise that we’re on the move again in April 2024. This time, we had surrendered public transport and traded backpacking for bikepacking! Bikepacking is a great way to travel when you don’t particularly have, or want, a timeframe and is truly the epitome of the cliché “it’s the journey, not the destination.”

The call for adventure was the main reason we decided to make the switch, but the money was another factor. Yes, it can be expensive to set up starting from scratch like we have, but after collecting all the gear you need, costs can be cut through opting to wild camp and forgoing public transport. As we found out on our first trip, accommodation, and transport can become costly, particularly for two people.

While we got lucky in Cardiff, we were also a little unlucky. My job was a straight-up mess, winter was the worst one they’d had in years, our flatmate moved out, and then our landlords had informed us that they were selling the house. Fast-forwarding through the stress, we decided the best decision was to move on. Originally, I thought it was a bit of a waste not being able to stay longer, but we managed to snag a job through Workaway for a Strawberry Farm based in Lymington, England. This way, we were able to elongate our stay in the UK whilst earning a wee bit more funds for the bigger trip ahead.

As we had just introduced ourselves to the bikepacking world, we cycled from Cardiff all the way down to the beautiful coastal town of Lymington. This took a total of 300kms over 4 days… not bad for a couple of rookies.

Day One

Best believe I promptly fell off the bike and dropped it as soon as we walked out the door. My whole life was packed into two pannier bags carrying the weight of the world. I’m only kidding, but my goodness the bike was heavy! Despite this, it was surprising just how easily the bike carried itself along the road, and after a few fumbles I had grown accustomed to the weight.

The plan for the day was to make it out of Cardiff. Given that we had not trained for this, and my bike was a fresh 3 weeks old, the city had given grace by being relatively flat. After navigating our way through streets, we hopped on a bike path that carried us through the majority of the city.

The last border was the Severn Bridge – A connection between Wales and England. At its entry, we chatted with an old boy enthusiastic about crossing it on foot as part of his journey of walking the entirety of the south coast. He was enthusiastic because the bridge was unique in the sense that it was shut down to motor vehicles which provided a peaceful crossing between Cardiff and Bristol on a harbour bridge. That night we found a little spot for our tent tucked away from the road and enjoyed some well-deserved 2-minute noodles.

We had completed nearly 70km of distance.

Day Two

Following the motto of “leave no trace,” we packed up early and headed out. We cycled through more bike paths combined with the streets to get into the heart of Bristol. I have to say that I am really impressed with the layout of paths in Bristol. It took no time at all to get through the city and before long, we were on a bike path connecting between Bristol and Bath.

I cannot recommend this enough for a day trip. The path itself was a converted train line complete with cafes set at previous stations and more importantly, toilets were posted along the way. It was completely flat and it helped that on a rare week the sun had blessed us after a long and damp winter. From here, we connected onto a gravel trail alongside the canal which was prime viewing for all of the canal boats.

That night we treated ourselves to a campsite to get settled and have a shower, staying in a place called yellowtail camping in Trowbridge. Again, we had completed nearly 70km of distance and I was feeling really good about how I was physically handling a trip like this.

Day 3

Surprisingly enough, it was the second and third day that we found our stride. The first day we were fighting up hills opting to hop off and walk the bikes instead. After three days, our bodies had adjusted just in time to navigate farm (thus dirt) roads and discovered the true meaning of rolling hills. We went through various quaint towns such as Enford which we would have never seen if we had travelled by bus, train or car.

Finding a spot to camp was a bit more challenging. We had researched the general rule to keep off the road and to set up at dusk and pack down at dawn. After hitting Amesbury and tiki-touring the Stonehenge, we had stopped to scope through a canola field before deciding we were too close to the neighbours. However, a bit further down the road was a pedestrian access field. We tucked ourselves away under a tree and had no disturbances. Bear in mind, I had never wild camped before this. So, I had gone into this trip paranoid about the prospect and while it went well, it will take some more getting used to.

*The Stonehenge behind a barrier - it’ll cost you $$ to get a closer look.*

Day 4

The final stretch! After passing through Salisbury for breakfast, the day was spent grovelling our way uphill before reaching the New Forest! A place that we had heard rave reviews as a large national park. I was initially surprised at vastness having had no expectations but the wild horses and donkeys topped the experience. There were hundreds of them grazing along the sides of the road.

We briefly stopped for ice cream at Trailside – an ice cream truck, before the downhill descent. It was here where the end felt near and my mind and body started plummeting. A past injury in my knee had reared its head, and the days of hard cycling meant that it was crying out for a much-needed rest. It was purely mind over matter at this point when we were so, so close! We pushed our bikes up a few more hills but we made it to the farm which was our home for the next 3 months.

*Horses everywhere at the New Forest National Park.*

As the first bikepacking experience, it surprisingly went very smoothly. Besides from losing my gloves and hat on the first and last day respectively, and the temperature dropping to freezing overnight in fresh spring fashion, it was a refreshing way to travel. It was the most we had seen of the UK since arriving and the ease of not having weighted backpacks made all the difference. Granted, we have a lot more to learn. The next three months will be spent living the slow life before we hop back on the bikes again for our European adventure.