Day 13 – July 1, 2021

Hi guys….well it’s the tradition now.

Back at the Culcheth Arms and once again a fine meal was enjoyed by all. Fish and chips, pork belly and prawn linguine all hit the spot followed by a few cold Morettis. Happy days!😉

After our preparations this morning we were set and ready to go just after 8am. The journey was to take us from Leigh to just south of Stafford with a planned distance of 67 miles and three checkpoints the first of which was due at 18 miles.

And it was a pleasure to be joined for the first 10 miles by Ian our host at the Layland campsite. 

Thanks Ian for joining us on the journey this morning. It was much appreciated and thanks to you and Jane for looking after us these last two days.

So it was Billy’s big test today. Could he navigate his way to the first checkpoint with no issue and be ready for Alan and Thomas to arrive??

No drama!

Not only did he make it, he even provided some home made snacks….in the shape of flapjacks. Superb!

After the break Alan and Thomas moved on in what was generally flattish countryside and were pleased to get a selfie at the world famous observatory at Jodrell Bank. Squint hard enough and you can see it!!

Whilst on the way to the next checkpoint at Biddulph, we got one of those messages again….ROAD CLOSED.

We decided to take our chances. It doesn’t mean that a bicycle can’t get through. And what do you know….we managed to manhandle our bikes around a major hole in the road and were able to proceed without a big diversion.

Nothing stops Ollie Young!! 😉

The rest of the journey passed in much the normal way. A continuous battle between the Garmin and Google Maps. Once again we found ourselves on a cycle track that was just dangerous for road bikes and later in the last stage of the day, we ended up on a canal towpath that was at some stages completely grass!

There were some nice treats too. Billy got us a nice lunch that was disposed of very quickly at the last checkpoint.

And when we arrived at our stop for the evening, The Chetwynd Arms, a couple of cold ones were waiting for us delivered by The Fly!! 😁

People continue to see the pow21 and the OYF message.

While we were in Culcheth last night, a lovely couple who had done LEJOG before came up and gave us a donation. Thanks so much to Graham and Janice pictured below.

Also today at the First Life Church in Biddulph, some members of the church gave us a donation whilst we were on the second checkpoint.

When we arrived at The Chetwynd Arms this evening we got further donations from Stuart and from Don and Sandra Gwinnett. 

Please spread the word. As at a few moments ago, pow21 had raised £6,561 without Gift Aid!And we have another £176.60 in the bucket.

We couldn’t do this without you all.

Once again thanks for all your support and donations.

In the end today we travelled bang on 70 miles. We had planned 67 miles, so we had around 3 extra miles but we were quicker as we spent more time on tarmac than planned.

Tomorrows journey is from Stafford to Upton-upon-Severn, expected to be another 67 miles.

Signing off now. More news tomorrow…