10DTM Sedbergh to Langho

Temperature is rising. So ideal day to be crossing the Forest of Bowland and the Ribble Valley.

This gave us time to wind down after rescuing our bikes from under the pile of laundry bags which some halfwit had deemed was a good thing to do. A lovely place and excellent food, customer focus for parts bordered on Ryan Air standards. We don’t do breakfasts until 8:30 when the chef arrives (predictably everyone arrived at 8:30). We don’t give itemised bills. We don’t….. Anyway overall quality excellent just horse shit value.

We met another customer focussed person in a later tea shop. “Are you taking away or sitting down. Latter includes on the outside benches. Do I care, do I know? I just want tea. Well if you sit down I need to charge you VAT. He saved money by waving the same tea bag at both (takeaway)cups. The bonus was reading the parish notices in Cowan Bridge: I really like the mosaic showing the wild flowers of the parish.

This was our first main encounter with a busy A road, 5 miles on the A65. Not bad for almost 550 miles so far. We soon left the noise behind. To be replaced by our breathing after High Bentham on the Slaidburn Road. It just goes up, affording great views on such a clear day.

Slaidburn. We’d gone on this road in the opposite direction in 2000. The Hark to Bounty pub is still there, hanging on. That could be a reference to the old county court which remains on the first floor. A couple of Americans chat to us, with their Yorkshire guides, happy to see touring bikes. What possessed me to share with them the old saying “you can tell someone from Yorkshire but you can’t tell them a lot” I’m not quite sure. Anyway 2 of the 4 appreciated it.

Dunsop Bridge has a bridge, a wee working men’s club, a milestone which had Barbara doing cartwheels. And it is 6km south of another Centre of Britain. Close enough.