boboneleg

From Malmesbury I headed east on the B4042, about a mile down the road is an old mill which is now posh housing and next to it is the first bridge I'd crossed today that had a plaque informing you of the name of the river ................ From there I dropped down to the village of Little Somerford where I rode down Mill Lane. I had to park up here and walk past Kingsmead Mill to get to an estate bridge across the fields .................... Once I'd walked back to the bike I had another coffee from my flask to warm up and then set off for Dauntsey. By the bridge at Dauntsey was a strange covered corkscrew affair driven by the river but I have no idea what it's used for .................. and then I rode down to the B4069 to Christian Malford to take a photo of the last bridge of the day ....................... to be continued at a later date

It's in the grounds of the big house on the left. It's not a mill house so I guess it's a guest house or a spot for lazy fishermen who can't be bothered to walk

So from Sherston I made a slight detour down to Brook End ford at Luckington. It was deep and flowing really fast today and I reckon the depth was 3-4 feet so I didn't make an attempt to ride through it ............. I have ridden this ford many times in the past .................... but not everyone gets it right ............. and there are historical photos of good efforts and bad Next stop was a bridge just south of Sherston .................... From there I made my way up to the B4040 and then further down the road I went to the beautiful village of Easton Grey .............. Next up was a short section of the Fosseway (a roman road) which is unsurfaced along this stretch ................ It was also the site of a roman village in the past .............. I rode a bit more of the Fosseway and turned right to head into the market town of Malmesbury , this is where the Tetbury Avon joins the main river .............

The Bristol Avon is approx 83 miles long, it rises in the Cotswold hills and flows in a circular fashion until it eventually flows into the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth. I have grown up with the Avon and in the last 50 years I have swum in it, canoed, fished it, travelled over it by truck, car , motorcycle and cycle and even ridden through it on a motorcycle. For a while I have wanted to follow the Avon from source to sea and so in January 2023 I started the journey. There are many claims to the precise source of the river but Ordnance Survey maps give it as Joyce's Pool at Didmarton so that's where I started my journey. It had been raining for several days beforehand so there was plenty of water when I arrived at Didmarton , I stopped for a while and had a coffee on one of the benches at the site. This was the road junction next to the site, it was about 8 inches deep .................... I then set off over the A433 towards Sopworth and came across the first bridge nearby... and then onto a bridge near Sherston............

It’s a bit wet out and about

I’ve a feeling that’s the last place @Grasshopper would want to spend New Years Eve or any other night

Where did you spend New Years Eve ?

This photo typifies the back roads of France for me and why I love to ride in France

Breakfast this morning ..................

Still going but having a nightcap now …,,

That plate could almost be an English meal

Round 2

Did anyone get zero votes

Well done @Pedro

That's sooooooooooooo true

Bunch of bum sniffers. I was a winger, catch me if you can suckers. That always worked well until I ran into one of you big feckers lurking on the touchline, then it didn't go so well ..............

That sounds like a bank

There were only 3 posts at first so I (and I suspect others) just rode around them. I reckon the twat in the house (which has encroached onto the original path of the road) is a mason

Me too

Lassie comes home

Well yeah, there are no photos of bikes in vans ...............