As I awoke on Wednesday 22nd of July for my last day of Welsh Colleges Families tour the task of packing away my tent loomed. However I was comforted by thought of some ringing in Shrewsbury followed a trip South to Evesham for the start of the summer cycling tour.
As I arrived in the Sandy arms for a much-needed beer, the usual faces greeted me and took much delight in laughing at my inability to sit down due to bad back. After a couple of pints or so we decided it was time to head to the hall, the evening was uneventful apart from the late arrival of Rhiannon.
As morning dawned the smell of bacon filled the hall, with the catering officers once again excelling themselves with a full English breakfast on offer. After some quick washing up, tyre pressures where checked and our bikes readied for the journey ahead. The ride to the first tour was rather enjoyable, only gear issues for me, and a slight detour for Rhiannon to report. Ringing was had in rather hot Willersey belfry before the realisation of the steepness of the next leg of our journey. The group broke into two with a minority deciding to take an off road route. I am unsure how bad a choice this was but I have been informed it wasn’t long before Rhiannon turned around and she wasn’t seen until our arrival at the pub for lunch.
At the top of a rather steep climb we found a delightful little 8 at Saintbury and to our relief discovered they were a ground floor ring. People started to drift away early with the need of lunchtime pint getting the better of them. Sue happened to be in so much of a rush she took a short off road decent that resulted in a collision with her crossbar, which I shall go into no further. I also had issues on the decent from Saintbury, when I had a braking issue while overtaking the Mundy’s, I later discovered Percy had had a similar incident but I can report we all arrived safely for lunchtime refreshments. A long lunch allowed a rather substantial time to recover and refuel, after the odd pint and a spot of food we headed off for some more ringing at Broadway and Buckland. The ride back to the hall was broken up with yet another brief visit to a public convenience before it was time to go swimming. It was at the swimming pool where Percy discovered that he’d forgotten to pack his swimming trunks but we need not worry, as a talk of skinny-dipping soon faded and he settled for just a shower. Swimming was had and even some heavy petting was on show, but soon the lure of the nearby Weatherspoons had us all running for our towels.
One beer turned into ten and before we knew it the smell of breakfast was wafting from the kitchen and another exciting day was ahead of us all. Friday turned out to be a rather uneventful affair with ringing had at four tours with all but one being ground floor rings. The lunchtime pub was of an excellent standard offering 5 ales and 2 ciders. A few of the group decided to drink their way along the bar, these few individuals shall stay nameless but please remember Ross and Malcolm were not present! After lunch we visited two more 8-bell tours before returning to the hall for pizza focus. During dinner a discussion was had to which pub we should visited that evening. A decision was made to cycle the short distance to Badsey to enjoy a wider variety of beer. After clearing the pub out of decent ale we wobbled back to the hall for some Gin and Tonics lovingly prepared by Mini Me. It wasn’t long until I gently fell asleep, dreaming of further adventures tomorrow.
As I awoke on Saturday morning, slightly the worse for wear; I decided a full English breakfast was the order of the day. The breakfast, like the past two mornings did not disappoint and soon the hangover was forgotten. The plan for today, or so I was informed was to venture into Evesham itself, stopping at a few towers on the way and a Weatherspoons for lunch. So I set off and can happily report arrived ahead of schedule at Middle Littleton to enjoy the delights of the 12 cwt 6. Being the kind sort of chap I am, I stayed to help lower the bells before setting out for Great Hampton. This is where I am sorry to report things started to go wrong. With the combination of trying to be too clever and a remerging hangover, I manage to take a wrong turn. This resulted in Sarah and Myself cycling an extra couple of miles, witnessing an RTA and arriving a full 15 minutes late, but were we deterred?
With lunch being the next stop my spirits soon rose as I cycled (in the right direction) towards the near by Weathers. My luck however seemed not to want to change. Struggling to find a table and needing to visit the hole in the wall I left the pub in search of another. Luckily I bumped into the Mundy’s and saved them from the rather packed pub. Chris informed me that he knew of a rather nice little pub just around the corner, and indeed he was correct. We found a small family run pub, serving nice homemade food and most importantly a rather nice pint of Old Hooky. Food was eaten and beer consumed. Even Malcolm was thought of when a timely phone call was received to wish us well in the striking competition. OOPS, we hadn’t forgotten honest. We finished our last pint rather quickly before our attention turned to the afternoon’s competition. The 6 bell striking competition was held at Childswickham and although I cannot remember details (I have no idea why) I can remember that Percy’s team one…
After a slow and rather wobbly ride back to the hall with a short pit stop at a nearby public house we had a short meeting before the catering officers excelled themselves with a rather lovely BBQ. Beer was offered as the society enjoyed a ‘quiet’ evening in playing poker and UNO.
Sunday was a rather civilised affair, with the bikes loaded safely back into the cars we drove to The Bell Tower, Evesham for Sunday Service ringing. Many people said their goodbyes with an elite band heading to Bidford-on-Avon for a quarter. I understand that this effort was a success.
I would like to thank Jeanette, Percy and Sue for all their hard work on a very enjoyable and memorable tour. I would also like to thank Becky, although this is the last tour report I am writing for her, as I make this two reports in three tours.
Here’s to another successful tour, roll on Autumn!
- Paul Parker