Pig headed

I started out with a good plan today. The fall-back plan wasn't bad either, and neither was the alternative fall-back, or the revised alternative fall-back plan. In the end, everything went pretty much according to bits of one plan or another.

I started following National Cycle Route 4 from Maidenhead to Hampton Court, with the idea of coming back the same way.

It soon became obvious that there wasn't enough time though. I was too pig-headed to turn back early, and nobody has laid railway tracks from Hampton Court to Maidenhead. So the revised alternative fall-back plan was to reach my original destination, then head north and pick up the Great Western main-line somewhere between Southall and Hayes. Unfortunately, I didn't have the right maps with me, so it was all a bit hit and miss. I got close to Hayes, but then I decided to divert past Heathrow, and I finally caught the train home from Slough.


There were some pleasant stretches - particularly through Windsor Great Park to Egham; and following the Thames path from Walton-on-Thames to Hampton Court, but nobody in their right mind would pick the rest of my route for the scenery. It was all very satisfying though, I expect to sleep well tonight, and after 50 miles, I now only need to cover another 50 to reach my goal of 3,000 by the end of the year.