Le Tour en Angleterre

We decided against braving the crowds around Yorkshire for the weekend of July 5th,  but got hooked on the TV watching the cyclists tearing around some familiar scenery. 

So good did everywhere look that on Monday 7th we made the journey over to Cambridgeshire - about an hour's drive - and found ourselves a spot near the village of Hinxton a few miles south of Cambridge. 

The route was full of people without being overcrowded, and we enjoyed the atmosphere as the end of the publicity 'caravane' drove by, with much hooting and bleeping.  

A flying keyring was our haul from this!  

No, not the keyring.

Next came various police motorcyclists and then the Skoda cars which we'd already spotted turning off the M11 to Cambridge. 

Lots of families with youngsters, as well as cyclists who'd travelled a few miles for a different sort of day out.

The two breakaway cyclists hurtled past, and the peloton came into view, zipping past in a whirl of colour and noise from the roadside.

After the excitement a local cycling club rolled by, a little more sedately.

Once the road was clear cyclists took advantage of the road closure for a leisurely ride on a usually busy route.

Time to go - not easy to find a decent place to eat on the route we'd chosen. The local pub was serving, but we thought they'd be too full.  The next one we found was closed - surely not a great business decision, and when we made our way to Royston, the town centre had nothing we wanted. 

Still, we had our trusty coffee making kit, and found a quiet road for a break, then headed back to the A14 and westward.