Day 1 (62 miles should have been 47!)

Minders and I set out with high hopes and some excitement yesterday. After a 2:30 hr train journey from brum to euston (I accidentally booked us on London midlands cretin railways) during which we had to sit directly outside the toilet as that's the only place the bikes could go, we were itching to get riding .

Cycling from London euston out of the city was not much fun despite the excellent weather we didn't stop to take tourist snaps it was just heads down let's get out of here. 

First ice cream of Le tour. 

It seemed like an age until we saw some greenery. Finally we broke ino the countryside and headed for tunbridge wells. The A roads weren't great though and at Sevenoaks we had to do some serious climbing which was unexpected. 

I had been using my phone to guide us and when the batt died things started to go wrong. We ended up in tunbridge wells with know idea where to go as the posh garmin sat nav we had bought tried to take us over fields on public footpaths and always seems to try and find a long route even at 9pm when we just needed to get to the campsite pronto. Seriously it's crap! 

Because we had the sat nav I hadn't packed the paper maps. I ended up asking a lady in a Coop carpark for directions and she kindly tore a battered page out of her road atlas and handed it to me! This proved essential both yesterday an this morning! 

We were supposed to be camping in Ticehurst, but inspite of the map we got lost, went the wrong way and ended up finally knowing the right direction but 15miles away from the campsite and shattered a the light closed in.

Luckily at about 9:30 with John really not looking well we stumbled accross another campsite and they let us pitch! Saved! The place looked nice, a clearing in woodland, with good showers (although I accidentally went in the woman's ones) and the smell of barbecues and cries of what seemed like 1000 playing children could be smelt and heard.

Not much sleep to be had as the campsite was free for kids so a favourite for families and the little darlings were singing until about 11pm, "food glorious food" and other upper middle class offerings completely in keeping with the tunbridge wells area.

When they stopped and went to bed their pissed parents carried on until about 2am. Sleep was not helped by the fact that my blow up mattress has a puncture and so went down within about 1hr.

And that ladies and gents was day one. John was broken and I was supposed to be the one navigating the English days!