The snooze button should be banned!
Leaving Rostrevor to check in for an 8.15 boat at 7.10 is cutting it fine , only Kenny appeared at the gate we would be still here! However having picked up John (SCO) we managed to get to Dublin Port at 8.20 and just squeaked onto the boat ..perfect timing some might say .
Then then small matter of the drive from Holyhead to Exmoor , TOM TOM whoever he is ,said 6 hours . TOM TOM is obviously not aware the the English appear to make a sport of digging up the M6 and parking there for hours at a time . Kenny who was the only one of us who could drive ( properly ) took control and we arrived at the ship Inn in Porlock just after 8 …wrecked . We met Rob and Finn the proprietors of Wild Bikes and Jenny of Pure Mountains along with a smattering of ex eu members Ed , and his brother Rob , Neil and Helen , And Marianne from Finland via Plymouth.A fine few pints of englands best beer went down well.
Saturday dawned, as it does, and we geared up for the day after an alfresco breakfast from Robs Kitchen . A quick briefing and off to the trails which started literally 10 m from our very nice campsite …BurrowHayes if you must know. Rob and Finn quickly ascertained that not everyone had had their performance enhancing drugs last night and split the group roughly into the Celts with the Brothers, and the rest . We got the benefit of an extra climb and an extra descent before the big climb to Dunkery Beacon at over 500m . Great views and fantastic trails . Stopped for lunch at a quintessentially english T room where we felt obliged to have the ploughmans salad washed down with lashings of ginger beer . Then off for another loop with the ploughman in tow!
Route Here in case you wonder I did not have autopause on !
Home for a welcome shower and then Robs Kitchen opened up for the BBQ and lashings of Beer/ wine etc.
Sunday started with lovely Bacon butties, a quick briefing and another split in the group . NTSR off with the fantastic Finn ( not Marianne) who proved a super guide and certainly appears to have had all his PED’s as he beat Kenny up the hills on his almost downhill bike. Respect!
Met the others at the top of Hawks Coombe for a brilliant descent and onward to Porlock Weir for lunch by the seaside . Then a quick extra loop for some and home for the big pack up. The journey home via Pembroke was much less exciting so I wont bore anyone Severn or otherwise .
Thanks to Rob , Finn and Jenny for wonderful hospitality. Rob knew every inch of every trail and coped well with diverse skill and fitness level . I can highly reccomend Wild Bikes and Puremountain , in fact we are hatching an evil plan for next year 😉 .