Having left rush-hour Preston, our first stop was Woodplumpton for a photo op at the stocks and a visit to the Witch's stone in the graveyard. (Having dug herself out twice they thought it best to bury her head down then stick a big rock on top - nice huh!)
A quick emergency stop at a Farm Shop; "Are you desperate?" / "Yes!" / "There's always one..." gave great hilarity to the rest of the group.
Next stop was Guy's Court where we were greeted by a cheering crowd. Well it sounded like it when we turned into the car park. Thank you so much to Amanda's Uncle Colin, Penny, Archie and Violet. You made our day and were our first cheerleaders of the trip.
Back on route the next 15 miles took us along the beautiful, flat, flat canal banks to Lancaster and then on to Glasson Docks (did I mention it was flat?). We had a short stop in Garston for coffee and the largest Cream Scones we've enjoyed so far. The local church bells rang out to the tune of Oranges And Lemons as we cycled out of the town - Louise has been humming it ever since.
Continuing on our flat route was rudely interrupted by what Phil Horsley called 'ludicrous steps', some 60 of them up to the Lancaster Aqueduct which took us on to Carnforth.
At Carnforth Station (or Milford Junction as it was in the 1945 film) we had a 'Brief Encounter' at the Refreshment Room where we enjoyed the most amazing lunch and Amanda and Steve re-enacted the famous scene under the clock.
After Carnforth things started to get a bit more undulating. Fortunately we were on our second pannierless day and our legs were beginning to cope a little bit better.
A few more hills appeared as we neared Kendal as did the rain.
We said goodbye to Amanda's Dad in Natland so he could get the train home (though promising to join us again for the Carlisle stretch). Then we cycled on to Amanda's Mum's where we received a wonderful welcome - there were even posters up to welcome Team Lejog.
Planned miles: 54.7
Actual miles: 55.9
Total miles: 527.3
Punctures: 0
Steve's Helmet Humidity Index: 60%
Geocaches: 1
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