Today it’s forecast to rain. As I leave Street YH, the sky turns darker than a black steer’s tookus on a moonless prairie night and it soon starts pouring down. However, I make good progress through Cheddar and on up to Clevedon, where I’m due to meet my in-laws.

If anything, it’s raining just that little bit harder as I roll up to Clevedon Court but the greeting is warm and I’m soon furnished with hot soup and coffee - just what I need to fortify me against this diabolical weather. I can’t stay long, so say my goodbyes and the warm, cosy indoors soon becomes a distant memory as I head into the grimness once again.

I continue north through Portishead, then on a cycle lane over the M5 road bridge. After some windy lanes it’s on to the M48 cycle lane over the Severn estuary. Flirting briefly with Wales, I turn away north to the village of St Briavels.

The ‘castle’ hostel at St Briavels was built in 1209 as a fortified hunting lodge for King John (known as the Gaffer – or possibly not?) and is now a hostel by night and an English Heritage site by day. St Briavles is quite probably the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in and the evening meal of beef crumble, cooked by the hostel warden-ess, is definitely the best meal of the trip so far.

Tomorrow it's east to Leamington and it's sure to be long & tiring day.