The Harvester
One of seven pubs in Long Itchington, The Harvester Inn is a little off the beaten track. Not a very inspiring exterior but Trip Advisor gives it a better than average score with some good comments about the food. May be worth a visit in the future. Out past the largest village pond in Warwickshire, over the main road, and picked up Dave from his house. He had left his bike outside to indicate that he would be coming with us. Brave man as the refuse wagon was doing its rounds nearby!
Dunchurch Disaster
Left Long Itchington and went out through Broadwell and Grandborough to Dunchurch. It was quite a drag up from the south east on the A45. I did get left behind a bit and ahead I could see the group gathered at the side of the road. Andy had fallen off his bike! A bolt, holding the saddle onto the seat stem, had completely sheared off. Luckily, there was no traffic behind (only me) otherwise this could have been a lot more serious than a grazed leg. Help was at hand though with some gas men down a hole nearby. They managed to find a suitable bolt in the back of their van and we were on the road again.
Lord John Scott
Before leaving the village, snapped this statue of Lord John Scott. He was a 19th century landlord, Scottish MP, and a brother of the Duke of Buccleuch. He was very good to his tenants apparently, and in gratitude they had this statue erected in his honour.
At Christmas, it has been the tradition in the village to secretly dress the statue up as a cartoon or TV character. This has been going on for the last 30 years. More recently he was dressed up as an Olympian last year, and as the Queen during her diamond jubilee weekend celebration. Only in Britain!
Draycote Water
Left Dunchurch and headed to Draycote Water for lunch. Built during the 60s and opened in 1969 Draycote Water is by far the largest expanse of water in Warwickshire. It supplies drinking water to Rugby. For a time the embankment holding the water back was the second largest dam in the world, only the Aswan Dam was larger. It is good for birdwatching, fishing, boating and is popular with cyclists and walkers. A new visitor centre has just opened which is where we were heading. Nearby is a herd of Alpacas, making for unusual residents of Warwickshire.
The cafe in the visitor centre did not disappoint either.
A really good spin out today, just over 31 miles. One of the highlights of the ride was on the Broadwell to Grandborough road. Some farmer was ploughing and we spotted 4 birds of prey circling over the turned earth. Two red kites and two buzzards, all vying for any food that may be uncovered. Well worth the few minutes we stopped to admire them.
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