1st September 2013 Team Marmite - To Wales and back.

What an excellent weekend. My 70th birthday today and the last 3 days have been spent going from one party to another! Hence the lack of cycling, until today. For some years now, whilst travelling up and down the M5, the bridges that cross the River Severn have been calling me.  When I was a runner, I had a thing about running over bridges and have run over the Golden Gate, The Humber Bridge, London Bridge in Lake Havasu, the bridge over the Niagara Falls, Tower Bridge, Westminster Bridge to name a few.  No longer a runner, the aim is to cycle over a few more. 

Team Marmite

Call in the troops then for this mission. This is me on the left, then James, my eldest daughter's partner, and Grandson Dean on the right. There is one missing, Mark who was on a plane to Egypt when we started out. Team Marmite started, as most of us like the stuff, and Mark decided to get himself a jersey.  We all followed suit because it seemed like a good idea at the time.  As a birthday event, we agreed to ride across the Severn Bridge. No big deal in cycling terms but another tick off my bucket list.

On the Bridge

The bridge itself is a motorway suspension bridge with a foot/cycle path on either side of the main carriageway. It crosses the River Severn between Aust on the English side, and Chepstow on the Welsh side. It is the original road crossing between the two countries and took 5 years to build at a cost of £8M. It was opened on the 8th September 1966 by Queen Elizabeth. Cars and lorries pay a toll whereas foot and cycle users travel free. Yay. It is a Grade I listed building.  We started at the service area at Aust, and after a short ride, gained access to the cyclepath on the Welshbound side.  This is James and Dean coming to find out why I had stopped.

 Looking out to sea

This is the Severn Estuary. In the distance, the second bridge can be seen carrying the M4 motorway from London into Wales.  This was deemed necessary and was opened in 1996. These bridges are considered to be two of the most important in Europe.  The River Severn is Britain's longest river and this estuary has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world, about 49 feet. Its funnel shape, the tidal range and the geology of the rock produce strong tidal streams and high turbidity giving the water a notably brown colour

Back home

It was about 2.7 miles from end to end and this is us just about finished. Never saw a 'Welcome to Wales' sign on the other side which was a shame.

Nearly there!

These last two taken by my wife Sue, aided by my daughter Jacqueline who kept an eye open for us. This is coming back on the opposite side. Fortunately, they found a good viewpoint. We are just visible in the second picture which gives a good, overall view, of the Severn Bridge.

What an excellent ride that was although only 6 miles. A pity that time was against  us as there is a lot to see on the Welsh side. This is definitely worth another visit in the future, hopefully with Team Marmite again.