Welcome to England

A lovely afternoon - we almost didn't go, glad we did.

We parked up at an industrial estate. Behind us was a beekeeper who had just finished his beekeeping tasks. He shoed away a bee - explaining that he had a lot of honey in his car, if it went back and told its mates there would be a thousand bees around the car. They don't like the smell of people either.

We unfolded our bikes and set off quickly.

The route took us through the Burton Marshes Greenway and the Wirral Way (Britain's oldest country park apparently, it opened in 1968) to Parkgate. There we passed clichéd English scenes - cricket (and an associated beer and gin fest) and ice creams for all on the quayside (see extras). Difficult to imagine now that Parkgate was once the outport for Chester (until the Dee silted up), and the place Handel travelled to from Dublin after the premier of the Messiah.

Our start and finish point was in Wales (just). Thus the sign on the blip. The first time I think I've biked across a national boundary. The trees are Burton Point, and below them is marshland.  To the left, strictly off limits, is an MoD firing range. The cycle route here has only recently opened, and is carried on a boardwalk above the vegetation. It's a lovely off road route.