Day 4

I had slept well during the night and my legs felt strong.

Note to self-30 miles good ,60+ miles bad.

The previous day had been really enjoyable but now faced several harder days.I was also a bit worried about the weather,light rain and win from south west.Deliberately, I set of early as I knew it was about 70 miles to my destination.

It rained for about 1 hour but I wasn’t to wet in my water proof and “rainleg” breeches.There were no hills in this part of the world.The wind wasn’t to strong and started as a cross wind but then shifted to a cross tail wind.The change in direction had a profound effect.In the wide open fens I positively flew along.There were no hedges or trees to shelter from the wind , few road junctions and little traffic until I got near Boston.I was able to cruise along in a big gear.

I stopped for breakfast at a greasy spoon cafe on the main road near Wisbech .I deliberately didn’t eat to much as a full english breakfast and hunching over the handlebars is not a good combination.When I started off again the wind was even more favourable or maybe I was heading more north. Progress was good.Every once in awhile I would be passed by an enormous lorry ,carrying mostly vegetables as far as I could tell.The traffic was light and the road dead straight so the lorries didn’t have to slow down they just whooshed past giving me a wide birth.I managed not to get lost and by 2 0’clock arrived at my first stop.

The Bubble Car Museum is not on the beaten track.It is on a minor road a t a place called Langric a few miles out of Boston.Strangely, Langric also boasts a steam railway but very little in the way of houses. When I arrived I was delighted to find I wasn’t the only person there and the cafe was open.After a bowl of soup and a pot of tea I wandered round the museum.

Bubble cars were in vogue after WW2 because they had tiny motorbike engines and were cheap.Traffic was much slower then so having a top speed of 40 mph was not a problem.They were the sort of poor mans people car.If you couldn’t afford a VW beetle or a Citroen 2 CV,a Morris Minor or Fiat 500 then you had a bubble car.They consist of a motor bike engine and a tiny cab.They can carry 2 people and a friend. Sometimes the door is on the front some, have 3 wheels some have 4.They were particularly popular in rural areas and adapted to be small lorries to take things to market.You can still see them in small Italian towns where the roads are so narrow you can’t get a proper car down them.

Of all the cars there my favorite was the french Solyto 3 wheel van complete with canvas roof,onions and genuine city of Agen parking disk.

I went round the museum ,had another cup of tea ,then went round again.

They even had a mini-shop where I bought a fridge magnet.

Back outside I admired an East German Trebant and one of those marvellous old French corrugated Citroen vans.It occurred to me that the bubble cars were not dissimilar to the gun turrets int he planes I had seen yesterday. Messerschmidt made fighters and bubble cars .

I only had 15 miles to go now and bowled along quite happily.I toyed with the idea of visiting the RAF museum at RAF Coningsby ,which I had to pass, but the afternoon was turning grey.The big sky and open fields had transformed into a grey murk where the horizon was the same colour as the sky.The same landscape was completely transformed from the glory of the day before.

Suddenly there was a huge roaring noise on the road.It was so loud I pulled over and stared around.I wandered what on earth the noise could be, then two Tornado aircraft zipped overhead as they took off and the noise faded to a distant thunder as they disappeared.

I reached Horncastle, my destination, at about 4 pm. Horncastle had the feel of somewhere that had not changed in decades.It had some lovely old shops including a traditional butchers where I bought a large rabbit pie .I checked into my hotel, which was an old coaching inn complete with stables out the back for Eduardo.

I had a shower then sat on my bed an ate my rabbit pie.The butcher had warmed it up for me and it was delicious.I think I dozed for a couple of hours after that.

Place name of the day-Moulton Seas End , near Holbeach by strangely not near the sea.

Food of the day- Rabbit.

Sight of the day-the three wheel Solvyo van from Agen.