So it's all done and dusted. I'm home and I've washed all my clothes, cleaned all my camping gear and put it all away ready for next time. Well, put most of it away ;)

So a total of about 840 miles cycled and about 5 on ferries. I gave myself two weeks which worked out pretty well. To be honest, I think it might have been more enjoyable to take a little longer for this sort of distance, just so I could stop more often and maybe do some other stuff. It would have been nice to stop at one of the many beaches I passed and gone for a swim for example. So maybe next time I'll do a tour that's a bit more relaxed. I had to smash out the miles everyday on this one or I'd never have made it round in the time I allowed.

When I've been down to the south west before I've got the train home. This does mean that more time is spent down there, but you don't get the satisfaction of riding all the way there and back again.

Anyway, here is a summary of my ride courtesy of Veloviewer

One thing I was concerned about was touring during the school holidays. Campsites can get very full. I didn't have a problem at all with this, but I do prefer to go away in June when it's a bit quieter. But it's a good job I didn't this year as the weather was dreadful in June! Well, the early part at least.

So for next year? Who knows. Maybe another trip to mainland Europe. Perhaps somewhere I haven't been before. I've always fancied Norway, but I'm not sure of the best way to get there now that there is no ferry service from the UK.

It has also come to my attention that much of my kit - panniers etc are getting very old and tatty, so some new ones may well be in order. Or maybe not - they still seem waterproof, so I could just keep using them until they fall apart completely! My bike is as trusty as ever even though it is nearly 15 years old and is on its second circumnavigation of the Earth distance wise. To be fair - other than the frame and fork, there's not much left that's original.

So... we shall see...