We started our travels this time by taking our tandem  down South from Chester on the roofrack of our car.

Our friends Mac and Val live in Dean, not far from Salisbury and they kindly let us leave our car with them whilst we were away.

Travelling the lanes towards Southampton was lovely and it also provided a useful re-introduction to the experience of pedalling with a full load. Our other friends, Charles and Ute, who we haven’t seen for a few years, live in Southampton and they kindly hosted us for a stopover.

It was nice to catch up on all our news and it meant we were nicely rested before pedalling to Portsmouth to catch our ferry to Bilbao.

Our route took us down various Hampshire lanes looking lovely in the early Spring. We were able to follow various quiet roads and a surprising number of cyclepaths to reach Gosport and the Gosport Ferry – this route provided a much nicer way to reach the International Ferry Port in Portsmouth.

Here we are with our tandem  on the ferry over to Portsmouth. Reputedly this is one of the shortest yet most expensive ferry services in the UK.  £9.50 for two return tickets for a crossing of around 800 yards.

The iconic Spinnaker feature provides the landmark entry to Portsmouth harbour which is adjacent to the historic Naval Dockyard.

A short ride down the waterfront took us to the International Ferryport terminal and our waiting ferry to Spain.

Miles travelled: approx. 41 miles

Total ascent: approx. 1,550ft