Our first ever tour to the Cotswolds started with Gavin taking Ash, Callum F, Jack and Michael to Exeter St Davids station for around 7.35. John rang as we neared the station to say their satnav had got them lost somewhere on the other side of Exeter. Gavin talked them through the directions while the rest of us got our bikes to the platform, and they finally arrived around 7.45.

Our 8.00 train to Bristol left on time and we amused ourselves during the journey with card games – Cheat and Whist. At Bristol we had nearly an hour before our next train to Birmingham, so we settled into the enormous station café for excellent hot drinks and pastries on comfortable seating. We hadn’t been able to get our bikes on the train, so Gail was kindly taking them all to Redditch for us on a trailer. She rang while we were in the café to say she was running ahead of schedule so she would stop for a coffee break at Bristol.

Our second train left for Birmingham on time at 10.30. This time we were in a quiet carriage with no tables, so we weren’t able to do much. Changing trains again at Birmingham, the third train of the day also left on time at 12.15, and we managed to eat lunch on this shorter journey. Gail arrived at Redditch before we did, found it deserted and rang to make sure she was at the right place. We pulled in at around 12.50 and she was happy to inform us that the bikes had travelled up without mishap.

When we had unloaded the bikes, changed into cycling gear and used the facilities we set off at around 1.10, saying goodbye to Gail and thanking her for her trouble. Weather was cloudy but dry as Michael’s Satnav worked perfectly to get us to the start of the Arrow Valley Park cycle path. We were following National Cycle Route 5 all the way to Stratford-Upon-Avon, and it turned out to be well signposted. The route through Arrow Valley provided some excellent, quiet and scenic off-road cycling – even John and Will liked it - and we found our way through without any difficulty.

The cycle path continued along the side of Washford Drive, then turned left to go past the Alexandra Hospital. The route continued to provide us with superb, quiet cycling, and we made incredible progress as it was all pretty-much flat. We took a look at Coughton Court as we went past, famous for being the home of Robert Catesby who organised the Gunpowder Plot, then followed the route through more pleasant country lanes. We stopped by a verge at Wood Lane, Walcote, for a chocolate break, thinking we had several more miles before we reached Wilmcote, but Michael’s satnav had been giving distances to Stratford, and when this had been corrected we found we were actually just a mile from Wilmcote. So it really was an easy ride today.

The main attraction at Wilmcote was Mary Arden’s Farm, once owned and run by Shakespeare’s mother. We chose not to pay for entry even though they offered us a discount, but were allowed to visit the cafe. Because the tables were outside we got a good, free view of all that was going on, including the rare breeds in the farmyard, and of course we could photograph the impressive Tudor house from the road, making this a really enjoyable and cheap.

Next, we joined the Stratford-Upon-Avon Canal path, which started just around the corner from the farm. Michael gave everyone a rundown on the canal and its locks – it runs 25.5 miles from Birmingham to Stratford-Upon-Avon, with 54 locks in total, and there is a series of 11 locks from Wilmcote to Stratford, known as the Wilmcote Lock Flight, that we were going to see. Once we started riding it turned out to be an excellent route, downhill all the way to Stratford. We saw several barges spending hours trying to get through the series of locks, and even videoed some of them. We were surprised at how quickly the water level rose in each lock, no doubt because the locks are only just wide enough for the barges. Once the water level has been changed and the pressure had equalised on both sides of the gates, the lock gates could easily be opened by hand. The barge owners reckon on fifteen minutes or so per lock if they are on a roll. It was very educational, and great cycling rolled into the bargain as well!

The cycle path left the canal at Timothy’s Bridge and took us right to the centre of Stratford-Upon-Avon. Here there were many old Tudor houses with their attractive black and white frontages, and now at last there was also a little sunshine to brighten the day. The forecast was for rain tomorrow so we planned to see as many of the places of interest as we could today in the time we had.

First we went to Broad Street to see Shakespeare’s birthplace and looked in the nearby shop. We bought food from the Subway and ate it inside - a great idea from John. Next we went down to Sainsburys to get a few provisions, then rode all around the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in its delightful setting by the River Avon, offering plenty of opportunity for good photos and videos. The theatre was closed of course, but would be open tomorrow morning when we would be looking for any excuse to avoid cycling in the rain!

The route to the hostel was over a quiet bridge and along a flat road where there every detached house looked very expensive. We arrived at Stratford-Upon-Avon Youth Hostel at around 6.30 and once the youngsters saw how large and impressive the building was and how extensive the grounds were, a massive game of Manhunt was uppermost in their minds. So for once we postponed showers, and once we had made beds up and finished our food we headed out to the grounds as darkness was falling.

The game didn’t work too well at first, as the grounds were very large, there were many varied places to hide and it was dark! Will volunteered to be “on” first. Well, we all hid, but some didn’t seem to be taking it too seriously as Michael heard them all talking from the other corner of the gardens quite loudly. Will couldn’t catch them easily though, and when he finally managed to touch them they refused to accept it as a catch because he didn’t hold them for three seconds! After twenty minutes or more he had still caught nobody: Ash was still well hidded, so was John, and the rest thought it was all very amusing. So Michael came out of his hiding place and adopted the role of referee to make it fairer. But it still wasn’t working - Jack had been caught but refused to accept it as he was “stuck up a tree!” Michael decided to cancel that game, got everyone out and started again. John, it seems, had been told off by a warden for hiding in a bin!

For the second game, Michael had to agree to be “on”. He first went to the place he had decided was the best place to hide, and found Ash there, so then with two of them working together they soon caught most of the others. They had some difficult finding John and Will though. Ash did look down the dark steps by the hostel where they were hiding but didn’t go down there as it was pitch black. Michael called to them to come out of wherever they were in that area as they couldn’t be found and we were out of time, but still they didn’t come out – they said later it was because they didn’t hear us. They finally came out when the game ended at 9.30.

We played some Atomic Bomberman on the laptop after showers, then managed to get lights out by 10.45. Callum O’B snored a bit, everyone else not so much, but we all slept OK.

We woke at 7.45 to find very light, patchy rain outside, but the forecast was for it to be heavier by afternoon. We got up at 8, had breakfast and were ready to leave by 9.30.

We rode the short distance back to the RSC Theatre and were pleased to find it open as promised. Michael quickly made arrangements for a theatre tour, then we went up in the lift, were shown to the upper level of seating and were told many things about the theatre. It really was very interesting, and several of the youngsters asked some intelligent questions. We then bought tickets to the Observation Tower, went up in a lift and got some good views to the surrounding area and the river – the wind was howling through the semi-closed windows, making it quite an eerie experience. Leaving the tower we found that the rooftop restaurant was now open, so we had coffees and cakes there to conclude our visit.

We had a fair distance to ride today so we should probably have set off at this point despite the inclement weather, but John and Jack were both interested to see the MAD museum, so we decided to go and take a look. We could see the lower level of the museum from the reception desk, and this was enough to persuade most of us to give it a miss. John and Will paid £6 each to go in and said, whilst it was interesting, it was nowhere near worth the £6 entry charge. The rest of us went shopping for towels, for Will I think, which we eventually found in BHS for £4 each.

Now we were late leaving Stratford, but at least we had enjoyed the morning. We followed the cycle route past the theatre and quickly joined the Greenway cycle path, which was a little wet and muddy in places but not too bad. There were two or three cafes in some old rail carriages but we now had no time to enjoy them. Instead we stopped for a quick lunch two thirds of the way along the path on a convenient seat near Long Marston at 1.30. We had ridden just 8 miles with 25 miles to go.

Suitably refreshed we set off again for a period of non-stop cycling. The cycle route we were following took us through Ilmington, where Ash found a nice cat, Michael found some geese and Callum O’Brien found a mannequin to talk to over a garden wall. We crossed the main road to Shipston-On-Stour, a busy village with interesting shops that would have been great for a visit, but once again we didn’t have time to stop, which was annoying.

We had planned not to take a break until Moreton-in-Marsh, but the rain began to get heavier now and Jack was evidently not feeling too well as he was riding slower by the hour. As a result it took us twice as long as usual to cover the planned distances and it was after 5.15 when we finally reached Moreton-in-Marsh. It was now raining quite heavily and we were all soaked, so after taking a look in the Bell Inn, used as inspiration by Tolkien for The Prancing Pony Inn in Lord of the Rings, we bundled into the Marshmallow Restaurant for welcome refreshments. Most had hot soup, which cheered us up no end.

After a visit to Budgens Supermarket for provisions we set off for the final leg of our journey, sticking with the slightly hillier lane route for the last few miles rather than the more direct main road which looked particularly uninviting in the rain. It was easy and flat for the first 2-3 miles, but then became hillier after Broadwell. Now Callum O’B was slowing down too, although he and Jack were chatting together and in good spirits. The final cycle route shortcut was not signposted and Michael hadn’t programmed that into his SatNav, so by the time we finally crawled into Stow-on-the-Wold Youth Hostel it was around 8pm. And it was still raining! There had, however, been some nice Cotswold scenery during the day, with attractive Cotswold stone being used for most of the houses we had seen.

Ash was not impressed when some “chavs” as he called them asked if they could ride his bike: Ash politely refused. We had some difficulty finding the bike shed, which was not in fact down the side alley but through the hostel. We had an 8-bed dorm tonight, but two of the bunks were drawn together in the middle of the room, so the four lads had to take those. There was only a single shower for all of us, but at least it was near our - some had meals first and others showered first. We ate our meals in the dining room which was quite pleasant.

There was a little time for Atomic Bomberman and some card games before bed, but Callum O’Brien had lost his wallet and spent his time searching everywhere for it. We got to sleep at around 10.45 with the room windows wide open.

Today’s forecast was much better – sunny with the chance of an odd shower in the middle part of the day. We were up at 7.45 as usual, had an early breakfast and were out on the bikes by 9.30 or so. We noticed a delightful-looking bakery and coffee shop on the other side of the town square - Huffkins Bakery & Coffee Lounge - which had the most delicious range of pasties and cakes on display. John and Michael really wanted to stop there for a coffee, but after yesterday’s events we couldn’t afford to risk another late departure. Callum O’B still couldn’t find his wallet this morning while he was packing, so he got in a bit of a strop and refused to do anything except lay on his bed. He maintained he had searched his panniers thoroughly but it just wasn’t there. In fact it was there, he just hadn’t looked properly, but we didn’t find that out until tomorrow morning!

We set off at around 9.45, determined to cover at least half the distance by lunchtime today. It really was a lovely sunny day. The route started with a downhill to Bledington, then continued with more easy riding to Shipton-Under-Wychwood. Michael included a small unnecessary climb by blindly following the SatNav past the left turn near Lyneham, but everyone enjoyed the resulting downhill.

The SatNav helped us easily find the right road out of Shipton, but then we had to stop briefly as Callum O’B was hungry and wanted to eat some of his hot pasty. Setting off again the younger members saw a sign saying 7 miles to Witney (where we were eventually going) and wanted to go that way, but Michael pointed out it was a long climb and uninteresting scenery compared to the Swinbrook route. Partway up the long, gradual climb of Swinbrook Road, Callum O’B slowed down and started walking, saying he was feeling sick after eating the pasty so quickly, but Michael went back to encourage him and he was fine by the time he reached the others at the top.

Next followed a delightfully green and scenic descent to Payne’s Farm where we found a very old farmhouse on a hillock in its own daffodil-covered grounds complete with lake. The sun was out and this was perfect cycling territory.

After riding through the hamlet of Swinbrook we came to Asthall where there was a bridge over the River Windrush and riverbank that looked perfect for lunch. It was the best lunch spot we would find all day and everyone wanted to stop there, but it was only 12.30 and Michael was still anxious about having lunch before covering half the distance. He offered a short stop but Ash said he only wanted a full lunch stop and several had already started climbing the next hill, so sadly we missed out on perfection and pressed onwards.

Callum O’B was pushing up the next hill and we kept stopping to check out possible lunch places. Twenty-five minutes and just two miles later we descended to Minster Lovell where we had no choice but to have lunch on a bank by the same river. It was nowhere near as nice as the last spot, and it was a little chilly now as clouds had arrived, but it was OK and pleasant enough.

We followed the planned cycle route to Crawley after lunch, not realising it had been re-routed to run along the B-road. The Crawly lane was a short but hilly detour and not even very attractive, so the B-road would have been a better choice, but it was so new that it wasn’t signposted yet and only marked on the latest OS maps. To make things worse, we didn’t follow the correct lane out of Crawley, bringing us back to the B4047 again just one mile from where we had lunch! Using the SatNav is relatively new for us, but things will improve as the technology improves and we get more experienced.

We had hoped to visit Witney Park, but we decided to give that a miss in view of the delays. In fact, more SatNav issues meant we missed out on seeing anything of Witney, which was a shame as it could have been an interesting stop. It seems that we’re not quite ready to abandon printed maps just yet! At least we were making good time now.

The lane to Stanton Harcourt was flat and easy in the sunshine, then the B-road to Eynsham was also a doddle – Michael was leading and Callum O’B was now right up there at the front of the pack, so evidently the lunch break had done him good. Some needed toilets now, which meant detouring into Eynsham itself. The facilities we found were quite luxurious, and by careful planning we all managed to go in for the payment of a single 10p charge! While we were in the town, Callum O’Brien, who had forgotten to bring his toothbrush, bought the most expensive toothbrush he could find, for £3!

It wasn’t far to Swinford Bridge, and from there we decided to take a gamble and join the Thames path to Oxford - it looked like an attractive off-road route but it wasn’t clear from the maps whether it was open to cyclists. With sunshine and blue skies we rode past Eynsham Lock and then continued along the banks of the Thames on a path that turned out to be a cyclist's delight – scenic and very quiet. Everyone was enjoying it, at least for the first half. We stopped at a wide grassy spot by the river for snacks and frisbee-rocket fun, then pressed on again towards Oxford where the path became a bit narrower in places.

When we reached Godstow Bridge, Michael gave everyone a choice of staying on the Thames path or taking the official cycle route, and the majority chose the latter even though it was longer and involved using roads. Michael’s SatNav had been temporarily put out of action by a rain shower, but we found Oxford Youth Hostel by following the signs without too much difficulty, located between a railway line and a major road – not the usual kind of hostel location we choose to visit.

The hostel was very nice inside, the reception area looking more like a top-quality café. Once again we had to wheel our bikes through the hostel to reach the bike shed. Callum O’Brien had a very comfortable three-bed room to himself that included a double bed – he had chosen to have a room to himself, and now everyone else was quite envious. Each room had its own shower, so we took it in turns.

After a short discussion we went for a walk to look at some of the many places of interest in Oxford. The plan was to maybe try our hand at punting, so we walked to Folly Bridge to check out one of the larger punt hire establishments. When we arrived at around 7pm there were plenty of punts lined up but the ticket office was closed, so our only opportunity for punting had been dashed. On the way back to the hostel we passed Christ Church college, also closed, but we would definitely return there tomorrow because of its strong links to Harry Potter.

Back at the hostel, some cooked their own food but Michael found the hostel restaurant and bought a meal there along with Callum O'Brien. Ash would have joined them but he didn’t get there early enough and made do with a burger that he got from Callum F. We finished our final evening of the tour with some fine games of Atomic Bomberman in the larger dorm, using Michael’s laptop of course.

Our room was quite hot, but when the windows were open the traffic outside made it quite noisy. Given a choice between too hot and too noisy, Ash decided he preferred too hot once the lights were out and closed the widows. So it wasn’t a great night.

We were up at 7.45 as usual on our final morning of the tour. It had been so hot last night with the window closed that Michael actually felt slightly sick as he got up – he was relieved to open the windows again at the earliest opportunity. It had still been noisy even with the window closed, both from the road outside and the nearby railway line, so the general feeling was that we should avoid staying here again in future. Michael had to wake Callum by knocking on his door, but by 8.10 he was up and we all went down for breakfast. The breakfast was fine, although Ash and Jack had to fetch chairs from the library before they could sit down.

While we were packing, Callum O’B found his wallet in his pannier! He maintained £20 was missing, as he only had £10 left in it, but we suspected he had actually overspent on the first day of the tour. After Callum O’B and Michael paid for their restaurant meals from last night we got away at about 9.30.

We rode past the New Theatre and on to Broad Street, which actually had very few shops and was something of a disappointment. Next stop was Radcliffe Square, where the Radcliffe Camera was used as a location in the film The Golden Compass – Michael didn’t recognise much of it, but we took photos and videos anyway.

We then went straight to our main attraction of the day, Christ Church College. Michael somehow managed to get us all in for £16, and then everyone was quite excited to be walking up the Hogwarts stone staircase. The Great Hall was a highlight of the visit for Callum O’B and several others. It will be interesting to compare the videos and photos from our visit with the relevant scenes from the movie. After walking through the Courtyard we looked around Christ Church Cathedral, the smallest in the UK, and the gift shop, where COB bought a real Harry Potter Horcrux to carry around his neck. We had to take the long route to get out, but it had been an excellent visit.

We got food from the nearby Tesco Express in St Aldate's, then headed on towards the access point for the cycle route at Grandpont Bridge. We found the path on the other side and followed what we thought was the right route, but the signs stopped so we doubled back and followed the Thames path, even though it was not marked as a cycle route at that point. The cycle route soon joined it however, and it turned out once again to be excellent for cycling and so much better than the roads. Donnington Bridge provided useful shelter from a nasty shower that started just as we arrived there, but then we continued in bright sunshine.

The cycle route left the Thames near Kennington, took us through the village of Radley, then brought us to the attractive Thames-side town of Abingdon. We stopped in Abingdon Meadows just before 1pm for lunch by the Thames, and bright sunshine and boating activity on the rriver made it a great lunch spot. Callum O’B seemed to be having some difficulty wearing his Horcrux!

Continuing along the cycle route through Sutton Courtenay we soon found ourselves right next to the huge towers of Didcot Power Station that we had been seeing in the distance ever since leaving Abingdon. We would have liked to look inside but it was protected by an impenetrable security fence so that idea was a non-starter.

We followed the path onwards through Southmead Industrial Estate and got to Didcot Parkway station at 2.35. We locked up the bikes and then used our final hour to look around the Didcot Railway Centre, which cost us £4 each. This proved to be really interesting, as we could go inside all the many steam locomotives on the site and get a real feel for what it might be like to drive them. There were Broad Gauge engines at the far end, and we got to see a signal box at close quarters.

We just managed to get back to the main station platform in time for John and Will to catch their 3.53 train to Reading, then the rest of us caught the 4.16 train. We arrived just in time to see John and Will board their train back to Devon, then we had refreshments at Reading station and bought more items to enjoy on the train. Our 5.32 train left on time, but I think everyone was tired as it was a very quiet journey home – COB slept for most of the journey (maybe the burden of carrying the Horcrux was just too much for him), and Ash played a Lord of the Rings campaign on the laptop. We arrived at Newton Abbot on time at 7.42pm as planned.

This had been a brand-new touring area for us with many interesting places to see and some great scenery and cycle routes. We could easily go again and see a whole new range of places. The one wet day was not great, but on the whole we had some great weather and a great adventure that we will never forget.