Day 59 – Portsmouth to Chichester

 

 Date: Thursday 30^th December 2010   Distance: Miles 36.03

 

We drove to Havant arriving about half past midday at the station car park. It was £5 to park all day. It had taken just 4 hours to drive from Altrincham and we would see if Bob has got over his Christmas bug

After assembling the bike we were off just before 1pm, miffed that the station toilets if there were any, were beyond the ticket barriers We were pleased to see it had a well lit, large under cover bike- park.

 Havant boasted some lovely old pubs and a beautiful church. We were impressed with the 2 flyovers for bikes and wheel chairs that enabled us to miss the busy roundabout.

There was a busy road over a bridge to Hayling Island with a short stretch of cycle-way on the path but we still managed to annoy a car driver. Why do they drive so aggressively down south

Today was flat, flat, flat. Luckily the snow had gone and the temperature now in positive numbers of 5 and 6 degrees. We soon found the coastal path with views of Southampton and Portsmouth and wonderful displays of bird life. Expected Hayling Island to be a nothing sort of place but really enjoyed this ride.

We were soon at the other side of the Ferry where we finished last time and it looked much better today in the dry! There was nothing Portsmouth side but here there was a pub and coach park even a taxi

We managed to go down the west side  and partially up the east before looping back to the busy bridge taking us back to Havant. After doing 15 miles we were back where we started almost before we found the old main road to Chichester. It had a cycle-way beside it and this took us across busy junctions on the A259, via tunnels. The villages were picturesque. We passed many thatched cottages

We loved Chichester. The Premier Inn was in a convenient place for cheap dining (near a Wetherspoon) and also for the station. The staff kindly put the tandem in their storeroom and we took the train back to Havant for the car. The car park was very busy as there was a leisure complex opposite the Premier Inn but it was free.