April 17th – When I set out, I wasn’t feeling the love; the afternoon was grey and cold and I really couldn’t detect a good ride in me. I was heading for cake at Fradley in an attempt to lift my mood. It worked.

The day didn’t warm any, but it became sunny, and I found myself pulled along the cycleway through Barton and Dunstall, crossing Sinai Park to Burton.

Burton was gorgeous – I forgot the Ferrybridge and extraordinary River Gardens; this is a very beautiful place. 

Seeing the commercial deer herd at Dunstall was nice, and the oilseed rape and avenue at Sbobnall made me feel so much better.

Returning in the gathering dusk, I was heartened to see work had been going on at the long vacant Drakelow power station site and it’s now home to a 5MW solar power farm, feeding straight into the national grid.

A positive, beautiful ride I wasn’t expecting.