Fieldwork cycle tour highlights: weeks 1-4

Disclaimer 1: this is a personal blog post and does not reflect my academic writing.

Disclaimer 2: this was written a month ago, I just never got around to publishing it! I’m now 2000 kilometres into my ride and have visited 25 farms!

It's been four weeks since I set off from Land's End in Cornwall on my PhD fieldwork, the Farming Futures Cycle Tour. Since then, I've cycled over 1000 kilometres up through the south west and into London. It's hard to believe I've already been doing my fieldwork for a month and there's still two months to go!

Stats (as of Day 28):

• Days on the bike: 21 days

• Distance: 1,065 kilometres (662 miles)

• Elevation gain: 11,630 metres (38,150 feet)

• Longest day: 118.5 kilometres (73.6 miles)

• Interviews: 15

• Farms visited: 12

• Nights camped: 6

• Counties passed through: 6 (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Berkshire, London)

• National parks passed through: 3 (Dartmoor, New Forest, South Downs)

• NCN routes: 3, 32, 305, 323, 27, 2, 236, 23, 4

• Ferry crossings: 1

• Cycling companions: 5 (Brett, Becca, Elva, Heather, my dad)

Some highlights...

The other day, someone asked me what the highlights of my trip were so far and I honestly couldn't think of any. I knew I was having a good time, but my mind was blank when I tried to pick out the highlights. Speaking with my mum and writing this blog post have helped me reflect on the trip so far. And I'm glad to report, there are, in fact, many highlights! So, in no particular order... here are some highlights from the first month of my fieldwork adventure!

Cycling through the farmed landscapes of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, and Berkshire

Cycling with a fully loaded bike forces you to take things slowly – especially on the hills, where I’m often climbing at barely faster than a walking pace! This slow way of travelling gives me time to reflect on the farmed landscapes I’m travelling through, and to think about how they may be shaped and changed into the future. Cycling through Cornwall and Devon, I was mostly passing hills covered in pasture, with sheep and cattle grazing in the lush green fields. Moving into the eastern part of Dorset and further into Hampshire, the landscape flattened out as I rode past large arable fields.

These photos are from the second cycling leg of my trip, from Exeter to London, passing through Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, and Berkshire.

Experiencing the landscapes

Cycling engages the senses in ways that are impossible when travelling by car. I feel the cold rain on my arms as it soaks through my jacket, I feel the gradient in my legs as the land rolls below my tyres. I smell the wild garlic growing by the side of the road, the wisteria climbing up the walls of charming cottages, and, sometimes, the livestock grazing nearby. I hear the blackbirds singing in the trees above me, the bee that flies just inches from my face. I also get to experience the landscape at many different scales – from watching pollinators as they dance between flowers, to admiring the vast open views and stormy skies above.

Visiting farms and meeting women in farming communities

I've visited 12 farms so far and have met some wonderful women. It's been so interesting getting to visit various different farms and I've enjoyed seeing and learning about a range of different farming types, including: arable, dairy, beef and sheep, upland farming, vegetable growing, mushroom growing, and contract calf rearing.

Spending time outdoors during spring

Spring is my favourite season. I love the flowers and the vibrant green of new growth. I love the first outdoor ice cream of the year and the first day warm enough to brave a summer dress with no tights. After the grey of winter, spring is so full of life. And what a joy it’s been to spend so much time outdoors, to witness the season as it has shifted - from bare trees above me to canopies full of every shade of green. Yes, the weather has been challenging at times, but for the most part, I’ve been very lucky to have had good (dry) weather.

Watching sunset near Widemouth Bay

The evening after my first interview, I walked out to the South West Coast Path to watch the sun set over the sea. A quiet, peaceful moment.

Camping underneath flowering cider apple trees

The most unique campsite I've stayed at so far was the campsite at the Dorset Nectar orchard! I pitched up underneath the blossoming apple trees and cooked my dinner while sipping on a cider produced on site. The weather was great, which meant I could sleep without the rainfly over my tent. I was awoken to the dawn chorus and soft light illuminating the apple blossoms above me.

Visiting the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading

Ever since I started following the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) on Twitter many years ago, I’ve wanted to visit. My cycle tour seemed like the perfect opportunity, so on my way to London, I scheduled two nights in Reading so I could finally visit the museum. My mum met me in Reading for the day and we met with the museum curator, Ollie, who was very generous with his time and even gave us a private tour of the museum galleries! I’d been warned that it’s a small museum, so I think I went into the visit not expecting much, so I was very pleasantly surprised at the impressive collection housed in such a small museum!

Cycling 118 kilometres from Reading to London – with friends!

I knew I wanted to do the ride from Reading to London in a day, as I didn't want to have to find somewhere to camp between the two cities. The route I'd plotted on Komoot, following the National Cycle Network, was over 100 kilometres, so I knew in advance that it was going to be a long day. But I did the whole ride with other people! Elva joined me for the first stretch, from Reading to Maidenhead, where Heather met me for the next stretch. We passed Windsor Castle and rode along the Thames Path. In Surbiton, we met up with my parents and my dad joined me for the last 35 kilometres to my parent's flat in London! After cycling by myself for days, it was lovely to be accompanied on this challenging day. And at 118 kilometres, this is the longest ride I've ever done!

Cycling into London at golden hour

Just as my dad and I were cycling into London, the clouds cleared and the sun cast a warm glow on the city. It was the perfect welcome to the capital city

Attending the National Women in Agriculture Awards Ceremony

What an amazing experience it was to attend the National Women in Agriculture Awards! Obviously, I wasn’t carrying an outfit suitable for a black-tie event in my pannier bags, so I borrowed a full outfit from my mum (the jewellery and my purse were all made of upcycled bicycle inner tubes!) It was an inspiring night hearing about the incredible women who make up British agriculture - and I was excited to meet some women who I've been following online but have never had the chance to meet in person!

Meeting Lael and Rue at the 'Lael Rides Around the World' screening and joining the group ride

I'm so lucky the timing worked out for me to go to the Rapha HQ for the 'Lael Rides Around the World' film screening! The documentary of Lael’s record-breaking cycle ride is now available to watch on YouTube. At the end, I felt slightly starstruck as I got a book signed by Lael and Rue and gave them stickers from my project. The following morning, I rode out to Regent’s Park for my first ever group ride, with Lael!

Seeing friends along the way!

I've really enjoyed getting to catch up with friends in Exeter and Bournemouth, and am looking forward to seeing more friends in Norwich, soon!

Some other highlights

• The kindness of friends and strangers who have offered support at various points along the journey

• Spotting a curlew (a rare ground-nesting bird) in the New Forest

• Being awoken by the dawn chorus each morning I’ve camped (and, thankfully, being able to fall back asleep!)

• Quick dips in the sea at Seaton and Bournemouth

• Meeting lots of friendly farm dogs

• Sunday roasts and long walks with my parents in London

There's been some challenges, too...

While it's fun reflecting on the highlights of the trip so far, it's also worth sharing some of the lowlights, to highlight the challenges of doing solo fieldwork by bike.

• Even though I thought about it multiple times, I didn't check whether the Hythe-Southampton ferry would be running. It wasn't until I arrived at the ferry terminal that I learnt the ferry hadn't been running for 8 months! Oops. My day was about to get a lot longer...

• I found cycling through Southampton incredibly stressful. It was impossible to follow the National Cycle Network using the signs, so I had to keep stopping to check the OS map to see where I was meant to be going (my route on Komoot was taking me a completely different way). Cycling solo through cities is also a challenge, because you can't just stop somewhere to use the bathroom! The heat and the stress of cycling next to busy roads was really wearing me down and I was growing increasingly frustrated with infrastructure that prioritises cars and places cyclists in dangerous situations.

• Although it has mostly been great, the weather has been a challenge at certain points. In my first cycling week, it was the rain and the wind, in my second cycling week, it was the heat. But it's made me even more impressed with our farmers and farm workers who are outside every day – whether they're checking on livestock or planting and harvesting crops.

• I've never done an ethnography before and I have found it challenging to know how to balance taking notes and photos and videos for my research, and just enjoying being on the bike. I end up feeling guilty if I haven't captured everything, but I also know that capturing everything is impossible. I'm guessing this is something a lot of PhD students experience?

• Travelling without a laptop has been a challenge, especially for coordinating with potential participants and keeping up with emails! I'm grateful to have had access to my (or another) computer at a handful of points along the trip.

I'm just one third of the way through my fieldwork trip, and I'm guessing the next two thirds are going to be more challenging as I get further away from family and places of familiarity. But I’m looking forward to the adventure and to the people I’ll meet along the way!

Do follow along on Instagram and Facebook! And if you’re able to, any donations towards my fundraising page would be very warmly appreciated!