The night was calm but the morning overcast. My sleeping mat had delaminated a couple of nights ago so last night I couldn’t inflate it very far, making for a hard bed. Although I had plenty of time before my train was due in Chichester I was packed up and on the road by 7am. Yesterday I could see the village of Wilderton across the fields so now it was nice to cycle through the village.

End of the ride.
Chichester Railway Station

The calm and almost windless morning made the cycling easy. Through the village of Funtington I reached the busy B2178 which was full of the usual commuter traffic for the morning rush. I didn’t have to endure it for many miles until I reached Chichester where the urban environment and speed restrictions slowed the traffic down to 30 mph. I cycled straight to the Railway Station to check that the 09:47am the train I was booked on was OK. Then I cycled back into town to check out the area round Chichester Cathedral. Next to the cathedral is a school and a stream of children emerged from a gateway and into the Cathedral. I returned to the Railway Station for my train which was only about 5 mins late. It is the only train that goes directly to Ashchurch for Tewkesbury.

Chichester Cathedral

Chichester Cathedral interior.
Chichester Cathedral was built to replace the cathedral founded in 681 by St. Wilfrid.
In 1187 a fire burnt out the cathedral and destroyed much of the town. Substantial rebuilding was done, including re-facing the nave and replacing the destroyed wooden ceiling with the present stone vault. The cathedral was reconsecrated in 1199.

Chichester Cathedral interior

Wide view of Chichester Railway Station

It took over 4 hours but was a pleasant ride. It was a Great Western train and the cycle storage area was too short to take a standard bike. I had to take all my panniers off and use my own system for tying the bike securely as there were no securing straps on the carriage wall. I cycled to Val’s to collect my car but I suspected my drive home would not be as easy as my drive down. I was right. I hadn’t been on the M5 motorway long before seeing warning signs of long delays on the M6. To avoid the worst of the delays I got off the motorway and drove through Wolverhampton to rejoin the motorway at junction 12 of the M6.