Here is Bradley’s account of the trip…
Well, we’ve been back for a couple of weeks now, so I have had time to rest and recuperate and reflect on our Top Down trip. Most of the memorable moments of the trip are either good roads, or bad weather. I guess we had no control over the weather, but everyone helped us to get the best out of the trip with the planning of the routes. Zoe did a great job of summarising our activities, but my abridged version would be something like this:
Day 1
The good: sunshine (pretty much) all the way
The bad: a lot of motorway miles
The ugly: the traffic around Gateshead
Day 2
The good: curry in front of the open fire at the end of the day
The bad: a lot of miles in the rain
The ugly: riding through thick fog and rain
Day 3
The good: riding through Glen Coe
The bad: rain just as we were coming into Falkirk (after a dry day)
The ugly: not being able to find our Travelodge
Day 4
The good: the great roads in the Lake District
The bad: realising I still had £80 in Scottish notes
The ugly: traffic around Carlisle
Day 5
The good: the view over Home Firth
The bad: the twisty road to get up the top of the hill overlooking Holme Firth
The ugly: sheep jumping out in front of the bikes
Day 6
The good: Taking in a bit of history around Uffington and Amesbury
The bad: missing out on Cheddar Gorge due to the horrible weather
The ugly: heavy rain for the last hour AGAIN!
Day 7
The good: making it to Land’s End (in the sunshine!)
The bad: 1:4 hills on tight bends
The ugly: some of the worst weather I have ever ridden in
Day 8
The good: the wilderness of Dartmoor
The bad: cattle grids
The ugly: Graham’s bike deciding to stop on a busy dual carriageway
Day 9
The good: only 80 miles to go 
The bad: only 80 miles to go 
The ugly: Traffic on the M4/M25
All in all, it was a great trip. It was very fulfilling personally, and it was amazing to see so much money rolling in while we were on the road. Thank you everyone!
My personal highlights included riding through Glen Coe and the Lake District – good roads and fantastic scenery; the views on the east coast of Scotland, from Broadway Tower and above Holme Firth; meeting Liz at Glastonbury – we first met at the festival a year ago; making it through treacherous weather conditions – thick fog, driving rain and winds that threatened to blow us over the edge of bridges; everyone making it in one piece; helping to raise nearly £2,000.
Bradley and Liz at Land's End
Bradley in the Dales
