Day 4

Had a lovely ride through the Hampshire countryside (in the rain of course). Spotted a pair of unusual birds as I passed down country lane - bright red heads with orange plumage - about size of pigeons - any twitchers out there? Thought it might be a hoopoe ?
The saga of the missing screw continued - it came out again somewhere on the way which meant my rear pannier rack was loose on one side. Planned to try and get to Portsmouth in time to find a bike repair shop. But I stopped for a drink of milk at a little village store and noticed that the hardware shop next door did bike repairs. When I explained the problem and what I was doing, he very kindly sorted my bike out, gave me some spare nuts and bolts, and gave me some money and sent me on my way 😄
I'm writing this sat on the ferry on my way to st. Malo - only 700 miles more to go!