Have just resurfaced from my winter’s writing hovel. Since returning very wet from Land’s End last December, have spent past four-and-a-half months drying out and falling out of bed at 5.30 am to cycle 40-odd miles before returning to base to spend 10 – 12 hours a day writing about my coastal voyage around England and Wales. (Ooh, such a hard life!)

Am now dusting myself off, sparkling my spokes and tinkering with my bottom bracket in preparation for riding around the jagged edges of Ireland and Scotland.

News flash

Have been hit by sudden idea change. Am now putting Ireland and Scotland on back burner to next year. Instead, am setting off across Europe for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and maybe Russia (if they’ll have me).