I continue to be impressed with the cities and villages along the way. Shap is in the county of Westmorland has a population over 1300.  In this town you will find three pubs, a small supermarket, a fish and chip shop, an antique book shop, a primary school, a shoe shop, three Bed & Breakfasts, an anglican church.  I will be well set here.

I have completed 63% completed.  I have covered 684.1 miles and just under 400 miles to go.

After seeing several canals along the last couple of days and wanted to learn more.  Canals were used to ship goods and irrigate fields. Mostly they are used for recreational use now.  The majority of canals will handle boats of 55-72 feet in length. Some canals can handle very large ships.

I have noticed that many of  the last couple of weeks I have seen "shire"at the end of the county name.  This term began in the 10th century at the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon settlement.  The picture below shows the large number of "shire" areas.

theK6project.co.uk shows many photos of these phone boxes all over the country.  It sounds it is an adventure for this individual.  I wonder if a bike is part of the project. Like the US, the UK has many fewer than they used to.  You know everyone uses a cellphone now.

In 1866 John Penfold designed these boxes for coll ecting mail. They are hexagonal and made of cast iron. This picture of the box in my next town, Budby.  When I looked to find out more, it turns out that in was taken in the middle of the night in 2017.

This canal opened in 1777 to transport iron, coal, limestone and lead.  In 1961 is closed, but now is for leisure use following the passage of the Transportation Act of 1968.

This field is outside of Ettington.  These areas had manor which was the main residence of the land owner.  Ih the feudal system the land owner provided an area for the tenant, who would them pledge loyalty and service to the lord of the manor.  Hides were an English unit of land that was figured to be able to support a household, approximately 120 acres.  There are still about 3000 manor homes still in England.

During these days I had some days in the 50s and some down into the 20s! I covered 114 miles.

Reading the website about the Black Bear Inn, shown above, reminded me of the tragedy of the Corona Virus on the economy.  The UK is under restrictions too.  The Inn ownership sadly reported that they were "closed until this gets sorted out and they can open properly."  Doing a virtual tour sounds best for now until things are normal.  I feel sorry for all the people who are out of work because of businesses being closed.

I continue to move along the southern coast of the isle.  Part of this area is called the Jurassic Coast which covers 96 miles and I would guess based on the exposed rock formations.  These villages and towns are so enjoyable to see.  The vistas of the channel and the farmland cause you to stop and enjoy the scene.

In Michigan today it is around 32 degrees with a slight wind.  In this area of England today the temperature is 50 degrees with a SW wind of 22 mph.  Biking into such a strong wind would not be pleasant.  My direction is west to east so this wind would carry me along.

This city is on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the Wey River and the English Channel. The economy relates to the sea and vacation attractions.

We do the same sort of attractions in the US.  If we build something unique then you will attract people.