I set off from Porlock on the Sunday morning in pouring rain, but thankfully, although it remained dull and a little damp at times, the weather improved within 20 minutes or so. I pulled in at Stogumber station on the preserved West Somerset Railway, I was rather hoping the people there might be able to supply tea and cake. I was not to be disappointed as Stogumber station is the place to visit for Lydia's home made cakes. The cakes were I thought a little average but what I had was tasty enough along with a cuppa, the prices were cheap too and the staff very welcoming. A few minutes after I arrived this train pulled in, the engine is Western class diesel hydraulic. I had never seen one of these working before. It's a fine looking thing but a little quiet in operation and therefore not very exciting.
Stogumber station has a nice garden to sit in and while I ate my cake this little creature wandered about on my crash helmet. I don't recall seeing such an insect before, I have no idea what it is.
Eventually this train pulled in coming from the opposite direction the one previously photographed. This one is really special as the engine is the Tornado, only about 2 years old, and a replica of an old class of locomotive, the A1. All were scrapped in the 1960s so a bunch of enthusiasts decided to build a replica from scratch. Full details if you are interested here

http://www.a1steam.com/

I was also in the station master's good books as I was able to lend him a screwdriver to fix a notice on to a door in the building.

I spent a pleasant evening at a friend's house in Bristol and then rode home the next day, getting a couple of clues on the way. I was chased by a violent storm all the way, nearly getting very wet near Buxton. it was a memorable ride trying to get home without a soaking. However the storm decided to bear left and went to Manchester instead, allowing me to get home dry. Half an hour after I arrived home the heavens opened and a storm raged all night so I was lucky.

The MZ did really well, a fair bit of gearbox oil leaked out but it seems to be from the oil seal behind the final drive sprocket which is easily repaired. Not bad for a 40 year old bike, it covered over 1100 miles in 7 days.