Oh the People You'll Meet! Meg in High Bickington, England

In 2017 we hosted a couple from England through the Warmshowers website. Meg and Peter met each other in Canada through WorkAway. Peter was planning on cycling from Canada Mexico. They became a couple during their volunteer time together, and Meg decided to join Peter on his cycling adventure. She bought a bicycle, panniers and gear, and they were off. She was very fit, but hadn’t done an extended trip like this before. They only stayed with us for one night, but we spent a long time talking, learning about them and sharing some of our adventures. Bliss and Meg really connected when Bliss told her about collecting licence plates and gave her a pair of cycling shorts. Before they left we got their contact info and decided that if we ever went to England we would stay with them. 

In 2023, we cycled Lands End, England to John O’ Groats, Scotland. Bliss was hoping that we could stay with Meg, but with the route we wanted to take it didn’t seem feasible. On our first full day of riding we stayed at a campground outside of Camborne. That is when we discovered that Bliss had a severe infection. That whole story will have to be revealed in another post. For now, let’s just say that it required an alteration of our plans. We took a taxi with all our gear to Bodmin where we already had reservations for a hotel. Bliss was in no condition to ride, so we stayed an extra night in the hotel and texted with Meg to see if we might stay there a couple of days as Bliss recuperated. 

Another fairly long taxi ride later we arrived in the little village of High Bickington. Meg came out to greet us, the reunion was like meeting up with a dear friend. She lived in a cute little 2 story cottage, and had a big yard and garden. We had a bedroom and bathroom to ourselves upstairs, it was a great place to relax and for Bliss to get better. We felt like we were visiting with family (the kind you get along with), we truly made ourselves at home. Before dinner the first night Meg said she was going to “nip out for a couple of bits and bobs”. We must have stared blankly at her until she explained she was making a quick trip to the store to pick up some things. We found out that Meg and Peter were no longer together because he wanted to continue grand adventures, and she was ready to settle down and start a family. She was living with Steve, who was in the states touring with his punk rock band. 

As Bliss started to feel better, we gradually started getting her a little activity. We walked through the quaint little town admiring the old stone houses, some with thatched roofs. We walked by the old church where people were singing hymns out of tune. Later we took a little bike ride with Meg to her dad’s house to celebrate his birthday. Her whole family was there, and they all acted like we were part of the group. Meg’s brother even got Bliss a license plate from the car dealer where he works.  Meg's mother's maiden name is the same as Bliss' (Campbell) so they figured there really are family. A great dinner and dessert, and a very fun afternoon. It is amazing how strong of a connection can be made in a very short time when you have common interests and when you are sharing what you have with each other. We have found this many times with people we’ve hosted and been hosted by. A young French family that we hosted (our first guests) later took in our daughter as she was touring Europe. 

We are very grateful for all of the Warmshowers experiences we had, and the great people that share this cycling adventure with us. Last year Bliss got a notification that Meg had a baby girl, we are so happy for her!!