From Swindon, the second stage first rides west through Wiltshire: Royal Wootton Bassett, small roads, hedges, open fields and repeated short ramps. Past the villages north of Chippenham, the day starts to feel longer than the map suggests. The route works towards the edge of Bristol without entering the city, then reaches the old Severn Bridge at Aust. That is the crossing into Wales. Chepstow comes straight after, on the Wye, with its castle and old bridge behind the road. The route does not stay low for long. It climbs through Devauden into the hills of Monmouthshire, then drops towards Usk. Before Abergavenny there is one last serious lift towards Blorenge and Blaenavon, followed by the descent through Llanfoist into town.
