Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Sunday, 19 May

Old Windsor - Littlewick Green - Great Cockrow

Leader Dave
Kingston Bridge was the magnet that attracted a lucky thirteen for Dave’s jaunt into Bucks. The jabbering forecasters lied and the rain stayed away. Within minutes of our start, we were halted in our tracks by a duck, unconcernedly escorting her brood of ducklings across Hampton Court Road into Bushy Park. Our first planned stop was to admire and test the palatial ‘conveniences’ undreamt of by Henry VIII. Unburdened, we then sped off via Laleham and Staines for an unhurried refreshment stop at the Windsor Farm Shop. Then it was Windsor, Boveney, Bray and Datchet to skirt South of Maidenhead to our lunchtime target of Littlewick Green.

At the end of the line
Great Cockrow
At our chosen pub, the Cricketers, we were promptly subjected to some Aussie style sledging by an anxious landlady, who feared that our bikes would brutally bruise the petals of her mini-barrelled rhododendrons. Male backup soon appeared, though bikes remained chained in situ and petals blessedly unbruised. John Beer arrived for a lunch time reunion with Carolyn. Food and drink seemed to satisfy all who partook. On remounting we were soon crossing open fields on tranquil Bottle Lane, to which by unlikely coincidence Tony had introduced the Wayfarers the previous Wednesday, in the opposite direction on the way to Hurley. Then it was White Waltham to Ascot to our terminus with tea and cake at Great Cockrow miniature railway near Chertsey. Here we absorbed the last few rays of sunshine, before plotting our own ways home. Many thanks to Dave for leading a most enjoyable ride. Distance run for me was 78 miles.

Jeff

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