Once again I took an off-road route from Tolworth to Ashtead though not enjoying the refurbished clinker of Horton Park. By chance I headed through Leatherhead town centre and chatted briefly with Irene who was waiting for Christina. Fly-tipping (and a pony and trap) were sights not normally witnessed on the Mickleham bends cycle path. At Henfold numbers reached eventually double figures (Graham, Dave, Pete, Simon, Terry, Bob, Christina, Ed, Irene, Lillian) though only the first five would continue.
Basically there are two routes from Henfold to Warnham; we took the longer out and the shorter back.After discovering that monsters do lurk in the muddy waters of Henfold Lakes, Newdidate and Capel came and went. For "new" (post 1987) members, the bouncy bridleway beside the Elim Bible College (as was) took us over the railway and into Weare Lane with no traffic before Paynes Green. As forewarned Dave headed for Ellens Green whilst the rest continued past Rowhook and down to the A29. At the A281 junction a misunderstanding left Pete with a blooded elbow and me with (minor) mudguard damage. The Sussex Arms was reached early well before 1230. We dined alfresco regretting our decision when dark clouds rolled in but not for long. Later we were joined by Pete's daughter and her wire haired Dachshund.
It'll be no surprise that the return was via Warnham Stattion, the dump, etc. But our early running led to a hasty rethink on my part. In Rusper we turned right towards The (infamous) Mount then north by way of Orltons, Parkgate and Dawesgreen. Brockham church was reached minutes after three. Imagine my chagrin when we discovered cakes had been on sale since 1430 so the detour had been pointless! The mileage was just 28 miles (or 68 home).
No comments:
Post a Comment