Bicycle Rambling

The C&M blog has become a bit of desert since the lockdown, so here's another attempt to spur some others to write about what you've been doing.  Come on - surely you haven't all been neglecting your daily exercise in such lovely weather?

Since the restrictions on cycling, I have been enjoying 'cycling rambling' on many days.   Rather than a bike ride, which sounds quite purposeful, I've just been setting off to explore areas not too far from home, maybe getting a bit lost, and discovering what's there.  It's been very enjoyable: even the urban rides are interesting but there are loads of parks, heaths and commons dotted around, often very quiet.

Yesterday I was a bit out of my normal area, delivering a Sou'Wester to Bill Squirrell, so I wandered off south to the area of heathland around the crossing of A3 & M25: Wisley and Ockham Common.

Woolly cows (a cross between cows and sheep?)

South along the Wey past Manor Farm with woolly cows...

River Wey by Manor Farm

Then a sort of zigzag of tracks of varying quality on Wisley Common, gorgeous pond there by Pond Farm, then across the A3 on the Wisley footbridge.

Wisley Common

Wisley Common

Farm Pond (near Pond Farm!)

Farm Pond

After several attempts, I managed to find a track taking me to Bolder Mere just south of the A3: it wasn't a good idea, quite muddy and in several places boardwalks had been laid across the mud: I wasn't brave enough to cycle along them.  Putting a foot down in the wrong place would end up with falling in the swamp!  Emerging near Ockham Bites, I then followed a route across Ockham Common that Keith showed me last year, to the semaphore tower on Chatley Heath.  Disappointingly it's covered with scaffolding at the moment.  Then down via Pointers Road to Plough Lane and Cobham, familiar territory.

Bolder Mere

Bolder Mere, adventure playground

Not quite finished with off-road rambling, I set off north-west from Cobham along Hogshill Lane and the more or less straight line of intermittent road and path (another one of Keith's routes) to Fairmile Common and Esher Common, round the back of Claremont and popping out at Claygate.   Most of the time was spent in the woods or on heathland, and the weather in late afternoon was gorgeous.  You could easily spend a few days just exploring all those areas.

Fairmile Common

Pond on Littleworth Common, Esher

Nearly home!