Ride Report - Sunday 3 July (Clandon and Catteshall)

 

It is a long ride to Clandon Park Garden Centre for some of us, but Bob, Terry, Simon, Keith, Diane, Bernard, Sabina, Ray, Ed, Lilian, Graham and Sunday newbie Dave E all made the effort and had a very pleasant elevenses.   Very acceptable cheese scones were available!

Simon, Graham, Lilian, Ray, Keith, Diane, Graham and Dave E then joined me for the shortish but rather hilly ride to lunch at Catteshall, which also had a number of offroad sections.   Ed set off to make his own way to Catteshall, but, unfortunately, mechanical problems led him to end his ride at Guildford.   

At Blackheath we paused at Simon's suggestion to have a look at the rather unusual 'arts and crafts' church, St Martins, and we were very lucky to be given a brief but comprehensive guided tour by the church warden.   The church is always open in the daytime and is well worth a visit if you are passing.    

Stepping onto consecrated ground brought out my sense of Christian charity and I relented in my intention to take the group along the rather rocky bridleway from Munstead Heath to Catteshall, substituting instead another (untried) track described as 'easy'!   Well, the surface was much easier, and so was the gradient, but there was a high stinging nettle factor instead!

All I can say of Catteshall Boathouse Tearooms (aka Hector's Bistro) is that you are guaranteed a welcome!   It is rather idiosyncratic, and perhaps a remnant of England gone by, but it is in a nice setting and although the menu is simple, the food is good value. You may wait a while but you can while away the time on the bank trying to spot fish in the backwaters.

After lunch, we headed for NCN22 to sample the brand new tarmac surface.   It is a considerable improvement, but sadly we could not try it all as one section was closed for work, so it was still a case of lugging our bikes down the steps.   At Guildford, some of us headed for the station while the main group continued for tea at Ripley.

Many thanks to Simon for back-marking and suggesting the church visit, thanks all for your company, and thanks too to Graham for supplementary information.