A right royal jaunt to Maidenhead - 18 Feb

It was almost like spring today for our ride to the deep west.   We missed the overnight downpours, waking to grey skies and wet roads, but this soon improved to a warm day with patches of sunshine and a few short showers.   A few of us met at Shepperton for a pre-ride to 11s at the Royal Farm Coffee Shop in Windsor.   In total there were nine of us, not bad for such a faraway start.   We split into two groups:  Tony, Pam and Liz took a more direct route while David, Andy, Diane, Christina, Steph and myself headed in a northerly loop towards Maidenhead.   We enjoyed some of the lovelier parts of Slough, namely Herschel Park, Salt Hill Park and the Godolphin recreation grounds, before a quick visit to Burnham Beeches, freshly washed and gleaming in the sunshine.   Then it was off to Maidenhead via Taplow and Boulter's Island, home of Richard Dimbleby for many years.  

Blossoming in Bray

Viewing the castle at Windsor

We arrived at almost exactly the same time as the other group and enjoyed lunch at sunny upstairs tables.  Then it was back by a fairly direct route, through Bray, Dorney (a special treat to ride across Dorney Common with a tail wind), Windsor and Runnymede, where I managed to find a rather muddy track for a hundred yards or so (sorry everyone!) before joining the newly-surfaced riverside path.   Just as we were contemplating whether to have tea at Egham or Shepperton, standing near the Runnymede Cafe, it started to rain, so the decision was made to stop there for tea instead.  Of course the rain stopped before we had sat down with our tea.   Pam was nearly home by then but she volunteered (sort of) to lead us to Chertsey via Thorpe.

All in all, a nice day out with a taste of warm days to come, in good company and rather lucky with the weather.   Thank you to all who came along, to Tony and Pam for leading parts of the ride, and to David W and Diane for back-marking.