Rutland - Size doesn't matter

At just 18 miles North to South and 17 miles East to West a century ride in England’s smallest County was guaranteed to showcase everything the County has to offer.

With Rutland dominated by the UK’s largest man-made lake at it’s centre, I decided to split the ride into two segments beginning with an off-road circuit of the Rutland Water and the Hambleton peninsula on my cross bike followed by a tour of the county’s two towns, Oakham and Uppingham and its many villages and hamlets.

Rutland County Flag

A trouble free journey to Oakham ensured I was ready for the off at 9am pockets stuffed full of Torq Rhubarb and Custard gels to combat the potential once again for limited cafe stops due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions. Hopefully with the vaccine rollout progressing well this would be the last county to be ridden whilst cafe’s and pub’s are prevented from serving indoors.

Having parked at the Grainstore Brewery in the hope of a pint of their Rutland Osprey Ale at the finish, the ride was starting in Rutland’s County town Oakham. With a population of just eleven thousand Oakham itself is also on the small and friendly size of things!

Started the ride with a quick circuit of Oakham castle, famous for its great hall crammed with giant horseshoes before heading off to Rutland water.

Giant Horseshoes in the Norman Great Hall of Oakham castle

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  Oakham Castle – only the great hall remains

Fine weather blessed the start of the ride but with the warning of plenty of showers in the forecast and plenty of rain clouds in the sky I wasn’t at all sure that I’d escape a soaking so rain cape was a must in the back pocket of the jersey.

Rutland Water is only a short ride from Oakham and has been a popular location for family cycle rides for years and as such is blessed with a virtually traffic free route around its perimeter. The trail is a mixture of asphalt and compact gravel, definitely rideable on a road bike shod with slick rubber but ultimately proved far more enjoyable and relaxed riding the crosser fitted with the Hutchison Overide tubeless gravel tyres.

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  First glimpse of the lake

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  Hippo’s at Barnsdale Lodge

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  Bluebell time of year

Following a photo stop with the blue Hippo’s at the entrance to Barnstaple Lodge the route dropped down to the lake shore accompanied by the springtime fragrance of the bluebell woods. The cycle route is very popular normally but the combination of an early midweek start and the effects of the pandemic left the car parks and trails deserted bar for the odd dog walker and rambler.

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  The Great Tower

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  Always wear a helmet!!

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  Obligatory bike shot!

A quick stop at Rutland Cycling was as usual an excuse for me to buy something, in this case a neat little cafe lock from Giant which I’m sure won’t deter any determined thief but may just stop an opportunist from relieving me of my transport when I pop in a local shop or cafe on these adventures. Alexander’s Great Tower sculpture near Whitwell was accessed via a mole created obstacle course, not known for my artistic nature I am though a fan of sculptures like this. Cast in London in 1979 it was the largest bronze sculpture of modern times. Giving away my lack of artistic awareness the sculptor’s inscription located nearby stating “In a way similar to classical music just as most symphonies are not intended to be descriptive so these works do not represent figures or events” left me scratching my head!

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The dam Wall

Next up on my tour of the lake was the dam wall it is here that the river Gwash was blocked however the majority of the water is pumped to the lake from the rivers Nene and Welland. This particular feature brought memories flooding back of the Vitruvian Triathlon I completed back in 2009. The dam wall was an integral part of the run leg and I clearly remember the feeling of relief I felt as I passed the turnaround point at the end of the dam for the last time at the end of my first attempt at a half-ironman distance race. Finishing in a time of 6:16:01 I was a long way off the winners sub four hour race time but the feeling of elation when completing such an event is always something quite special.

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When the Gwash valley was chosen as the site for a much needed new reservoir to serve a rapidly growing population the church was deconsecrated and prepared for demolition. Unhappy about this appeals from the general public led to a plan to fill the lower level of the church with rubble and concrete creating a new floor just 60cm above the high water level. This decision has been rewarded with the church becoming Rutland’s most famous landmark as it appears to float on the reservoir.

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I’ve been a fan of the Komoot route planning software so far during these County rides but unfortunately either the software or I got it wrong as the next section which is part of the Lyndon Nature reserve was off limits to cyclists. Following a short stay and a coffee at the nature centre I fully appreciated the reasons for keeping cyclists out of this small section of the lake shore. Home to numerous water and woodland birds the reserve’s celebrity attraction is the iconic Rutland Ospreys and the live stream on screen in the visitor centre thankfully didn’t disappoint.

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  Bikepacking – not sure this is for me!

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  Hambleton peninsula loop

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The Hambleton Peninsula provided some of the most scenic views of the lake and although not ideal for family cycle rides the erosion of the gravel paths made this section a good fun section on the cross bike.

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Tour of the lake complete I returned to the van and swapped over to the Scott Foil for my tour of Rutland’s villages.

A key part of my 92 County challenge is to discover local delicacies and some of the best cafe’s each county has to offer, unfortunately this was just about the only disappointment in Rutland. The Potting Shed cafe was locked up due to coronavirus and by this point I had had my fill of rhubarb and custard energy gels! A diligent search online for Rutland’s delicacy had revealed nothing so the nearest thing to it was a trip to Whissendine Windmill – Whissendine, Rutland The mill is one of very few nineteenth century windmills that are still operational and its dominant position in the village can be seen for miles around. Of course due to coronavirus it is currently closed to visitors!

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With hardly a redbrick house to be seen the stone buildings in the villages of Ashwell, Cottesmore and Market Overton were a delight to ride through. Leaving Market Overton problem number two with my Komoot route planning became evident, having set the ride type as “gravel riding” because of the first section around the lake I hadn’t checked whether all of the off-road sections of bridleway Komoot seeks out in this mode were only around the lake – they weren’t! A long section of loose gravel bridleway rideable with care on my road bike suddenly became a field of crops with only the ruts from a monster tractor to follow. Now the choice was to retrace my steps for about 2km and re-route via the road or take on about a km of rutted farmland. Backtracking is not really in my nature, I can’t stand doing it, in fact I cannot remember even riding home from work the same way I rode in and many a time I’ve driven Shirl and the kids mad by taking a lengthy detour rather than a quick U-turn to pick up a junction or location I’ve passed by mistake! So unsurprisingly I trundled heart in mouth across the crop field emerging relatively unscathed out the other side where I picked up another better gravel section through woodland.

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With the weather continuing to hold fair and the route continuing to deliver excellent cycling through charming, sleepy villages on well surfaced roads with constant rolling hills the growing hunger and a lack of open cafes were the only thing spoiling a perfect day. The quarry road at Ketton was unusual as it was a short section of new road constructed in such away that you feel like you’ve got a major highway all to yourself. At just the right time the Barrowden and Wakerley community shop came to the rescue.
As I locked my bike up with my handy new lock the three elderly ladies sat outside remarked they wouldn’t be pinching the bike so don’t bother locking it up. As I put my helmet on the handlebars they chuckled that that would be safe too “the smell of it is my theft deterrent” I laughingly replied though to be fair it was probably an accurate description! As I tucked into the excellent home made coffee and walnut cake I got chatting to the ladies who had walked from the nearby village of South Luffenham. It was clear how proud they were of their county and how much prettier it was than Northamptonshire, all down to where the stone for the buildings comes from in their opinion.

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Welland Railway Viaduct

The Welland Railway viaduct also known as the Harringworth or Seaton viaduct was visible a few miles away but a rapid descent into the valley soon brought me beneath it’s impressive arches. The longest masonry built viaduct in the UK was completed in 1878 comprising no fewer than 30 million bricks. I briefly had to sneak over the border into Leicestershire for a better view but the 105 miles I would complete meant my century ride in Rutland was intact.

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Uppingham School

Next stop was Rutland’s only other town, Uppingham, home to the boarding school where Stephen Fry was educated and very posh it looks too!

Kit and Gear review

Stolen Goat – Orkaan tights and Climb and Conquer jacket. Difficult choice this one, with the weather not very spring like and the temperature hovering between 7-10 deg C and plenty of potential for the wet stuff I plumped for the Climb and Conquer jacket. At times I feared this might have been too cautious and I would overheat but with the ever-present wind chill factor it proved to be the right call.

Scott Foil – My trustee road bike may not forgive me for the potholes in the South West of the region and the gravel on the Brampton Valley Way but other than a front wheel pinch flat it was as ever, a comfortable all-day ride.

Rotor Q Oval chainrings – “Ugly!” I hear purists say, but in my very unscientific opinion my 53T-39T oval chainset has never given me any shifting trouble, no dropped chains and placebo effect or not I’m convinced I fatigue less when using it on long rides.

SPOK’D – Not exactly kit or gear but on a day when at times I wasn’t feeling the two wheeled love the fitness benefits training with the online coaching app SPOK’D has given me over the last 12 months were a godsend. Using SPOK’D has made my cycling training smarter more consistent and much more structured but at the same time has allowed me to fit a structured training plan around my lifestyle and my preferences rather than the other way round. https://www.spokd.com/

The ride in numbers

200.00 km

2120m Elevation gain

8hrs 51 min moving time (22.7 km/h)

9 gels

2 Flapjacks

0 coffee stop

5 bottles of water

0 beers

1 puncture

92 CCC – Northamptonshire | road ride | Komoot

Finally if you got a spare quid in your pocket my justgiving page to raise vital funds for the Midlands Air Ambulance is now live Keith Jones is fundraising for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (justgiving.com)