Berkshire - Trundling along the Thames
Mid October and the Royal County of Berkshire, home to Windsor Castle, Eton College and dominated by the River Thames would be the destination for county number eleven. This ride should have been county number nine but for the shock of losing my beautiful god-daughter Jasmine who had passed away at the Royal Berkshire hospital in Reading. This had left me unable to face a trip to the area for something as frivolous as a bike ride whilst all who knew her were in total shock at losing such a free-spirited, bubbly and humorous individual so tragically young. Now a few weeks on I had decided to complete the ride, in my mind the day would be in honour of her tremendous passion for life. I knew much of the day would be spent contemplating how precious life is, how vulnerable we all are and thus how important it is to grab every opportunity you can to do the things you love. Jasmine loved elephants and squirrelled away in my back pocket I had a small wooden elephant given to me on my work trips to India to bring me good fortune for the day in her memory.
The Autumn weather had been kind thus far with little in the way of rain and double figure temperatures throughout October so far. The forecast was dry and my kit selection was planned accordingly, Stolen Goat Orkaan bibshorts and long sleeve jersey the order of the day. Travelling south on the M40 my kit choice seemed way off mark as I passed the Leamington Spa turn off with the wipers working full speed to keep up with the spray blasted at me from a multitude of HGV’s. If there is a shortage of HGV drivers crippling the UK’s supply chain it appeared that this section of the M40 was not affected!
With the nights drawing in I was keen to get to Reading and get started by 8am, unfortunately a pretty hefty workload meaning late nights in front of the laptop had weakened my resolve to get up at 4:50 am and so I wasn’t up and away from home at the planned time. With my fuel tank showing less than a quarter full I wasn’t at all sure I would make it down to Reading without a fuel stop to delay me further. As I neared the town centre I decided not to risk getting fuel later in the day for the journey home because the continuing fuel shortages, particularly in the South East of the country were still evident, a good few pumps were tagged with “no fuel” signs.
It was nearly 9am by the time I had paid a ludicrous all day parking fee of £10.40 and kitted up ready to start pedalling. I was parked on the banks of the Thames and picked up the riverside cycle path heading West directly out of the car park.
Keen to make good progress I cracked on and didn’t stop for photo’s even though there were plenty of opportunities for a snap or two. When I wasn’t on the cycle path I was taken aback by just how quiet the traffic was for the time of day, I had travelled down expecting busy traffic pretty much all day in this region but whether it was just excellent Komoot route planning or further evidence of greater numbers of people working from home I wasn’t sure but it made for some great riding through pleasant, prosperous urban areas, Purley-on-Thames, Pangbourne and Whitchurch-on-Thames were rattled off in the first 12km with not a pothole in sight but plenty of £1million pound homes overlooking the Thames I’m sure! Leaving Whitchurch my decision to ride my Scott Foil road bike was not looking like the smartest choice as I took the the sign for the Hartslock nature reserve. On the Northern bank of the Thames this Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is pitched on a South facing chalk downland hill and is a mixture of ancient hedges and mixed yew woodland. Home to many rare species of plants it is owned by the Wildlife Trust and is a great place to ride – but would definitely have suited my cross bike and some knobbly tyres far better. The 15-20% gravel climb reduced me to the walk of shame as I lost all traction out of the saddle battling the slippy exposed roots and loose rocks under my slick tyres. Exiting the nature reserve and back on tarmac I was dropping back down to the river in Goring-on-Thames fully aware that the first of the days notable climbs awaited it me as soon as I had crossed the river. Goring somehow seemed a poor choice of name for such a picturesque village.
Number 24 in Simon Warren’s inspiring little book of the the 100 best UK climbs Streatley Hill scores a 5/10 rating. The climb makes the book as much for the idyllic village setting as it does for its steepness or length but nonetheless it is an unforgiving few minutes in the saddle thankfully on good road surfaces. With autumn now in full swing the damp leaves on the steeper sections forbade getting out of the saddle but with a bit of good luck the steepest final section was clear and dry. My Strava time of 8:10 doesn’t do me justice as unknown to me at the time the segment finishes after the National Trust car park which provided my photo opportunity. For the record even without the photo stop I doubt I would have troubled Andrew Feather’s 2:06!!
Having crested Streatley Hill the nature of the ride had changed from plush urban villages to incredibly peaceful rolling countryside, as I cruised along towards Newbury I was untroubled by cars or trucks for many kilometres. Some of the most peaceful and pleasant riding I have done in any of the counties so far, in an area of the country I had never visited before. It was here that my thoughts once again turned back to Jasmine and the little elephant keeping me company in my jersey.
Newbury came and went, unsurprisingly this busy town wasn’t the highlight of the days riding but I soon passed through and was back in the country lanes criss-crossing the Kennet and Avon canal in no time. I headed further West towards Kintbury and into the North Wessesx Downs AONB, the second and final climb of the day loomed above me as I trundled out of the quirkily named village of Inkpen. As the hill starts gently beneath your wheels your eyes are drawn to the summit of the climb and the reason for it’s name becomes abundantly clear. Combe Gibbet is still adorned with the gibbet used to execute and display the bodies of criminals from as far back as 1676. As the road bends left and the gibbet is no longer in view the surface deteriorates and steepens such that the fantastic views at the top are well and truly earned.
The memorial to members of the parachute regiment is situated here as it overlooks the valley, woods and fields below that were used as a key training zone in preparation for their successful WW2 assault on the German Coastal Artillery Battery based at Merville in France paving the way for the seaborne landings in Normandy on the 6th June 1944.
I was good and ready for a strong coffee and a slab of cake but on entering the cafe I got a feeling that all was not well with those inside, the elderly cashier certainly came across as being ruffled and harassed when I asked if the cafe was open as the sign on the door said closed. It came to pass that his day hadn’t been the best, the code number padlocks used to lock the cafe and control tower had mysteriously changed code and nobody could open up! A locksmith had finally arrived some three hours after being called and luckily for me ten minutes before I had arrived so as long as I didn’t want anything cooked he was happy to serve me.
Typical of most cyclist’s I said coffee and any cake you can lay your hands on will do me and off I went a happy boy with my slab of lemon drizzle cake and a steaming mug of coffee.
Once the cake was despatched I took a peek at the watch and knowing the rest of the day was gentle cycling along the Thames Valley decided I had time to look around the control tower and still make it back to the van in daylight.
So I click-clacked up the stairs in my cleated shoes to the viewing platform. The control room gives a birds eye view highlighting the size and scale of the common outside. The common is now a nature reserve and appeared to be very popular with ramblers, baby groups pushing buggies and plenty of runners taking to the trails that now replace what was once the massive 10,000 ft runways used by the 7th Air Division of the USAF during the cold war era. The history of Greenham Common was brought to life to me by Stacy a retired science teacher but her American accent gave away her connection to the common. There was a glint in her eye as she described how she earned her “wings” on the USAF base here before meeting an RAF airman and taking up teaching in the UK never to return to the states. Her obvious fondness for the Airforce base memories were in conflict with my recollections of Greenham Common as the home of the Women’s Peace Camp. Stacy knocked the stuffing out of me by telling me that my recollections were 40 years old! They had recently celebrated the 40 year anniversary of the initial protest march and the peace camp and blockade that followed in September 1981. For 19 years the protest against the cruise missiles that were stored here continued, resulting in hundreds of arrests and sadly one death. At different stages in 1983 50,000 and 70,000 protesters encircled the base. The missiles were removed from the base in 1991 but so strong were the feelings of the protesters they continued their protest against the UK’s Trident missile program until the year 2000 when the protesters left after being granted the right to house a memorial on the site. My little detour to Greenham Common Control Tower had, thanks to Stacy’s infectious enthusiasm, taken me back to my teenage years and made distant memories vivid and clear once again.
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The route took me back along sections of the Kennet and Avon canal, Thameside cycle paths and quiet country lanes and into Reading again. It was here I had planned to leave my little elephant somewhere in tribute to Jasmine but I couldn’t do it, nowhere seemed a fitting place to leave the little heffalump so this little red elephant will add a few grams to my load for the rest of my county travels and will share my adventures with me, forever reminding me of Jazz and the importance of making the most of every little opportunity you get to explore, discover and enjoy the world around us.
With 70km still to ride I needed to crack on and rarely stopped en-route to Windsor from Reading, the stand-out memory of this Easterly section of the route was just how quiet and peaceful the country lanes were again and pat on the back for whoever is in charge of highways in Berkshire, out of the eleven county rides so far Berkshire is definitely in the lead when it comes to keeping their roads pot-hole free.
This route around Berkshire was an easy and thoroughly pleasant days cycling, nothing particularly spectacular, two good climbs, surprisingly peaceful country lanes, a good selection of traffic free cycle paths along the rivers and canals and many delightful villages full of character all contributed to a relaxing day in the saddle. The only downside was the “hotfoot” pain I suffered in my left foot during the last few kilometres, something I have never suffered with before and put down to perhaps just overtightening my shoes?
Once again Komoot made route planning simple and effective. The route can be found here https://www.komoot.com/tour/507699783?share_token=ardmgRvRgMQSyl987RO0vYV7KrjqinyGSqm5hXxC6StduhWGA1&ref=wtd
The ride in numbers
179.26km Distance – approximately 88km traffic free
1218m Elevation gain
8hrs 8 min moving time (22.4 km/h)
4 SIS Tropical Fruit gels
1 Lemon Drizzle cake
1 Millionaires Shortbread
2 coffee stops
4 bottles of water
0 beer – 24 Bottles of West Berkshire Brewery Snake Oil on the way!
0 punctures
2 categorised climbs
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)
Craft beer update – the 12 bottles of Snake Oil promptly arrived from West Berkshire Brewery and certainly lived up to there “hoppy as hell” billing, 6.5 ABV with a balanced bitterness and fruitiness scored it a creditable 8/10 from me and with my brother-in-law Pat commenting “you picked a good un” Snake Oil gets a thumbs up and a recommendation from us if you like an IPA.
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