White Horses, Pagans and Bluebells - Wonderful Wiltshire in the Spring
This was my second attempt at riding a century in Wiltshire, the first attempt an embarrassing failure having arrived in Malmesbury on a cold February morning with no cycling jerseys or jackets packed resulting in me going to work instead with my tail between my legs. Needless to say this time everything was checked the night before to prevent any repeat cock-ups. The forecast suggested a cool but dry and sunny day perfect for cycling.
Wiltshire’s flag recently re-designed in 2009 represents the grassy downs and chalk underlay with the green stripes representing hope, joy and safety and the white peace.
The longer daylight hours and fairly short travel time allowed for a sleep friendly alarm call at 7am and a ride start time of 9am. A relaxed journey with little traffic despite the Mayday bank holiday weekend and my amusement at the five live radio news being dominated by a Tory MP “accidentally” watching porn in the House of Commons whilst supposedly browsing tractor websites resulted in a chilled start to the ride and an impromptu potter around quiet, picturesque Malmesbury Town Centre and it’s impressive abbey before heading out onto the planned route.
Crossing the River Avon heading west towards Foxley I was soon out of Malmesbury away from traffic on quiet rural lanes.
Grittleton House is now a privately run wedding venue and family home of the Shipp family who have spent many years renovating and restoring the manor house which has previously also been a private girls school.
18km into the ride and the perfect riding conditions were matched by the picture-perfect Castle Combe village. Any google search for the prettiest village in Wiltshire will put Castle Combe in it’s top five and it doesn’t disappoint, blessed with a crystal clear stream, Cotswold stone cottages selling home-made cakes, Market Cross and St Andrews church, Castle Combe is a favourite location for film makers including recently Wolf Man, Stardust and Stephen Spielberg’s War Horse not to mention the original Dr Dolittle movie. Despite also being home to a luxury hotel, pub, golf course and motor racing circuit the village has managed to stay free of many of the trappings of mass tourism and surprisingly was not gridlocked with coaches and and cars despite this being a bank holiday weekend and the sun shining.
Backtracking up the hill out of the village I passed the motor circuit which is also used for cycle racing before being treated to passing through the fantastically named hamlet of Tiddleywink!
Biddestone was the next village on the route, brimming with charm and historic good looks its’ village pond and adjacent green was home of course to the UK’s most common breed of duck the mallard but far more strident and eye catching were the white doves that I’m sure wouldn’t look out of place in an advert for Persil or Bold washing powder! Leaving the village I made a sudden about turn having glanced a photo opportunity for Baby Nik alongside a mural for Le Tour des Cotswolds – a classic British Race from 1948 to 2001 but sadly no more despite having the backing of local councillors who, as recently as 2014 were reportedly tempted to try and attract the organisers of the Tour De France to the area to benefit tourism in the same way that the three stages of Le Tour in Yorkshire raised the profile of the county across the globe.
Nearing the southernmost point of the route I passed up the opportunity to stop at the Stables Cafe a cyclists favourite, in the village of Lacock, in favour of pressing on to the first real climbs of the day. Lacock was another stunningly picturesque Cotswold stone village, whose abbey has been granted fame and tourism footfall for many years to come as the home of Harry Potters Chamber of Secrets in the hit novels and films forged by the author J.K.Rowlings’ unique sorcery and witchcraft imagination.
The first “categorised” climb of the day was potentially the toughest of the seven to be crested. Bowden Hill is home to the Chippenham Wheelers Hill climb, winding upwards as soon as you have passed the magnificent Lacock Abbey and once again crossed the river Avon. The climb was a mix of varied but very manageable gradients on good tarmac, there was a fair degree of traffic but nowhere was the climb congested or constricted. The Rising Sun Pub offers temptation to stop halfway up but push on up passed the little St Ann church and enjoy the views out across Pewsey Vale as the gradient eases and the road sweeps gently left bordering the woods. A work colleague picked a moment shortly before the summit to call resulting in an impromptu discussion about flow measurement issues whilst passing cyclists kindly checked on my wellbeing but also one frustratingly enquired whether I had found the climb “a bit tough”! This section of the route forms part of the 160 mile Wiltshire cycleway. Spilt into 16 sections circling the county on multi-terrain surfaces my instinct tells me it would be a great 2 or 3 day tour on the cross bike in the future.
The descent from the top of Bowden hill was much less steep than the side I had climbed resulting in an 8km of effort free high speed cruising through heavenly countryside ablaze with striking spring colours, the vibrant yellow flowers of rapeseed contrasting with the azure blue skies reminiscent of the Ukrainian flag so prominent in all our minds as the continued savagery of Putin’s military machine pummels towns in the East of Ukraine, testing to the limit the valiant defence of their homeland by the Ukrainean people led by the remarkable Volodymyr Zelensky, a former stand-up comedian and now a nations hero and inspiration. Thinking about it Britain could do worse than having Dawn French and Peter Kay to replace Priti Patel and Boris Johnson!
Stanley Lane climb was the next tester for the legs with a short section early on above 10% the remainder of the 1.5km climb was gentle fair with clear views towards Calne where I stopped for excellent coffee and Rocky Road courtesy of Fay’s Bistro. It was here I ticked off my hunt for sculpture of the day with the impressive large head lying on its side. The winning sculpture of the millennium competition launched by the mayor of Calne in 2000. Created by Rick Kirby the front is complete representing the past and the rear unfinished symbolising the future. The sculpture had the honour of being unveiled by Her Majesty the Queen in December 2001.
Travelling East with no wind to speak of in any direction the perfect conditions continued to bless the ride as I glimpsed the first White Horse of the day Cherhill is one of eight remaining white horses in Wiltshire, thankfully they are best viewed from afar so unlike some features and attractions that are best encountered close up on foot viewing the white horses on a bike ride is a splendid way to appreciate their iconic beauty. The chalk figures are maintained by volunteers who weed and re-chalk the decorations that have adorned these hillsides for hundred of years every couple of years keeping them precise and defined so they remain visible for miles around.
Avebury Stone Circle is a World Heritage Site and is in fact the worlds largest stone circle. Erected approximately 4300 years ago visitors are free to wander amongst them and can visit the museum located on site in a 17th century threshing barn to view the many archaeological finds. These bronze aged monuments are still home to the local flocks of sheep resulting in me finding a stick to relieve the build up of droppings wedged between tight in the close clearance between my aero Scott Foil seat tube and rear wheel following my trek on foot around the stones (pushing a bike round bronze age monuments does nothing for your Strava average speed either)! The approach of Mayday saw Avebury play host to gatherings of Pagans preparing to celebrate the Festival of Beltane entering into the most fertile period of the year and celebrating new beginnings. I’m not the most spiritual of people and hooking little fingers with others whilst staring at ancient stones and meditating is not really my bag but if that’s your thing then Avebury seems to me to be as cool a place to get in touch with your spiritual side as any church.
Hackpen Hill saw the next climbing challenge and the glorious weather made for a stunning approach to this rather spindly but nevertheless impressive white nag created in 1838 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s coronation. At 180m the summit offers outstanding views of the ridgeway and the climb is never worse than a bit of a slog with the steepest section no more than 11%. Once again the steady descent ticked all the boxes for cycling at its best.
A teapot disguised as a hedgehog and a homemade sausage roll at the Time at the Forge café provided sustenance at the 100km point of the ride. Having negotiated the steep wooden steps inside with my cleated feet to order at the upstairs counter I stripped off arm and leg warmers in the spotless toilet below and I was greeted outside by the local blacksmith working the forge next door who apologised for the noise and the hot metal odour that his timeless trade was causing to drift across the patio. He needn’t have apologised it enhanced the ambience of the stop no end.
The next section of the route took me on a short excursion out of Wiltshire into neighbouring Oxfordshire solely for the purpose of visiting the white horse at Uffington, the oldest chalk-cut hill figure of them all. Unfortunately the climb of Dragon Hill Road running below the horse was the point at which my perfect cycling day deteriorated. The climb on this road which looks like it has been plucked from the Peak District and essentially goes nowhere other than up the hill and back down again is a little tough, but at just a kilometre in length rising 92m with a maximum gradient of 17%, the steepest section coming as soon as you bounce across the first cattle grid and levelling off to average 8% across its entirety, I didn’t expect to grovel up it at a snails pace with energy draining away with every pedal stroke. Although never in danger of taking the walk of shame I was a little shaken at the difficulty this 5/10 climb had bestowed upon me.
I was sure I was adequately hydrated and having consumed my normal ration of Torq Rhubarb and custard and SIS Tropical energy gels I couldn’t put the sudden lack of energy down to the dreaded cyclists bonk which can hit you like a sledge hammer when your fuelling strategy is awry. No, the only explanation I could conceive for this sudden draining of my battery was the dose of Covid-19 I had succumbed to a week previous. Although my symptoms had been very mild, no worse than a typical bout of hay-fever or winter cold I had been warned by many not to underestimate how long full recovery can take but having missed my planned trip to Nottinghamshire earlier in April due to Covid I was determined not to let the virus strike out both my planned rides for the month and possibly was now paying the price for my bravado.
With 50km still to complete following the high speed, exhilarating descent from Dragon Hill I was thankful for the gentle undulations and predominantly down hill profile that followed punctuated by the final three categorised climbs all of which were short and gentle enough not to cause distress as I counted down the kilometres and villages between me and my return to Malmesbury. With every possible chance to coast being gratefully accepted the final leg of the ride passed slowly and I’m unsure whether it was due to my flagging energy and morale but the landscape seemed to lose its lustre a little with the rural lanes all blending into one, pleasant but nothing to stir the soul.
Unluckily I missed the Morris Dancers in the market town of Highworth by a few minutes but the town blessed with it’s Queen Anne and Georgian buildings was still in party mood.
The remaining 40km skirting the northern suburbs of Swindon, climbing Paven Hill and gently dropping back down to Malmesbury was a triumph of energy conservation and doggedness but passed without drama and ultimately didn’t dent my enthusiasm for this beautiful part of the country full of classic villages, stunning views and historical interest, I will undoubtedly be back on foot, on two wheels again and as four wheeled tourist for sure in the years ahead…..
New Kit Review
Rudy Project FOTONYK Crystal Graphite prescription sunglasses – Transitions Grey Orange mirror
These were the second pair of prescription sunglasses I had bought online from Extreme Eyewear and in common with the first pair the varifocal prescription was spot-on having submitted my last prescription to them.
The transitions lens provided crystal clear vision and protection throughout the changing light of the day and were excellent in the low light driving home.
Ultimately the sunglasses did everything asked of them, they were comfortable, I could read the Garmin 530 clearly, they protected my eyes from UV and flying bugs, came with a solid case and of course made me look like Top Gun legend Tom Cruise so a 9/10 for both Rudy Project and Extreme eyewear.
The ride in numbers
172.41km Distance
1923m Elevation gain
7hrs 49 min moving time (22.0 km/h)
2 SIS Tropical Fruit gels
4 Torq Rhubarb and Custard gels
1 sausage roll
1 Rocky Road
2 coffee stops
5 bottles of water
8 Bottles of Beer – Arkell’s Voyager IPA ordered online
0 punctures
7 categorised climbs
72.5 km/h Maximum Speed
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)
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