Sunday 1st November 2026

 A change to the published ride saw us meeting at Molesey Boat Club on a cold overcast morning.

I witnessed a lot of lifting, maneuvering & guiding - boats to water, & entirely by (very fit) women.

Upstairs was cosy, & gradually folk arrived having read the change of venue on the blog.

Leaving Dave V & Tony we set off on an untested route to Wallington via Kingston, Richmond Park, Raynes Park (where Ged left us) & Mitcham - 19 miles

New-ish wide cycle provision alongside Beddington Lane was an unexpected delight even though it crossed multiple roads to the various companies that have locations here including two large bus depots (Go Ahead London & Abellio).

It was nearly 1.30pm by the time we arrived at The Whispering Moon (Wetherspoons) & Colin was already tucking into his fish & chips, & was shortly joined by Paul & Maggie James who live nearby.

Aware of fading light, we left Sue & Lilian & took a familiar (at least to me) route to Squires, Long Ditton - 16 miles.

Priest Hill Nature Reserve is south of NESCOT & is currently managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust.

It's a lovely spot & as this is green belt land, hopefully many future generations can enjoy it's peace & tranquility.

https://eehe.org.uk/25298/priest/

Access to it from Banstead Road is via a kissing gate which took us to the memorial of Josef František.

The ride continued, crossing the railway by steps, a plethora of dog walkers on Ashtead Common, two fields (Chessington Countryside Walk) & according to one rider, akin to a orienteering course.

I wouldn't go that far but sometimes I like to push the boundary, indeed we made tea before closing by the skin of our teeth!

Grateful to those joining me for a fun ride & Simon for back marking.

Stains to Uxbridge

 A small band of C&M stalwarts rocked up at the George in Staines, for coffee, the fact it was blowing a gale probably put most people off, but the sun was out, so after saying goodbye to Tony, we set off to Uxbridge, through Wraysbury, Horten, Colnbrook and Iver to the Good yarn ( Wetherspoons ) sitting outside in the sun was pleasant for lunch, after saying goodbye to Dave W and Simon, Andy and I took the Colne valley trail back to Staines and stopped for a cuppa at the ferry cafe in shepperton, as we left the cafe we noticed the hunters moon, low in the sky, it was just getting dark at this point, a good day out despite the windy conditions.

Dave E 

Don't Stop Me Now - I'm a Rocket Ship on my way to ... Stoneleigh?

I had a sleepless night before the ride.   Not just the usual pre-ride excitement, but I had caught a lurgy, and was considering my options.  The C&M group has plenty of excellent ride leaders who can lead from a GPX route, but I wanted to ride it myself.    So I decided to lead in a socially-isolated sort of way.

Eighteen came to North Cheam for elevenses, including new rider Stephen.  Welcome, Stephen!  Lovely to see everyone but I tried not to talk to them or cough on them.   We decided that two groups were best, with David W taking the second group, and then Andy leading in the afternoon.

Our route was based on the river Wandle, familiar to many, so we went to find one of the sources first, in Carshalton Park.  It was dry after the dry summer.   No worry, we soon found water the other side of the High street.  We trickled down the Wandle Way, a river of green and gold autumn colours as well as sparkling water in the warm sunshine.   We dodged a few doggies in Morden Hall Park, continuing down with the Wandle getting wider and more industrial now as we approached Wandsworth and the Thames.

Lunch at the Rocket, at Putney seemed to go well, at least I heard no complaints from my distant table, and we were all ready to go promptly to the secret tea destination.   By now the clouds had come in and a cold north wind was blowing, but there was no rain.  

Where did the sunshine go? (Photo: Andy)

We found a fairly gentle way up through the grand houses of Putney to Putney Heath, and then crossed Wimbledon Common before passing through Worcester Park and on to our secret tea destination, which a few had guessed as the Secret Garden at Ewell Court.  There was much amiable discussion over teas / cream teas inside the warmth of the glasshouse, but I couldn't tell you what was discussed, as I was keeping at a safe distance, the other side of the glass.

Thank you to all who joined the ride, and especially to David W and Andy for co-leading, and to Alan, Tim and Bernard for back marking at various times.

sundays ride to uxbridge

 sunday the 25th , we meet at the george (spoons) staines upon thames , for coffee around 10am

then depart at 11am for uxbridge for lunch at the good yarn (spoons) around 17 miles on the road

and some canal towpath , the return will be mostly offroad using the colne valley trail , a good surface

back to colnbrook and then staines , if people want to stop for tea , i was thinking about the ferry in 

shepperton , but with the clocks going back an hour on saturday night we will loose an hour of daylight

see you on sunday.

Dave E

Plans for Sunday 18 October

🎵 Fly me to the moon, let us play among the stars. 🎵  On Sunday we will be boarding a rocket in Putney for a lunchtime escapade.   Please arrive at the departure gate in the Nonsuch Inn, North Cheam, in time for take-off at 11.00.   We will follow the picturesque river Wandle from one of its sources to the launch pad, where we will have lunch before taking off to tea at a secret destination near Stoneleigh.

I hope you can join us.

Not a Ride Report - Sunday 11 October

 

There was no volunteer to lead today, so this isn't an official ride report!   Andy C kindly offered at the last minute to lead the ride back from Guildford, which was very helpful because I could only manage to lead the outbound leg.

Anyway, there was an excellent turnout for elevenses at quirky but good venue, Whitely Village including newcomer Graham K.   Some headed home from elevenses, while eight joined me the ride towards Guildford.  We took the opportunity for the C & M to 'christen' the new Cobham to Ripley cycle route in full.  It's a pity the initial access and first few hundred metres are so poor - after Painshill Roundabout, it's great!

After that I had to cut my ride short a bit, but we reached lunch just before 1.00 pm.  I had to turn around and head straight for home leaving the rest of the group to a lavish Wetherspoon's lunch!   Of what happened after that, I have no knowledge, but it appears from the photographic evidence that tea was taken at Claremont Gardens....

Ken's funeral - some pictures

I've put a short write-up and some pictures of the funeral on the Wayfarers blog here.