Sunday February 13 2011

On a dull miserable day a drizzle soon set in which grew heavier by the hour. The direct route between Kingston and Chertsey Bridge was familiar but not a tour of suburbia near to Penton Hook. By Runnymede the leader punctured but we carried on with his consent to the Queen's farm shop in Old Windsor - a new venue for us (think Denbies / Savill). Here 7 became 11 briefly.

Eton by Windsor Bridge was the chosen way before Burnham and proper countryside. From the top of the Dorney Wood climb, the intended stop, the Blackwood Arms, was just a couple of hundred yards on the right. They had no food ('restaurant opens on Tuesday' - repeating a remark made on the recce two weeks earlier). So we removed to the nearby Jolly Woodman.

After passing to the west then south of Burnham Beeches we were treated to suburbs like Farnham Royal, Stoke Poges, Wexham and Langley which pretend they're nothing to do with Slough. Apart from the proprietor's friends, our five were his only custom in Stanwell Moor. From here we made our by now soggy and chilled ways home. Around 60 miles.

Author: Anonymous