Midsummer Madness! 29 June to Ruislip Lido

It was a crazy idea to go so far north.  An urban ride on one of the hottest days of the year.   But somehow nobody realised what a daft idea it was, and it worked out pretty well.   A staggering nineteen people arrived in the northerly reaches of Osterley Park for elevenses in the cool surrounds of the Stables Cafe.  We were very pleased to welcome Fiona and Andrew to (I think) their first C&M ride, and also to welcome Chris (he of the mountain bike, not Chris H) back after a long absence.

The throng of riders

The route to Ruislip meandered through a lot of parks, quite a few annoying bike gates and across the canal several times.  It was partly cloudy and we stayed fairly cool for the first part of the ride.   Out of the blue, we arrived at the secret WW2 bunker at Uxbridge, which a few hadn't visited before.   Then a hop and a skip later we arrived at the Lido.  The wrong Lido.  Hillingdon's beautiful Art Deco lido, with swimming pools.  We stood and gazed longingly for a bit, and then continued on a lovely shaded cycle path that took us over the M40 and most of the way to Ruislip.

Wood-carved wildlife and C&M entomologists

 

Ahhh!   Hillingdon Lido

Ruislip Lido was heaving.   The car park was full.   The beach was full.   People had ignored the many warnings and were entering the water.  Who would have thought it, on a sunny Sunday?  But we stopped by the cafe and the train, and by a miracle the cafe served decent food without too much of a delay.   About half had bought their own food and found a shady spot to eat it.

Oo-err!  Ruislip Lido

The way back was more direct but we had to go further south to tea.  We passed Rayners Lane, Northolt Park and Greenford, where my group had to wait several sweltering minutes in the full sun at lights.  A short stretch on the cool canal, and then over to tea at the riverside Flying Cloud Cafe at Teddington Lock, which was shady with a breeze, and open till late.

Many thanks to all those who came on the ride for cheerfully putting up with another adventure, those who contributed photos, and especially to Andy who led a second group from GPS, and Alan and David W who back-marked.

Plans for Ruislip Lido ride, 29 June

Lovely beach, but no swimming.

With the longer days we have time to do the complete ride to Ruislip Lido, which had to be shortened at the last attempt.  I can promise a nice cafe, a miniature train, and a surprisingly green route, almost all tarmac (with a bit of canal towpath on the way back - avoidable if necessary).

11s is at the Stables Cafe, Osterley Park (as advertised) - and if anyone's worried about finding it, I'll lead a feeder ride from Bushy Park leaving at 9.45am on request.   We'll meet  for the feeder ride outside the Teddington gate at the north end of Chestnut Avenue.

Tea at the Flying Cloud Cafe, next to Teddington Lock footbridge.  33 miles from 11s to tea and less than 1,000 feet of climbing.   I hope you can join us.

PS.  It's going to be hot.   Please bring water and sun lotion.

Tourists For An Afternoon

 From the late 70s my sister lived near Basingstoke. This version of the visits dates from the middle of 2024. 

At Surbiton I joined a trio of Alan, Andy, and Simon. There was another party (Woking bound). So seven bikes filled the two vestibules with the toilet sign reading "Out Of Order" and "Occupied". 

From Winchfield it's a modest 4 miles to 11s (Redfields Garden Centre), possibly the largest garden centre I've ever visited. We arrived minutes after the 1030 opening and it was already crowded. It has everything (drinks, food, cakes etc)  lacking only air conditioning.

In these parts suburbia is on a relentless southwest march. So far it (and its cycle path!) is only halfway to the nippy A287. From Crondall the road climbs rises gently through Well to Lord Wandsworth College (google Johnny Wilkinson) in Long Sutton and scene of two mysteries: 

To the casual eye the 4 Horseshoes looks derelict but today it sported two blackboards offering food and cars in the carpark! Too early to investigate further.

So we took the next turning on the left. It was headed in the right direction but something was wrong. At the first junction signs on the unnamed right turn read "Private" "No Access" "Hedge Trimmer". Retreat  no chance - right it was.  The friendly trimmer waved us through as did an electronic barrier. Bingo! back on the route again. Why? There are two roads: Hyde Road and  Wingate Lane roughly 150 yards apart. I thought I was on Wingate Lane when in fact I was on Hyde Road (which wasn't on my 250K OS map).

We now tackled the down-up of the day to Sutton Common. The five miles to Lasham Airfield are flattish (up and down 300 ft) and straighter so traffic is more frequent and faster. The roads pass Golden Pot (being redeveloped?) and Avenue Garden Centre (an alternative lunch stop).

The Airfield is cyclist friendly. It has a new café with views of gliders taking off and landing. The bar was closed. The 94 Tour de France used the nearby A339 and I was there. The five miles to Greywell were downhill (420 down; 130 up half of which is the centre of Upton Grey). Both here and the earlier Weston Patrick are being suburbanised.

In Greywell we became tourists for an afternoon taking in the tunnel entrance (1794 but largely obscured by greenery) and King John's (Odiham) Castle (1215). We left the canal at the lift bridge into Mill Lane followed by the gentle rise into Odiham. Over tea (Bel and Dragon) there was much discussion over train tables: Winchfield has an hourly service whereas Fleet is half-hourly on Sunday afternoons.

At the critical T-junction it was left to Winchfield (1 mile; 57 or  -3 minutes), or right to Fleet(4 miles;42 minutes). We turned right .The A323 through Fleet is busy so we used the "hidden" cycle path which runs alongside the A323 between M3 and railway line.

Finally cyclists were everywhere. About 32 miles.

Way Out West From Winchfield

 At very short notice Sunday's ride will be train assisted to/from Winchfield railway station. It's around 27 miles with two bumps.

Please bring "emergency" rations and sun cream as there's few pubs/shops along the way. Co-ops near Redfields, Crondall and Odiham and that's about it!

Trains are hourly so you must catch the 0907 Waterloo 0930 Surbiton. Some trains split at Woking; you want the front portion for Basingstoke. The cheapest ticket is a Sunday Out Return - £13.70 (£9.10 for those with travel cards).

On Sunday afternoons there's half hourly (xx.02 and xx.32) services from Fleet (about 4 miles) the second leaves Winchfield at xx.27).

11s (Redfields Garden Centre) is around 3 miles from the start and opens at 1030. With a 0930 train we might get there around 1029 ! (09:30 + 0.39 + 0:20)

Lunch (Lasham Airfield with alternative, Avenue GC).

Tea (Odiham several pubs, cafes, shops 

Oxford Adventure 15 June

It was an ambitious plan, to get a dodgy bunch of C&M riders to Oxford, a longer than usual ride, with rather dodgy eating arrangements, and some extremely dodgy return-by-train options.

The weather co-operated.  Starting from the safe territory of Wetherspoons in Staines, the band of fourteen waved goodbye to Graham and left along familiar roads through Eton and Dorney to Cookham Dean and the first hill of the day, Winter Hill.  "Lunch" was not scheduled until mid-afternoon, so we had a strict 30 mins pit stop in the park at Marlow.    Andy had very kindly offered to lead a ride home from Marlow, but I had lured everyone else into a false sense of security with a gentle ride to Marlow, and they all decided to carry on.

Dorney Common

Miraculously, the 30 minute pit stop worked, despite it being a busy Sunday and people going to various cafes - all reappeared on time (1.15 by now) to tackle the big hills and beautiful Chilterns countryside on the way to Christmas Common.   At 240 metres high, it's about as big as Leith Hill, approached along woodland lanes with occasional pretty villages and sweeping views across the valley to divert you.

Turville (with windmill)

Approach to Fingest

Once on top, we had a double treat of a view ahead across endless (flat!) plains leading to Oxford, and a gorgeous descent to our lunch stop, the Spire and Spoke at Watlington, which serves excellent pizzas.   We had to brake as we entered the 20 mph limit at Watlington - very satisfying.   It was less satisfying to find that there was an hour's wait for hot food at the pub, due to it being Father's day.   As it was now 3pm we couldn't really wait an hour, so we settled for a variety of cakes.  It was sunny and everyone seemed in good spirits as we set off along the flat and quiet roads for the last 20 miles.   Maddie left us here to visit friends in nearby Benson, so we were now twelve.

Delicious pizza ...

... but not for us

Nearly there - looking back over the flatlands

I had previously led a similar ride for the Wayfarers A group in 2017, and the entry to Oxford through Cowley was a nightmare with miles of traffic queues.   This time we arrived at Oxford's ring road a little further north, and found a lovely quiet route to within a mile of the centre.   There was a short bit of jammed-up road works, just to prove we were in a city, but soon we were in the centre, surrounded by the golden stone of the colleges, spires gleaming in the evening sun, just as it says on the tin.   We sort of toured several colleges, well, we passed their entrances, but they were largely closed to the public as it's exam season, and anyway my team was more interested in the pub and the train home.

Education is on the menu

Bikes on the bus from Oxford

A celebratory pint of Education at Oxford for some of us, and we rode the final mile to the station, returning home in quite surprising ways.   Brian went back to his car at Staines, Lilian and Steph went via Basingstoke(!), several of us went via Reading and the Elizabeth Line, and Ruth and Jan stayed for a pizza and put their bikes on the coach back to London!

It all seemed to go well despite the risks and the no-lunch lunch stop, thanks to a great bunch of riders who were up for an adventure, to Andy for offering the shorter route option, and especially to Brian for leading a second group at short notice, and Jan for back marking.   Of course the weather and lovely countryside helped too.   Thank you all for your company, your lovely photos, and for making it such an enjoyable day out on the bike.

OUR BLOGS HAVE MOVED!

The new web addresses that you need to use from now on to access the Wayfarers and Cheam and Morden blogs are as follows:

mwwayfarers.blogspot.com
cheam-and-morden.blogspot.com

The best way to access the blogs is via our main website swlondonctc.wixsite.com/ctcswlondon which you can bookmark for future ease of access. Please note that the Beginners blog address remains the same.

Previously, these blogs have been administered by a past member of the club who has acted as sole Admin. Whilst being grateful for this past member’s work, the committee feel that it will improve management and increase resilience to bring these blogs within the control of the club and as such we have created 2 new blog sites.

The future administration will be by a minimum of 2 current active members of the club on behalf of the Committee. They will have new web links but to all intents and purposes will look and feel just like our existing blogs. You can still view all the historical blogs going back over the years since their creation on the new blog sites.

The biggest task ahead now is to sign members up to be authors on the new blogs. We need to do this in batches and we will start with those Ride Leaders who are leading rides in the next month. The rest of the membership who were blog authors previously will then be invited to sign up over the following months, followed by members who have recently requested to be authors. And should you wish to post something before you are invited to sign up, please contact Tim C or Simon L.

So what do individual members have to do now - nothing! Just bookmark the website and use this to access the blogs.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me.

~ Sue Foster: Sue.foster39@gmail.com

C&M Ride Sunday 8th June.

We shall start at The Granary Cafe, Polesden Lacey with lunch at The Assembly Rooms, Epsom as advertised on the Rides List. Afternoon Tea will be at the Canbury Secret Cafe, Kingston.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday.

Jennie  

Author: David W

Plans for 15 June - C&M ride to Oxford - UPDATED

Dreaming Spires

On Sunday 16 June, I'm leading a ride to Oxford, and the weather and trains look ok.   It will be an adventure, and we are guaranteed to get home late, so here is an outline.

• 11s at Staines (The George, as per rides list).   We will depart at 10.30 prompt.
• About 50 miles, all on road, 2000 ft of climbing.  It's a lovely route and an excellent destination!
• Weird lunch arrangements:  pit stop at Marlow (20 miles) and late lunch at an excellent cyclist-friendly pub in Watlington, The Spire & Spoke. (30 miles, after the main hills, so maybe 2.30pm)
• See a few of the sights, then a re-hydration stop at a pub in Oxford
• Train home via Reading & then by various routes to Richmond/Dorking etc. (£20 to Dorking with a railcard.)  You are supposed to have a cycle reservation on many (not all) trains from Oxford, but I don't recommend this because it doesn't seem to be enforced and I cannot predict what time we will arrive at Oxford.
• Bring lights for the ride home from the station, a lock (we can't see our bikes from the pub in Oxford), and a snack, in case the pit stop in Marlow is overrun by revellers.  It is the Marlow Regatta this weekend!   (There is also a Wetherspoons in Marlow for anyone who's planning to ride home and has more time.)

What could possibly go wrong?   If you are feeling adventurous, I hope you will join me.

If you're desirous of a smaller adventure, Andy has kindly offered to lead a ride home from Marlow passing such places as Windsor, Shepperton, Esher and Ewell.   Or you can get a train from Marlow to Windsor (actually three trains: the whole journey takes about an hour and costs £7 with a railcard), and then the world's your oyster.

Please bring:

• Lights (for the ride home from the train)
• a lock (we can't see our bikes from the pub in Oxford)
• a snack, in case the pit stop in Marlow is overrun by revellers.  It is the Marlow Regatta this weekend!   (There is also a Wetherspoons for anyone who's planning to ride home and has more time.)

Ride Report - Sunday 1 June 2025

 

It was, I'm afraid, the usual shambolic mess we have come to expect from this leader!   There was, apparently, some sort of route, but the leader was unable to load it to his appliance!   No doubt sensing trouble, Tony H and Graham H wisely turned for home after elevenses.   Loyal member  Ray W had gamely arrived suffering with a heavy cold but was definitely not fit enough to continue the ride.  Ten more did elect to continue (I think they call it 'adventure tourism'),  We split in two and Andy C very kindly led the second group (and actually managed to navigate from the alleged route)!

How we got to Hayes is a bit of a haze!   And by some miracle, at a respectable time!   On reflection, since a lot of the route followed the Grand Union Canal towpath, it would actually have been difficult even for this leader to get it completely wrong, providing he turned the right way to start with!

Restorative lunches were enjoyed al fresco in a delightful and picturesque setting  at the Botwell Inn!  Nerves steadied, we set off again, starting with a detour to the impressive site of the old  HMV factory and warehouse complex, and attendant large dog, which is mandatory when in this area, followed by a return to the towpath.

There followed a bit of ducking and diving (not actually in the canal, although one would not put even that beyond this leader's capabilities), passing a 'great barn', before we landed up on the Heathrow western perimeter cycle route, as it were.  There were ample plane-spotting opportunities before the glamour of an international airport descended into the mundanity that is Ashford!

More distant options were offered, but, unsurpisingly, most jumped at the chance to get themselves free of the leader, and chose tea at Longacres, Shepperton!

Thanks all for your company, and for putting up with it all, and special thanks to Andy for his help.

Author: David W