Ride Report - Sunday 15 March 2026

The ride on Sunday started at the Golden Cafe in Addlestone, which it being Mother’s Day was extremely busy, but all nine of us managed to get seated, very lucky. Good that Pam and Diane were there to join us for elevenses.

The seven riders headed off to New Haw where we joined the Wey Canal, leaving before Woking. Then on to Ripley, Send and Sutton Green before reaching Jacob’s Well where took the cycle route including the footbridges in Guildford. Back onto the canal which took us towards the station and lunch at The Rodboro Buildings.

Six stayed for lunch and surprisingly the pub was not crowded, luckily, so we could sit together.

After lunch we took the usual Dave W route out of Guildford, taking the cycle path along side the A3 towards Ripley then Cobham and tea at Claremont Gardens, Esher, the Cafe at the National Trust. Prior to that Dave E and then Niall and Martina left the group to go home, so only three of us went to tea.

Thanks everyone for your company and your friendship in making it such a successful day.

Jennie 

Plans for Sunday 15 March 2026

We shall be leaving from elevenses at The Golden Cafe in Addlestone, then going to on to Guildford for lunch at the Rodboro' Buildings, (approx 14 miles)

After lunch it's back to the National Trust Cafe, Claremont Gardens, Esher, (approx 14 miles, slightly undulating)

DON’T FORGET, THE GOLDEN CAFE IS CASH ONLY*

The route is mainly on-road but with a couple of sections beside the canal on paved tracks, and there is also a pedestrian footbridge in Guildford to walk over.

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Yours 

Jennie 

* It's rumoured that they may accept cards for orders over a fiver, but don't quote me on it (Ed).

Sunday 8th March 2026

 We're well into March, the days are longer, the early Spring flowers are opening, the birds are singing (or squawking as parakeets do) but venture outside as I did today to ride the 5.3 miles to New Malden it felt like something was missing.

Warmth.

Last year's 2nd Sunday in March......

Never mind, it was nice to see a good turnout at The Watchman (Wetherspoons) where long queues formed at the two coffee machines, possibly down to an earlier malfunction.

Leaving Keith, Niall & Dave V, a large group of thirteen - Dave W, Simon, Dave J, Jennie J, Steph, Eric, Ruth, Sabina, Bernard, Tony, Martina, Geoff & myself ventured out into the cold on a route largely direct to Hammersmith Bridge.

The bridge opened on 11th June 1887.

There were repairs in 1997 & 2014 when the bridge was closed to traffic.

A further closure in 2019 led to a funding dispute between the government, TFL & the local council, the bridge was closed to vehicles & buses that year.

It currently remains open for cyclists & pedestrians only.

The necessary cost of repairs & reopening the bridge fully to all traffic is upwards of £300 million according to Sadiq Khan who has said that he's keen for that to happen.

From the local council website:

'Hammersmith & Fulham Council and the Department for Transport are currently considering a range of options and engineering solutions for the long-term future of the bridge.'

I led the group under the Hammersmith flyover to join C9 cycleway going west through Chiswick to Brentford & lunch at Hilliers Garden Centre at Syon Park.

Just after 2pm, we rode south to cross the Thames at a ferry crossing to Ham on the opposite bank.

Hammertons opened in 1909 & the musician Phil Collins is the grandson of the original proprietor, Walter Hammerton.

Photo from Eric

We carried on south of the river to Kingston, then north to Hampton Court & Molesey Boat House for tea.

photo from Bernard

Thanks to Jennie for backmarking, Simon & others for corner marking & everyone else for your company on a chilly March day.

Sunday 1st March 2026

 Meteorological boffins would have us believe Spring starts today as they split the seasons into 3 month groups.

March 20th is the actual date of the Spring equinox.

Anyway it's same old, same old as regards the weather - light rain & mildish.

I joined Dave, Niall, Tony, Simon, Diane & Chris at Squires, Long Ditton....later to be joined by Steph & Brenda.

Six set off towards East Surrey CTC territory which are still going strong with the section meeting at Purley.....today they had 11's at Tanhouse Farm & lunch at Warnham.

They appear to avoid Wetherspoons (judging by the list of pubs on their website).

Unlike C&M who today are riding to a 'new' aquisition just beyond Croydon called Coombe Lodge.

I chose a north-easterly route along quiet suburban streets, briefly losing Steph & Brenda who had gone to see the sights of Mitcham Eastfields.

Holmsdale Road takes you past the towering stand at Selhurst Park where shortly after Dave left us & after the best part of 2½ hours we arrived at this 'out of town' pub.

Online reviews point to 'teething problems' - it opened in December 2025 after a million pound refurbishment having previously traded as a Beefeater.

I sat in the conservatory whilst the others went to order food.

Quite quickly I sensed several meal & drink options were not available (run out I assume) which is not something we're normally used to in Wetherspoons.

Anyway other choices were made & served without any problem indeed at one point some chips & something breaded was plonked on our table only to be swiftly removed after realising the error.

The toilets were tiny by 'Spoons standard & the pub is run as a franchisee so whether that has anything to do with its failings, I've no idea.

There were brief glimpses of the sun on the way to tea at the Honeywood Museum, Carshalton.

Thanks to Steph for backmarking & everyone else for your company.

Ride Report - Sunday 22 February 2026

Our relationship with the weather is one sided... it dictates we compromise. This morning it decided to rain, why, no reason... it just wanted to. But hey, Garmi was down to lead a ride today and I couldn’t let him down and so out from under the warm blankets I rolled. The aroma of the filtered coffee on the stove got me down to the kitchen and seeing Sabina on her bike and ready to go installed a certain pep in my step and still yawning there I was sitting behind Garmi on my bike.

We were on the tarmac... but with hardly a mile done we were sodden with another 20 miles of drench filled bucket loads to ride. We were on track to elevenses and weighing up the joys of kayaking on a bike. On arrival at Knights Garden Centre in Betchworth it was high fives (metaphorically for Garmi of course): We had made it through river like roads and up and down squisshy squasshy hills.

We walked through the ‘delicate’ plant section; so many of them, needing sensitive handling and protection from nasty winter weather.... kind souls tendered their needs ensuring that everything was just so (basically all nicely tucked under warm covers in comfy beds, oblivious to winter’s lashings, metaphorically speaking of course}. Then we came upon the ‘hardy perennials’, plants that were out all year round, capable of withstanding the depths of minus temperatures and the highs of the severest of frosts. And there on the other side of some very hardy looking evergreens were a couple of seasoned C&M'ers ready and waiting for this delicate to lead them out into the wettest of winters. I felt a shudder.

If it weren’t for Sabina holding me upright and gently ushering me forward I would have crouched and hid behind one of the extra large perrenial hardies and texted one of my fellow C&M'ers, “sorry... can’t make it... got a cold.... “ pinged them the route and let them get on with it. Then with grace and dignity I would have made a retreat and swiftly to the train station back to a warm bed where I naturally belonged. But before I could put this very sensible plan into action Sabina introduced herself to our fellow cyclists and said “Bernard is really looking forward to leading you today!”

So on our bikes we got... aiming for a lovely piece of Art Deco architecture, the Jack Fairman Whetherspoon in Horley. They recently spent a bob or two sprucing it up and they’ve done a wonderful job. It has those iconic straight lines for decoration, in fact the building has a wonderfully understated symmetry and balance with not a curve in sight. Its frontal is painted in low key white and blue. It really is a gem of early 1930’s architecture. The one shame is that I couldn’t find out who the architect was and I really do think his or her name should be sited somewhere as just recognition for their excellent work. Anyway, with these musings Garmi led us to Charlwood from where we headed straight to Horley cutting out the Gatwick chunk of our ride. I was grateful for this because when we did the reccie on an even wetter day than today it had felt like a war zone; the bellowing of airplane engines skimming our scalps as they took off and came in to land, stressed to the eyeballs drivers speeding to who knows where on single lane roads, pot holes and crater scars to avoid, mud ditches just to the side and not least Russian-roulette styled roundabouts.

Tummies nicely fed and watered we were soon back on gleaming snake-skin roads. We were all in positive mood for above us we could see yonder the hovering dark cloud Spring blue sky. It beckoned to us and we all rode like the wind heading for tea and cake in Leatherhead. The sun was out and the flat green lands of the countryside had a golden hue. Amidst the purples and yellows of the daffodils and crocuses wrens flitted in and out of the hedgerows. There were snow drops too. Spring was saying hello!

We finished our ride in Leatherhead where we enjoyed coffee and cake in Charlie and Gingers.

Thanks to Andy C for the allusions and to David W for the route!

I was led by Garmi and escorted safely around the route by Sabina, Jenny, Gina, David W and Andy C with Terry joining us for elevenses in case extra help was needed in making sure I made the course.

I finally did make it back to my warm bed and I’m writing this under the covers safely tucked away out of reach of the pesky rain! 

Do Join Bernard's Ride On Sunday 22 February

On Sunday Bernard will be leading us from elevenses at Knights Garden Centre, Betchworth to lunch at The Jack Fairman, Horley (about 20, not too hilly miles), then about 16 miles back to tea at Leatherhead.    There may be one or two unfamiliar bits of route, not least the home of the world marbles championships!

Do join us!

Ride Report - Sunday 15 February 2026

 

Now at last I know what 'C & M' really stands for - cold and miserable, obviously!  Actually, it could have been worse.   The weather forecast wasn't at all encouraging, and I fully expected to be on my own at elevenses at Staines Wetherspoons, when the cavalry unexpectedly arrived in the form of Pam and Liz (making her final appearance with the C & M)!

At some length, reluctantly dragging myself away from The George, I had a C & M moment (cussed and madcap), and set off on a cut-down version of my carefully-curated route to Staines.   Well, the show must go on!   I just about got away with it, but I did have the distinct impression in places that the waters on either side of the road would close together after I had passed!

I made it to Woking, and the comfort of a warm train, but, of course, by then the rain had subsided!

Thanks to Pam and Liz for their company!

Plans for Sunday 15 February 2026 - When George Met Herbert!

As billed, Sunday's ride will take us on a tale of two Wetherspoons from The George, Staines to The Herbert Wells, Woking.   I've kept the outbound route short (about 15 miles) in case of rain, and it can be further shortened further if it's very wet.    A lot of the route will be on roads we don't often traverse, and there are a few surprising hills too!

The return route (about 10 miles) to Walton Bridge starts off the usual way but then veers off up yet another unnecessary hill!   That's the price you pay for variety!

Do join me if you can't think of an alibi!

Ode to a Day Without Rain - 8 Feb to Camberley

During a slight pause in the current monsoon season, we met at Whiteley Village's Community Cafe - a new elevenses venue for us.  An amazing turnout for a grey February day - eighteen riders found their way there.   Was it curiosity about the new venue, or just desperation to get out of the house without getting instantly soaked?   I think we were all delighted to see so many people, especially Niall after his recent spell off the bike.   The cafe staff and regulars seemed very pleased to see us too, and encouraged us to come back soon.   It's a lovely old building with plenty of space.  We had the Conservatory to ourselves, and a good selection of pastries, sausage rolls and bacon butties was enjoyed by all.

Part of the large Millenium tapestry

Ah yes, so much fun chatting, but we had a longish ride to do, so a round dozen of us left fairly promptly, destination Camberley.   I had tried desperately to make it sound attractive in my "invitation" to the ride, and David W found a much more interesting poem by John Betjeman, A Subaltern's Love Song, which includes the lines

By roads "not adopted", by woodlanded ways,

She drove to the club in the late summer haze,

Into nine-o-clock Camberley, heavy with bells

And mushroomy, pine-woody, evergreen smells.

After much research, I found that David W had already invented the best route, so I stole that with a few adaptations.   We had to dodge the flooded river Wey at Brooklands, and reduce the stretch along the canal because it was a bit mucky, but soon enough it was "only another ten miles" and we were approaching Pirbright.   It's a little-known fact that Camberley is on top of a small mountain, so there was a fair bit of climbing through the above-mentioned mushroomy, pine-woody, evergreen woodlanded ways.

Eventually we reached the sanctuary of the Claude Du Vall, named after a gallant and non-violent French highwayman who charmed the ladies and tied up the men before relieving them of their valuables.   It ended badly, as he was captured and executed at Tyburn in 1670.   His memorial stone reads as follows:

Here lies DuVall: Reder, if male thou art,

Look to thy purse; if female, to thy heart.

Much havoc has he made of both; for all

Men he made to stand, and women he made to fall

The second Conqueror of the Norman race,

Knights to his arm did yield, and ladies to his face.

Old Tyburn’s glory; England’s illustrious Thief,

Du Vall, the ladies' joy; Du Vall, the ladies' grief.

The return was much more straightforward, with only a small mountain to climb in order to leave Camberley, and no highwaymen troubling us.  Soon we were speeding to Lightwater, Windlesham and Gracious Pond Road.  We nearly saw Pam in Chertsey (she waved at us from the bus, having just visited Vic) but we were at the end of a longish ride, it was tea time and our attention was elsewhere.   Just four stopped for tea at Shepperton, everyone else heading home to make the best of the daylight.

Thank you everyone for making it such an enjoyable and sociable day.  And especially to David W and Andy for leading a second group of riders, and Geoff for back marking, plus Dave E and Diane for their photos.

Plans for this Sunday's ride to Camberley

This Sunday, we will be visiting the spa town of Camberley, well known for its famous pub The Claude Duvall.  Even more exciting, we will gather for elevenses at Whiteley Village Community cafe, which is two miles west of Hersham, along the Burwood road.

If you're coming from Walton, you can ride through Ashley Park (Ashley Park Road/Silverdale Avenue), but beware that if you ride through Burwood Park (Erlswell Road) you can't exit at the southern end until a car comes through.  (Unless someone knows a better way?)

It's about 22 miles to lunch, and then 17 back to tea at Shepperton.  I hope you can join us.

Sunday 1st Feb ride report - Steph

Alan and I cycled from North Cheam together, leaving North Cheam at 9.15 and arriving a little wet at Polsden Lacy cafe at 10.30. Dave and Simon were ahead of us and we had coffee and left at 11 arriving at Wetherspoons Epsom at 12.10. We traversed Chapel Lane, Juniper Lodge Bottom, Headley and descended swiftly past Ashtead Garden Centre into Epsom. The weather was damp and drizzly, only 2 heavy showers fell, but enough to give us damp feet and gloves heavy with water. Lunch was a cheerful social with Colin Quemby arriving first, followed by Ed and finally Ann Bath. A very useful catch up with a couple of our non cycling members.

Plans for Sunday 1 February 2026

Spring must be on the way because we're heading back to Polesden Lacey for elevenses for the first time since since October.   But, just to be on the safe side, we'll be meeting in the Stable Courtyard Cafe, not the outdoor one near the entrance where we usually gather.   From there Steph will lead us on a lovely route to the Assembly Rooms, Epsom.

Invitation to our 2026 Annual Lunch

CTC South West London Annual Lunch and Prizegiving

4th March 2026 at 12:30 for lunch at 1 p.m.

We are delighted to tell you that Jennie has booked the Ristorante Sorrento (379 Ewell Road, Tolworth, KT6 7DE) for our annual lunch.

This has proved to be a most popular venue for the occasion since our first visit in 2018 and we are pleased to be able to hold the event there again.

The set price for our three-course lunch will be £25.25. This includes a 10% service charge, but does not include any drinks, coffee or tea. This is our menu:

Click on menu to enlarge

Please book by placing your order, and pay in advance by Sunday 15th February.

We expect the occasion will be attended by over 60 members, as it has been in recent years.

Please send an email message to Tim Court with your order for (i) a starter and (ii) a main meal. The waiters will take your orders for dessert after the main course on the day.

The preferred method of payment (£25.25) is a direct transfer via your online banking facility, but we can also accept cash or a cheque. For online payment please ask Tim C for our bank details if you don’t already have them. For a cash or cheque payment please check with Tim or your section representative. For anyone who has yet to pay their 2026 club subscription please consider adding your £3 when you pay for your lunch.

Any food allergies, dietary disorders or Vegan requirements must be notified to Tim when you advise your order so that these details can be noted and passed to the restaurant staff.

All ride leaders please note that your teams should be delivered to the restaurant by 12.30 p.m. so that everyone will have time to buy drinks, chat, and browse the photography exhibition, and settle down ready to confirm orders with the waiting staff.

Thank you

Tim C

Sunday 18 January 2026 – 11s Ride Report

 Bushy Park to Oxshott and Beyond

Bushy Park was once again the 11s venue for today’s ride. A relatively short, gently undulating route was planned, featuring a new lunch venue.

A good crowd turned out for the ride: Tony, Andy, Martina, Dave, Clive, Keith, Sabina, Alan, Simon, Graham, Carolyn, and Bernard. Joining us for the 11s section only were Dave V, Helen, Diane, and Madi.

We left Bushy Park via Lion Gate, heading south before turning left into Thames Ditton, continuing through Hinchley Wood, and crossing the Kingston Bypass to Claygate. A short detour took us up the hill at Red Lane, before turning right into Stevens Lane and onto the back end of Claygate. From there we headed west toward Esher.

We turned left onto the Portsmouth Road, riding almost as far as Cobham, where we entered Fairmile Lane for a few hundred metres. This led us onto the enjoyable downhill of Leigh Hill Road, then Stoke Road, and into The Tilt, which has been resurfaced since my last visit and was riding very nicely.

We soon arrived outside Café Barbara, the scene of the previous Friday’s 11s ride, before continuing on through Brundle Lane to Oxshott for lunch at the excellent Munch & Wiggles café. The owner, Ben, had reserved a covered and heated outdoor seating area for us, which was extremely cosy. He also organised a secure area for our bikes. Service was relatively quick, the food was very good, and we arrived just in time, as the café closes at 2:00 pm on Sundays.

We spent about an hour chatting and relaxing, helped along by some wonderful chocolate truffles kindly supplied by Ben. On departure, a few riders headed home directly, while the rest of us rode back toward Esher, turning into Sandy Lane for about a kilometre before turning left into The Ridings. Here we stopped at the blue plaque marking Tommy Sopwith’s residence in the early 1900s.

Soon after, we rejoined the Portsmouth Road for a short stretch to West End, then passed through part of the estate, riding past Wayneflete Tower, before descending to Molesey for our tea stop at Dish.

I believe Simon claimed the prize for the largest piece of cake, accompanied—as always—by plenty of banter and relaxed conversation. Eventually, though, it was time to head home.

It was a truly lovely day on the bike with a great group—thank you all. Special thanks go to Simon for back-marking, and to Andy and Dave for taking the photos.

Finally, a note for the future: it is becoming harder to fill the rides calendar, and we could really do with a few more ride leaders stepping forward.

Tony..

Sunday the 18th Jan

11's is at the Pheasanrty Lunch will be at, depending on numbers, Munch & Wiggles, additionally Cluck and Crusts or for those wanting to imbibe alcohol, the Victoria pub. Not too long a ride, but undulating. Tea will be at Dish, Hampton Court.

Tony..

Ride Report - Sunday 11 January 2026

 

It was a dull and cold start, and rain was forecast for later, but, undeterred, Simon, Keith, Lorraine, Terry, Clive and I met for elevenses at Leatherhead Wetherspoons, our first visit there for some time.

We lingered in the warm but eventually dragged ourselves back outside, by which time light rain had begun.    Keith, Simon, Clive and I continued to Pinnocks at Ripley via one of my more 'eclectic routes' (perhaps they would seem better ridden on an eclectic bicycle)?   Anyway, we took in the new Wisley Bridge, and the recently re-opened link to it from Elm Lane.   Then I went a 'bit loopy', and there were mutterings in the ranks, so I got us back on the straight and narrow!

Pinnocks was busy, but once the queuing bit was done, service was surprisingly efficient.   The rain, which had fizzled out during our ride from Leatherhead, had set in with renewed vigour while we were having lunch, and we went our separate, damp ways!

Thanks all for your company, and for putting up with it all!

Invitation to take part in the 2025 Photo Competition

Although I am a somewhat inert member of the C&M WhatsApp forum it hasn't escaped my notice that you had a bumper year in 2025 and that many of you have taken excellent photos. Therefore please feel warmly invited to take part in the 2025 Photo Competition via this link to the invitation.

The invitation includes instructions on how to submit photos via my Dropbox. 

Yours in expectation

Tim C

 

Your 2025 mileage scores please

This is a request to submit your mileage totals for the last twelve months (1st Jan. 2025 to 31st Dec. 2025) for consideration towards the annual awards for the greatest distances cycled. Your scores will be entered into the Big Spreadsheet where, since the dawn of the 21st century, the precious records of your accomplishments in the club have been maturing.

There are two shiny trophies, one for the woman who has cycled more miles than any other woman and one for the man with the highest mileage amongst the men.

And we have a special award, the Mark Roy Trophy, for the person recording the largest increase in mileage over the previous year. So anyone who has posted their mileage for both 2025 and 2024 is eligible. 

To summarise the rules, your miles must have been clocked up whilst riding your bicycle, tricycle, tandem or eBike on or off road. Mileages achieved on turbo trainers, Watt bikes or any other static contraption don't count. We know that this is something of a blow to members who have been riding through virtual alpine landscapes with Zwift or Rouvy but we only consider miles actually, rather than virtually, travelled.

For the competition, contenders for the prizes must be regular riders in the club though we are happy to collect mileage data for everyone who is a paid up member of CTC South West London. And we wish to continue recording mileages for our several members who ride eBikes.

If you are curious at all about how many miles you ride in the course of a year please start recording your distances for 2026 in a diary or spreadsheet.

Just one word of warning; several riders who use a GPS enabled device such as a Garmin, or smartphones running apps like Strava or RideWithGPS have experienced rides when their devices stop communicating with the satellites, sometimes for quite a while, and this can lead to totally unreliable data. So please verify the accuracy of your data. The evidence of this known problem is a long straight bee-line between two points on your ride where you know the road really had many twists and turns.

Fixie Dave's Garmin nodded off for a while with this result!

In my opinion this is not a problem which is specific to Strava or other phone app but is to do with the phone and its own software, memory resources perhaps. This erroneous data can also accumulate if you have hopped on a train with your bike but forgotten to stop recording 😏. Fancy doing that!

Please write to me with your total mileage:

Tim Court (Associate Bean Counter*)

We hope to be able to present the prizes in our traditional awards ceremony at the Annual Lunch, this year on Wednesday 4th March.

A very Happy New Year to you all and if you haven't been collecting your mileage scores please start now, from January 1st, 2026.

The Bean Counters need your numbers!

~ Tim C

*Nota Bene: The Bean Counting committee comprises Mick Arber and myself. Mick's primary source of fun is collecting the weekly attendance scores for Wayfarers and crunching the figures for all groups to identify the winners of the attendance trophies.