We had parked at this starting point before, on the B4494. Took our ebikes today and since we have both been riding our road bikes recently, they felt very heavy!
Garmin site still down (Day 4). News reports of $10M ransom from hackers. Thank you very much.
( Garmin site back Monday 27th -
route )
The B4494 seems to attract some very fast drivers, so best to get off it asap. We left the car park and took the first left turn, which we had used before, taking us on a lane through some pretty woodlands, dropping downhill to Winterbourne.
Once through the woodlands, the views open up. Not so keen on the cloudy skies!
We drop downhill to Winterbourne, and will soon be up the opposite hill where the little church is, although we never did see it on our ride.
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| Winterbourne Thatch |
Just past the cottage and up we go heading for Boxford. Very pretty lanes, then just before we go under the M4, the rain starts, so we take shelter for a few minutes under the bridge.
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| Taking cover from the rain under the M4 bridge. |
We dont have to wait too long before we continue following signs for Leckhampstead then right towards Peasmore. We do a bit of a wiggle through Peasemore then turn right next to The Fox Pub, onto Peasemore Hill. (yes, another hill!) Been a bit of a theme so far today.
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| Peasmore Church |
A right and left bring us to a funny 3 way junction, where we almost double back on our route, now heading to Catmore... uphill. This will eventually bring us to West Ilsley, where a cricket match was underway on our left as we arrived at the junction.
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| Catmore Road. |
Some lovely open views to our right on Catmore Road, including some blue skies in this direction.
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| John taking in the views, but look at that sky behind him. |
A steep climb now, on our way to East Ilsley, but the heavens opened, and we had to take cover under a tree canopy. Not that it kept us particularly dry.
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| The sky has disappeared and its pouring |
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| Taking shelter in the downpour. |
After about 10 mins, blue skies once more, but some big puddles as we head into East Ilsley, and I was a little cautious with the roads being so wet. With no coffee stop on this route, we had our snack by the duck pond, where a handy spotty table was useful.
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| East Ilsley. We will now take the road to the right next to the church conversion, heading to Compton. |
This is a big open undulating road, and we were able to get up a good speed for a couple of miles. We eventually turn right, and this view of the open fields.
From Compton we continue to Hampstead Norreys, dropping down into the village centre, before going uphill again in the direction of Worlds End. We take the next right at which point I realised I had a puncture. Damn. The rain started spitting again, so I "assisted" but since John is quicker, he did most of the work. By the time that was done, the sun was out again. No more spares, so fingers crossed.
We continued to World End, taking us under the A34, then a left turn, and right towards Chieveley. Finally continuing back to Winterbourne, under the M4 once more, and back UP the hill through the pretty woodlands, to the car park.
