One of those "shall we, shan't we go cycling" kind of forecasts today. Always very frustrating to know what best to do. Daphne and Linda set off to come to Wokingham in the dry, but unfortunately got caught in a shower enroute. I phoned to say "forget the rendezvous point, ie I don't want to get wet!".....just come to my house and we will wait it out. By the time they got here, the sun was out and infact it was really warm. We gave it 10 mins, then decided to go.
I was leading today with a destination of The Dock Cafe, Caversham(ish), just through Sonning. Not been here before, although I did drive to investigate where it was last week. I completely confused the ladies by initially heading out to Waltham St Lawrence via The Straight Mile. (This is not the most direct route to Sonning).
We rode via Plough Lane where these 2 photos were taken and pretty houses next to each other.
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| Plough House, Plough Lane, Waltham St Lawrence |
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| also Plough Lane |
Now along Milley Road, where this next photo captures the very threatening sky! Oh dear.
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| Milley Lane |
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| The view to the right at Milley Bridge, is always worth a photo. Sky this direction looks more promising. |
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| interesting gates and lovely Hydrangea Annabelles in Hare Hatch |
As we approached the A4, we would turn left today, rather than straight over into Tag Lane. My Garmin had a strange coded message come up at the junction something about fp? Never seen that before, but I decided it must mean "focal point", since directly across the road on the house is a rabbit on the window sill. 😁
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| Waterside Cottages, Sonning |
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| "Centuries" Cottage |
At the roundabout at the A4155, we crossed onto the footpath, to avoid the main road, but it wasn't in great condition so in future, probably just ride on the road. At the traffic lights, a left turn into a beautifully smooth tarmac drive, heading to Caversham Lakes, Redgrave/Pincent Rowing Lakes, and the wharf where we were heading to The Dock Cafe. Its 1.5 miles off the main road.
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| Arriving at the Wharf, the first section is for Narrow Boats. Daphne specifically wanted this photo since Bullrushes remind her of her mother. Great reflections thanks to the grey skies. |
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| The view from the seating area. |
The cake selection was not the best, ie no home made cakes, but to be fair, my cake was very nice. Daphne felt hungry and opted for a freshly cooked bacon and egg bap. She said it was delicious. In the meantime, she got a message and photo from her husband, showing that her garden at home now flooded! We had thankfully missed a "biblical" storm. We heard rumbles of thunder occasionally, but never experienced anything more than a bit of drizzle. With more rain due, we headed for home via Woodley and down Sandford Lane.
30 miles for me, and 40.05 for Daphne. Linda around 36, I guess. Well done team. Glad you enjoyed the mystery route to Sonning. Good to shake things up sometimes. Loved it when Daphne thought we were in Dorney. lol 😍