I rode to Dorchester with John and Dave in late March, and Daphne said she would love to go another time, since she has recently done a "virtual" tour of historic Dorchester. So today was the day. Same route as before apart from beyond Wittenham Clumps where we turned left and through Brightwell cum Sotwell approaching Wallingford on a different (quieter) road.
Route
We drove to park in Checkendon. The first few miles a gradual climb to Nuffield. On that section, so many beautiful carpets of bluebells under the Beech woods. Heading on one downhill section, and therefore at a fair speed, I don't quite know what happened, but suddenly John stopped right in from of me, broadside on, as I crashed into him. Not sure how on earth he stayed upright but my handlebars got tangled in his spokes as I hit the deck. Thankfully no harm done other than a sore elbow. Phew!
 |
| Daphne enjoying the bluebells through Checkendon Lanes |
Having climbed to a bit of height to Nuffield we are now rewarded with an easy long downhill on Nuffield Hill.
 |
| Wittenham Clumps looking tiny in the far distance. |
 |
| Views over Benson from Days Lane. |
In and out of Ewelme, we have a few undulations (and spots of rain) as we now head for the pretty village of Chalgrove.
 |
| Clumps now on our left beyond pig city near Chalgrove |
From Chalgrove we join a main road section for a couple of miles, but very flat and not very busy so no problem today. We eventually arrive at a junction on Thame Road Stadhampton, and keeping left we arrive at The Crazy Bear (hotel). We have a quick nosey in the garden and outdoor dining space, which looking amazing! Must come back for a proper lunch soon. But today, we were using the adjoining farm shop.
 |
| Garden space at Crazy Bear Hotel |
 |
| Crazy Bear Hotel garden |
 |
| The kid goats have a bridge to practice their climbing skills 😁 |
Daphne very kindly insisted on buying coffee and cakes today, and we had some amazingly moist Guinness cake. Yum.
 |
As we leave, we turn left away from the hotel.
Very soon we turn right on a bend, signposted amongst other things for Aston Martin Museum. (It reopens on May 21st Daphne Aston Martin Museum.) The lane here has an interesting raised timber walkway, presumably because of flooding from the river Thame which passes through here. |
 |
| Farmer was just preparing to do a crop spay as we rode on Stadhampton Road |
 |
| The opposite view on Stadhampton Road. Looking a bit threatening! |
 |
| arriving in Drayton St Leonard. |
We will continue to the left here, but for a few minutes detour to the road on the right (Ford Lane) for a look around. The lane soon ends, and becomes a muddy track , so we go no further today.
 |
| Dorchester |
 |
| Dorchester |
We had a detour to the left of the village and then came back and parked our bikes in the Abbey grounds for a few minutes. Beautiful, and no one else there, apart from two ladies having wine in the porch.
 |
| John and Daphne ahead as we get nearer the Clumps at Days Lock to cross The Thames |
We need to climb through Little Wittenham, all very pretty and finally the road flattens out at the top near the main car park.
 |
| Views from Little Wittenham |
 |
| And views of the walk from the car park. |
Now a lovely fast downhill, and today we turn LEFT at the junction, whereas last time, we went right. After about a mile we turn into a track which is part of Cycle Route 5, and this continues straight over the main A4130 into Brightwell cum Sotwell. A very pretty village and we turn right into Church Lane where we find a bench and feeling a bit peckish, have our snack bars.
 |
| Cow parsley time, arriving in Brightwell cum Sotwell |
 |
| Taking a break |
Leaving the village, we very soon cross at a roundabout using a footpath, to join Wantage Road, and continue straight all the way into Watlington, and over the Thames once more int Crowmarsh Gifford. Familiar ground now, as we climb to Ipsden... uphill from Crowmarsh!
 |
| Lovely crop fields at Ipsden near The King William |
We ride the undulations through Ipsden all the way to Bottom Lane, where we stop for a moment to remove a layer before hitting the hill back to Ipsden. Its very pleasant now about 16 degrees and sunny.
 |
| Looking back at the bottom of Bottom Lane before we climb |
 |
| photo by Daphne as we start the climb to Checkendon |
 |
| Photo by John who was first up the hill. I made it further than ever before! yeah!!! |
A lovely ride at our own easy pace, with plenty of stops with Daphne to appreciate the surroundings. Which is why we didn't invite anyone else, who might have got frustrated with so many stops. We love it! Thanks for your good company Daphne.
