It's Christmas Eve! And Covid is doing it's best to wreck everyone's plans!!
Gill's son, home to visit, has Covid so she is isolating. Martina's son has Covid. Andrea not 100%. Jeanette not 100%.
My own family in Wales all had Covid last week, and the Mum now unwell, but her PCR test has come back negative.Will they be coming in 3 days time? The jury is still out. 😓
I tested again today, and am clear, as is Lynne. Daphne had made a request to join us today, so we were 3. It's a long time since I had been to Nordon Arts Centre, so cobbled together a route to get there via Bray. I thought this would be a new route for all of us, but it turned out Lynne had done most of it before. Difficult to find anything new.
Route
Daphne drove to mine, then we met up with Lynne and climbed Carters Hill. An amazingly mild day, so no need really to warm us up today. Then we dropped downhill passing Binfield Church, and I noticed the sky clearing.
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| opposite Binfield Church. |
Next, to the pretty Ryehurst Lane, where at the end, the horses were all alert watching something in the distance.
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It was comical to see them all looking the same way, to start with.
It was another horse passing the hedgeline. |
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| then they came to see us close up |
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| Daphne and Lynne at Ryehurst Lane |
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| Lovely skies looking back on Bottle Lane |
After a ride on WestleyMill Road, we joined Howe Lane all the way to Paley Street, and continued into Littlewick Green, where we noticed this tree covered in Mistletoe.
| Unusual to see this much mistletoe on one tree. |
Through Littlewick Green and continuing to Bray, we detoured for a few minutes to the lane leading to the church. The cottages nicely decorated.
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| Bray Cottage |
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Aptly named for our Christmas Eve ride.
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We used the national cycle route path into Braywick Park, then crossed the main A308, at a traffic light crossing into Walker Road. A climb on Harvest Hill Road (but not a big climb), before turning left soon into Kimber's Lane. This is new territory for me now. A nice quiet lane, with an impressive property on our left called Kimbers. Shorty after, the lane ends, and we climb over a pedestrial bridge to cross the A404M to join Ockwells Lane.
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| Kimbers |
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| Views from Ockwells Road |
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| Ockwells Road as it almost runs out. |
We dogleg across Woodlands Park Road (left would have brought us out at White Waltham airport), and continue all the way on this residential road until we reach Canon Lane. Familiar road now, which we turn right onto, and then later right again, all the way to the arts centre.
We sat in a marquee for our drinks. I had hoped the centre might have been nicely decorate for Christmas, but no signs of anything much. A children's performance finished as we left, so it good that the theater was being attended, despite covid.
We backtracked a mile so, before joining Breadcroft Lane to the Knowl Hill Bridal path to join to Butchers Lane, White Waltham.
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| Knowl hill bridal path views. |
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Knowl hill bridal path views. Looked a bit like mountains in the distance.
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We wiggled our usual route back via Shurlock Row, then through Hurst Lanes to Cantley.
Lovely to be our one last time before the madness begins. Merry Christmas!
I am finishing writing this blog a day later, now at 7pm on 25th, since ran out of time yesterday. Jamie arrived about 4pm, and we opened the Proseco, and played some games. A lovely Christmas Day too, and now a couple of days of peace until the family, hopefully, arrive on 27th.
