We have started rides a few times from The Chase car park, Wash Water, near Newbury on different routes, but I had only done this one to climb to Watership Down once before.
Last time, John had done a recce ride, with promises of fantastic views, but it was disappointingly misty, and I didn't get to see the views! Enroute to the start along the M4 today, it was still stubbornly misty, but with a forecast to burn off by mid morning, it would hopefully improve. Hmmm.
I did this route last time on my road bike. It was hard work at times, and satisfying, but decided to opt for ebikes today. Why not?
Route
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| Beech Trees at The Chase car park. Took this incase it was the best colour we saw! |
We left the car park turning left as we often do, to pass through Church Road Woolton Hill, and start a gentle climb towards Ashmansworth. (Gentle to start with!).
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| Left fork on Church Road, Woolton Hill. All nice and flat still. |
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| Lovely colours along the lanes today. |
It was still pretty misty as we joined Hollington Lane.
Once through the village, a fairly steep drop downhill, and I pulled over for this next photo, whilst John carried on. Our route turns right at the bottom of this hedgeline, then almost immediately left.
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| View dropping down from Ashmansworth, to cross the A343, towards Stoke. |
It's a pretty Lane, called Doiley Bottom, and passes along the edge of woodlands. Eventually, we drop down to a junction where we turned left then first right to head for St Marybourne. (just near the "round" house).
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| Looking backwards, as we follow the Bourne Rivulet into St Marybourne. |
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| But the Riverulet is dry! (the water must be diverted) |
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| Remembrance service just finished in St Marybourne, so we walked through the crowds. |
A quick stop at the public loo, then we continued through the village, and on to Hurstbourne Priors. Just before we crossed the dog leg at the B3400, this property on our right. (just passed the church which is always in shade!)
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| Junction of B3400 at Hurstbourne Priors. |
Along the B3408 now to Longparish. Its a very quiet road, and all very flat too. We spotted some Valais Black Nose Rams today in the usual place on the bend as we arrived in the village. We took the left turn into Mill Lane today, and over a small bridge over the river Test. There is plenty of water here. Then a left turn again into Nuns Walk, over another part of The Test, which serves the trout fishing lakes.
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| River Test at the trout fishing lakes. |
Nuns Walk is another very pretty, and easy lane, which we have ridden several times now, with just a slight incline towards the end of a couple of miles . We pass under the A34 on a cycle path, and followed the road into Whitchurch, hoping that the Silk Mill will be open. It was. 😊
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| Nice sunny spot for our cuppa/cake. Everyone else sat inside or in the shade. |
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The little bridge is "private", but I think maybe a holiday rental?
(I checked .....it is available as Air B'nB, called Silk Mill Cottage) |
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| We have done the Silk Mill tour before, inside the impressive building. |
Here we are at river level, and next faced a steep climb out of Whitchurch on Newbury Road. I knew it was coming of course, and with power on, it was not a problem. It does go on a bit, and there can be traffic, which we encountered as we made our right turn signal into Harroway. (A driver actually wound his window down and shouted at us, for daring to hold him up ).
Harroway was very smelly from the pig farm as soon as we turned into it. It then dips down passing the gypsy caravans, which John says he can smell before he sees them... I never have noticed. They had a bonfire going today and Mother and child sitting next to it, whilst a couple of men were handling wood. What a life, but at least no electricity bills to worry about.
There are a couple of right turns on Harrow Lane, one just opposite a lovely Manor House, at Priory Lane. Then soon Watch Lane, which is the one that is next to the Freefolk Almshouses near the Bombay Sapphire distillery. (which we came up once... its steep!). On a left hand bend, Harrow Lane changes it's name to Twinley Lane, which is, I think, where I took the next photo.
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| Stopping on Twinley Lane.... for this view to the right.... |
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| Substantial property among the trees, on Twinley Lane, nr Whitnal. |
A left turn on to Cole Henley Road, followed by a sharp right, into an unnamed road, which runs through a valley to Ashley Warren (the village with gates either end), and the climb to Watership Down.
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| Unnamed road approaching Ashley Warren to climb up to Watership Down. |
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At the top at last. View to our left.
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| Closer view. |
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| And Rape crop just coming into flower on our right, at the top at Watership Down. |
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At the top, a VERY steep downhill is next.
But first a few photos. |
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| A little to the left of the road, a glimpse to Sydmonton House. |
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We chatted to this family who are just disappearing
out of site. |
We just started our descent, then stopped again. The light was beautiful
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| Standing under the Beech Canopy to the left of the roadside, where the fields fall away. |
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| Difficult to capture, but lovely long shadows and its only about 1.30. |
I have to say I don't particularly enjoy a
really steep descent, so took it really slowly, until it wasn't quite so steep. At the bottom, we turned left onto a short busier section of road into Sydmonton, then we turned right into another unnamed road. Easy going, and lovely trees here again. We took a left at a strange fork, (where it's best to ignore the turn since it looks a bit like a track,) and there is a very sharp left turn a few yards further along, to double back on the road. This climbs slightly passing a farm on Well Street, then at the red postbox, we turned left into Spring Lane, signposted Old Burghclere.
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LEFT at the postbox into Spring Lane.
(we passed a cottage with a daffodil coloured door, which I photographed last time) |
The quiet lanes over now, as we joined Harts Lane, then right to go over the A34 and downhill on a wide, fast road into Pound Street. A right turn, into Penwood Road, looses the traffic and this is a pretty lane passing between old woodlands either side. The temperature dropped a couple of degrees through here, since the low winter sun no longer got through. This eventually goes under the A34 shortly before our return to Wash Water.
Back home today at 3.15 partly due to avoiding some roadworks near Shire Hall, then a detour also through Wokingham. Lovely ride, in 14 degrees, which for 13th November is ridiculously mild.
