I've not seen Linda since June, and both she and Daphne were free today, as was John. We fancied an away day, and I suggested we take a picnic lunch since BH pub food can be a long wait. Linda requested a ride with no long hills. 😉 oh dear!
I reversed a ride John and I have done a couple of times, but with ebikes, so this was going to be interesting. We drove to Avington Estate, Nr Winchester, and parked up in our usual spot, over the cattle grid. No sign of the cows when we parked up.
Route link photo of route at end.
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Empty car park as we started our ride at Avington Estate.
(Linda faffing with her Garmin)
We left via the parkland, where we spotted 3 cows on our left, and climbed initially all the way to the village of Easton. Legs were tired already! At the pub in Easton, a right turn and we joined the B3047 now into Itchen Abbas. A few cars around, so single file along here until we left the traffic behind on a bend as we turned left into Northington Road.
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| View from Northington Road. We are fairly high up here, and our legs know it! |
A right turn at a X Roads and soon big whizz down this tree lined lane, into Totford, where we arrived at The Woolpack Inn.
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| I stopped for a photo or 2, whilst the others went ahead on the big downhill, |
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| View beyond the tree lined lane. |
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| Closer look at the Hamlet. |
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| And a little further down, I like the foreground grasses too. |
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| The Woolpack Inn as we arrived at this T junction. |
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Waiting for the photogtrapher, and now we continue on this road to the left.
This the B3046, all the way to Brown Candover to our cafe stop at The Yard.
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| Quite busy today at The Yard, but it always is. |
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| The pots of tea were enormous! |
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Leaving "The Yard", and waiting for John. Now we retrace a few hundred yards and
then turn left to climb Spiers Lane towards Bighton. |
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We met the Asda Van part way up one of our climbs. No
choice, but to get off and squeeze past him. |
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| A downhill! Woopee. |
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| Ah, but at the next X roads.... its up again, towards Gundleton. |
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| The hedges were quite dense and too high, but occasionally a gap. |
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At the top of the climb into Gundleton, and with a car following,
a sharp left into Goscombe Lane, where it levelled out a bit. |
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After a mile or so, we came to the railbridge over the Watercress Line at Ropley Station.
Was hoping to see some steam trains in action today, but all quiet. |
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| And on the opposite side of the road. |
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This road, called Bigton Hill now drops down steeply to a Xroads with the A31.
We can see our next climb ahead. 😒 |
We climb and join Park Lane, which is a more gentle gradient, eventually dropping down again to a strange X roads, which I remember from before, because of all the white gravel.
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This unusual junction at a farm, where we cross a white gravel area to start our next climb.
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We all made it, at our own pace. John first up on his road bike.
It turns out to be 14% gradient! Phew!
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| Here comes Linda. Well done! (She hasn't ridden much for weeks.) |
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| Recovering!!!😂😂😂 |
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| Got our breath back. Ropley hill behind us in the distance. |
Very sadly, just near us, an older man was in a bad way. An ambulance was called. We think it was a heart attack since his colour was very grey. We saw the ambulance enroute on our final part of the ride.
We joined a cyclepath to climb another hilly short section alongside the Alresford Road, then back in quiet lanes to finish our ride. First into Ovington, with this lovely tree canopy.
(John and I enjoyed a Spanish chicken casserole for dinner .... with wine of course. The last of our pack of 20 Chicken drumsticks as discussed today. 😂)
