A Monday ride and a desire to go somewhere a little different after weeks of local rides due to floods and or wintry conditions.
Route link (screen shot at end)
We met up at Odiham Canal, and headed to Greywell, then to Up Nateley. A tiny bit of light in the sky, which I stopped to snap, incase it was the only light we saw today!
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| Greywell Road towards Up Natley, and a little glow in the sky. Would it last? |
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| John and Dave at the top of the rise, and now all downhill to Up Nateley. |
A left turn into Frog Lane, and at the pond in Mapledurwell, we continued straight over to start the climb on Tunworth Road. More often, we turn left at the next junction , but today turned right, and after dropping under a railway bridge, we climbed again to pass the long wall of the property on our left, along Dickens Road.
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| A peak over the long wall of the property on Dickens Lane. Grey sky! |
Dropping down to a T Junction, we doglegged over the A339, and the noisy section alongside the M3, before leaving it as the road heads to the left into the village of Cliddesden. A left at the pond into Hackwood Lane, and where the landscape changes to an open expanse of fields. At a right hand bend, the name changes to Northgate Lane.
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| Northgate Lane, as we leave Cliddesden, heading to Ellisfield. We are about to face a 14% climb |
Not far from the bottom of the hill with the gradient at about 5%, Daphne came to halt, saying her bike was not working. 😂 A quick test spin of both wheels, to prove nothing wrong with the bike! 😅😅😅. (She hasnt done this hill before.) She got back on and like the rest of us, puffed her way to the top, pushing through the gradients, which peaked at 14%. Well done team.
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| Beautiful light now as we pass the Farleigh estate, on The Avenue. (John and Dave catching up) |
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| Quick let's go before anything else comes. Farleigh Road, approaching Dummer. |
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| John set off first, then struggled to get his phone out in time to catch the rest of us approaching fast.😉😁 |
We arrived into Dummer, passing the Church on our left and once along Up Street, turned into Dummer Down Lane. A lovely long downhill now to coffee stop.
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| Honesty cafe, Dummer. |
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| It was packed today! (photo by John) |
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| Shortly after we left, I spotted these sheep basking in the sun |
John and Dave about to disappear around the bend, on Duxford Lane, just after our coffee stop. We cross straight over in Axford, into Berrydown Lane, which is a beautiful valley road. (Moundsmere area to our right, and Ellisfield up to the left). We continue straight into Bagmore, where I had hoped to photograph some snowdrops. We had seen several clumps today, but the flowers all still tiny. Including the ones in Bagmore! So, no snowdrop photos today.
Over the A339 for the second time today, a short climb to Herriad, but a big whizz downhill follows passing the Weston Patrick junction, and continuing down and down some more into Upton Grey.
Of course a climb now OUT of Upton Grey, before our return to Greywell, and finish on a downhill in to Odiham.
I think one of my favarourite rides, and so nice to enjoy the skeletal winter trees and being able to see through the hedges this time of year. It wasn't a warm day, but the little bit of sunshine made such a difference.
