April 23rd Train Assisted

Picture by Vic White

Train Assisted Ride Farnham April 23rd Thirteen early birds met at Farnham station on a cold wet morning. The leader harboured secret hopes that no-one else would turn up and he could go home , but duty called, and it all turned out for the best. The party voted for a coffee break at The Maltings, which is not the cheapest of venues but magically the rain stopped and the sun put in an appearance as we left down West Street to Crondall Lane and the Land of Promise beyond. Through Dippenhall, Well and Long Sutton to Bidden and the source of the River Whitewater, a favourite trout Stream hereabouts. The bye-way from here was unrideable, so we carried on by road to Upton Grey to reach Greywell. This is where the Basingstoke Canal ends for all practical purposes. We inspected the tunnel entrance, King Johns Castle and a very wide ford, our last sight of the Whitewater on this ride. A puncture earlier on necessitated a short cut to lunch at The Bell in Odiham. Here we caught up with four late risers and one who had caught the wrong train and finished up in Basingstoke, making the party eighteen strong for a bargain fish and chip lunch with good beer. After inspecting the village stocks and Plague House we set out again through Hillside and Roke Lane ,past Crondall to Redfields Garden Centre for tea. The sting came after tea when the way led through Ewshot, a noticeable climb. Despite the leader waiting at the top, some riders took the short way to Farnham down the A287 and were in the return train while the rest were still sampling the delights of Dora’s Green and Dippenhall on what had turned into a perfect Spring day for a country ride. From Vic White