A-Group "Here be Dragons ride" May 16 2012

Some time ago Vic muttered on here that rides were sometimes a bit samey and rarely ventured into the North West quadrant of the putative Wayfarers' territory. So, having discovered a fantastic Pub at Hedgerley I thought  I would kill two birds with one stone.....

Thus, with the sun shining encouragement on our endeavours, our gallant band of 16 mounted our trusty steeds and ventured forth  toward that part of the Wayfarer map beyond the M4 & simply marked "Here be Dragons"!

First to Chertsey, and the river; thence to Staines. Onward rode our gallant crew! Wraysbury, Datchet, past the jousting fields of Eton onward ever faster to the Slough of Despond beyond the M4 - where the Dragons struck!

Tony was the first to fall - victim of an errant cone, Jeff and Peter too were attacked! But our trusty brothers are made of stern stuff. Up they got, tended, their wounded steeds and prepared for further trials. Jeff and Peter volunteered to venture on to face the unknown challenges ahead while Mike of Morley, generous and gallant soul, volunteered to accompany our wounded Italian Troubadour to the safer territories of the Homelands.

Onward we rode through the Poges of Stoke and into to Enchanted Forest, not far from the wondrous Beeches of Burnham. Then on, down the precipitous slopes of Hedgerley Hill  and safe to our destination - the famous White Horse of Hedgerley, a marvellous hostelry famous for serving serving warriors of our ilk ale and sustenance since the 1920's and oft voted the best ale house of the region by those stout and bearded Defenders of the Faith - CAMRA! Therein we found our trusty colleague Staring Bob - magically there before us!

Fed and watered, we ventured forth. North to the foothills of the Mountains Of Chiltern. South we turned to Fulmer, passing close to the Magical Kingdom of Hogwarts in the Pine Wood, eventually to rejoin our outward path of the morn, braving once again the deadly cones of Slough, retracing our tracks to Shepperton and thence on the the Walled Garden to be waited on by the wenches of Sunbury.

Paul Kelly