B Group - 23rd April

Our leader - Gill

Whether it was the after effects of Easter, the turn-up at Shepperton seemed smaller than usual.  Certainly there were fewer B riders and it was a comfortable group of 18 that set off, heading to Old Windsor for lunch at The Fox & Castle pub.  Our route was out around Chertsey, over the M25 to Lyne and so to Virginia Water.  The entrance to the Lake is now through the Car Park and the new Visitor Centre.  Despite the cloudy conditions there were a fair number of people, with and without dogs or pushchairs, walking round the Lake.  At the far end we continued into Windsor Great Park and up Heartbreak Hill, the long hill leading up to the Guards Polo Club.  The beautiful splashes of colour from the azaleas and rhododendrons made this the most attractive part of the ride.  We left the Park at Savill Gardens, coming out on to Wick Lane.  The last lap to lunch was then a fast trip down Crimp Hill almost to the door of the pub.

Lunch was handled very efficiently, with people reporting how good their meals had been.  We ate indoors due to the rather chilly conditions outside and our trip after lunch to the tea place, Squires at Shepperton, was accompanied by odd spots of rain which fortunately did not become any worse.  Our afternoon route was pretty much the standard route of Runnymede, Egham, Staines, the towpath to Laleham, then Shepperton.  There were 16 of us at tea and as the last were about to leave, who should arrive but members of A Group!  Thanks go to Tim for acting as Back-marker.

Gill Finlay

15.5 miles to The Fox and Castle, 10.1 miles to Tea at Squires