Well, what a wonderful day. It may be the middle of April, but we enjoyed High Summer today - clear blue skies all day and 25°C this afternoon. It doesn't get much better ...
Eighteen of us left Henfold setting off at a steady clip towards Rusper, Faygate, Tower Hill and points South. Past the Hammer Ponds, up the hill at Warninglid arriving at the White Horse, Hurstpierpoint before one.
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| Picture by Ray |
Hans had arranged for us to tour the Hurst Brewery, a relatively recently opened micro-brewery that follows the tradition of the original Hurst Brewery which ceased brewing many years ago. The scale of the brewery may be small, but the product is proving very popular, currently being distributed from Brighton to Redhill. Expansion is taking place, with new equipment on order, so we can expect to see Hurst Brewery beers more widely around the Southeast. The company's ethos is based on a locally made, high quality product, and those of us who sampled it absolutely agreed that this was the way to go.
The pub was old-fashioned and interesting - there were some traditional English foods on offer, but the main thrust was Thai, which was the choice of many. The Thai food took a few minutes to prepare, which worked out well as small groups could place their order and then take the brewery tour, returning when their meal was ready. This was very successful.
Lunch over, and back on the road. Sunny lanes though Spring countryside, not big hills but plenty of 'pimples', as Ken put it. At the Hammer Ponds we rejoined our outward route, rolling steadily through Rusper to tea at Tanhouse Farm.
45.7 miles from elevenses at Henfold to tea at Tanhouse, rolling average 13.9mph, with a reasonable climbing total of 3,060 feet.
Thanks to Geoff and Simon, who acted as back-markers, and to all of the Wayfarers who marked corners to speed their companions - it makes for an easy day for the leader. Special thanks to Hans for arranging the brewery tour, and a welcome to Ruth, who rode with us for the first time today.
Mark
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