Fifteen of us made a leisurely start from Cobham, for a short winter's ride. The usual route through Martyr's Green and Hungry Hill brought us to the Old Epsom Road, where we were able to observe the long-standing Wayfarers' tradition of looking at the curious fence made from a variety of agricultural tools.
Then, back to work, with a long and steady pull up Staples Lane. At the top, a surprise for some, as instead of plunging down Combe Bottom as we usually do, we set off to the West along the old Saxon Drove Road heading for Newlands Corner, Guildford and points West. The surface is pretty good, with plenty of leaves, though parts did need skilful handling to stay on the easiest path. Across the A25 at Newlands Corner and then back on to the track, picking up a bit of tarmac at Guildford Lane before returning once more to the trackways of our ancestors.
Fine views from Pewley Down, then a descent that got steeper and steeper as we made our way down to Guildford Castle. Here we took a brief culture break, admiring the route up The Mount on the other side of the river before ducking in to the pub. (We were also careful to avoid the 'blokes outside pubs' picture, favouring 'blokes outside castles'. Much more sophisticated.)
At the Kings Head we were welcomed and offered a good choice of beers and food quickly served. We sat in a corner near the log fire - not entirely necessary on such a mild day - and cast around for ghosts in what is said to be the most haunted pub in Guildford. The best we could manage was the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, as represented by John in his St Nicholas hat.
After lunch, a change of pace, cutting round the back of Shalford and across the railway, then along through Albury back to Combe Bottom - going up, this time. Down Green Dene to the bottom of Crocknorth Lane, then back up again to the rolling road across Ranmore Common, with the spire of St Barnabus visible on the horizon.
From here, it was a few minutes to Pilgrim Cycles, with tea and cake for some and the road home for others, making the best of the fading light.
An enjoyable winter's day out, with some good climbing and impressive riding, particularly by those who rode the Drove Road on racing slicks. Good stuff.
Mark
2 comments:
A very enjoyable ride, the off-road in particular. Looking on my OS Explorer 145, it's interesting to see that in the vicinity of Newlands Corner 3 ancient tracks coincide - the North Downs Way, (which we were on); Trackway - now part road/part track that we joined after Albury Down, and eventually the road into Guildford at the castlle; and the Pilgrims Way, south of Albury Down and joining the North Downs Way at St. Martha''s Hill, eventually joining the A281 (with a suitable road sign pointed out by Mark). No doubt local history books will explain it all?
Glad you enjoyed it, Ged. I've done a bit of reading around the topic, but have so far found little of substance and a lot of romantic waffle. The tracks of the North - and South - Downs seem to fall into two categories - tracks at the top of the hill and tracks at the bottom. There are also many linking tracks, some steep and awkward. There is some evidence that the tracks at the top of the hill were used for droving various beasts up until Victorian times; there's not much evidence (that I have found) for the use of the tracks at the bottom of the hill. This is often attributed to Pilgrims, but the sheer volume of pilgrims needed to keep these tracks in use seems to me unlikely.
I think that what we now have is the left-over bits that no-one wanted - more useful and busier tracks have been subsumed into the road or rail networks. But there's still a lot of fun to be had trying to work this puzzle out.
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