As the last of the B groups scheduled for departure from Weybridge we were able to take our time over coffee and enjoy being able to stand around talking in the sunshine. Winter will bring another change to our new culture of meeting outdoors for Elevenses but we'd rather not contemplate that yet.
With Tony's route loaded into Memory-Map on my phone I followed his blue line which took us through Chertsey and Virginia Water then North to Datchet. We joined the Jubilee River trail at a place we'd never heard of called Myrke and followed the river all the way to lunch.
Though Dorney Court wasn't Tony's first choice for our lunch stop it was in every way ideal with its café/restaurant, toilets and an opportunity to browse in the garden centre.
After lunch we set sail across Dorney Common in high gears with a slight breeze behind us and after the second cattle grid soon found ourselves in Eton Wick. I looked at my phone and realised that Tony's route didn't go to Eton Wick. The leader had been day-dreaming! We pondered our options and decided to go back to Dorney and take the Boveney Road as intended. We were glad that we did this because for most, if not all of us it was a route we'd never taken before, leading onto the pleasant path down to Boveney Lock and through to Eton.
We crossed the Thames at Eton and took a conventional route through Datchet, Wraysbury and Staines to join the others from the first two groups at The Ferry Coffee Shop in Shepperton which was very busy with our custom and the usual throng of normal people stopping off for refreshment.
Thanks to Tony for devising the route for a day which was enjoyed by all. Thanks to Terry for back marking and for the happy little team who rode with me, including Martin who we could welcome back to our rides for the first time since lockdown began.
~ Tim
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