A lovely day by the Thames: C group 14 April

We met for coffee yesterday at lovely Molesey Boat Club, with its roof level outdoor terrace and wonderful pastries - perfect for our gathering on such a bright and sunny morning. Nine set out from N Cheam in two groups; Kam with her niece, Antra on a new bike received for her 18th birthday a few weeks ago; Frank, Maureen, Dawn, Anne, Sandie, Godfrey and me. At Molesey we were pleased to see John Bellamy and Bernard, both joining us for their first outing of the season; Don, who greeted us but had another group to go to (such luxury after the winter indoors!); Ed and Gillian. Godfrey headed home after coffee, so we had two sixes for our ride to lunch along the river to Marble Hill Park. We took the Barge Walk to Kingston bridge then headed through Hampton Wick. The first group stayed with the Teddington Road; John B lead our second group along the much quieter lower road, until we rejoined the main route through to Twickenham at Manor Road, by Teddington Lock. At the end of Cross Deep we took the pedestrian crossing and entered Wharf Lane rejoin the river. The path took us to the gate of Marble Hill, where we were surprised to see the first group heading in our direction from the other end of the park! We decided to stop for our picnic at the children's playground just outside the park, as there were benches by the riverside, with a lovely view of Ham House across the water. There's also a cafe, with basic but reasonably clean toilets. After lunch John and Bernard headed for home. The rest of us continued to Richmond bridge, then up the hill to the park; a nice challenge after our easy ride of the morning! Gillian, Ed and I stopped for tea at Roehampton gate while the others steamed on home. North Cheamers completed about 26 miles. Thanks everyone for delightful company and a most enjoyable day out. Dawn is leading our ride from Leatherhead next week. Please contact Helen by Monday to book your place.