B Group Ride 28April - Bushy Park, Eton, Walton on Thames

Teddington was always a favourite elevenses venue. The Pheasantry cafe in Bushy Park was just as popular - with 30 Bs signing-up for the now familiar groups of six, with 29 reaching the starting-line on the day. Pete Barnard was there to wave us off!

Was it a typical B ride? This route map provides some answers!

Tim reported on his group - the last to leave elevenses:-

Our little group had a fairly fluid composition right up until the moment of departure, with Inder and Christina unable to come but Sue Foster joined on Tuesday and Brian Bent joined us at the Pheasantry Café. So five of us (Stephen Morris, Sue Foster, Anne Walker, Brian Bent and myself) started, as Ged had intended us to continue, on a rarely used perimeter track in Bushy Park.

A feature of the ride were the ingenious modes of crossing the major roads, especially the bridge over the A316 at Hanworth, the familar but convoluted crossing of the M25 at J14, and the foot bridge over the M4 which links the Queen Mother Reservoir to Ditton Park and the lovely new bridge which links Upton Court Park with The Myrke and its bridge over the Jubilee River, leading us through the playing fields to Eton College. However I think the archiects could make the bridges more cycle friendly with a more generous radius on the bends, as they often do in Europe. 

We were pleased to see lots of other cyclists at the Watermans Arms, all in various stages of progress through their lunches. And Tony with his team of Nor'Westers made a flypast after lunching elsewhere by the river before heading off to avoid Crimp Hill.

Despite sitting outside and enduring a bit of drizzle we enjoyed our lunch but having said goodbye to Brian we were pleased to get going again through Windsor, then Old Windsor, to climb Crimp Hill, which made us puff and pant but didn't entirely warm us up.

We arrived at the Ferry Coffee Shop (Nauticalia) by the ferry landing, Stephen took off for home while Sue, Anne and I enjoyed our hot drinks before the last leg for which we had made a spontaneous decision to catch the ferry for a more enjoyable ride along the Thames to Walton.

During the morning we had stopped at St Michael and All Angels church in Horton for a team photo. Stephen and Sue were talking about the associations in the area with John Milton which prompted me to realise that while concentrating on navigation I had cruised past Berkyn Manor. Though since rebuilt in the mid-nineteenth century the original house had been rented by Milton's family when John was a young man. The grave of his Mum is in the church. Berkyn Manor, still derelict I believe, has been the subject of many photographic expeditions with numerous collections of impressive photos to see on the web.

Thanks to Ged for a very different sort of ride and to the team for remaining cheerful in the face of some quite grotty weather after lunch.

Church stop at Horton.

Tea at Nauticalia - waiting for the ferry.

Nauticalia masked pirate.

Steph's group - wrapped-up warm for lunch.

Steph, and her 6, was first away (10.20am), from the Pheasantry, confident on following the route - having joined me for a test ride on Monday. Sure enough, her group were the first to arrive at lunch at the Watermans Arms. Afterwards they coped admirably with Crimp Hill.

The Tony Hopkins group of Nor'westerners  - Pam. Gill, Liz, Ann and John Brooks, were next away, cycling on (mainly) familiar routes,  (although Liz did admit that much of the route was new to her!). 

My group - Martin, Ken, Paula and Ray Y. was third away. An errant motorist gave some a nasty scare when riding along the cycle path on Hounslow Rd. just before Hanworth Park, but the rest of the morning flowed well. An A group peloton sped past in Bedfont Road, near Heathrow, and we caught-up with Tony's 10.30am group entering the track around Hithermoor Lake. Eton's Dutchman's playing-fields were strangely deserted - no chaps at the crease or in the scrum, and no students to be seen while we posed for photos at the King of Siam's garden. The Watermans Arms opened specially for us - sensible customers wouldn't sit outside in the wind and cold! It didn't deter Ray Wren, who joined us after a solo navigation using his various devices. A hot cup of tea was very welcome at Walton Bridge - and meeting some stragglers from the As!

Around Hithermoor Lake, Stanwell Moor

At the King of Siam's Garden, Eton College.

The 10.50 group was led by Tony Hooker, with assistant navigator Dave C. (Paul James, having now been to Eton, was expecting his applications to chair highly enumerated but sinecure QUANGOS to be more successful!). The Runnymede option was their preferred route to tea.

Tony Hooker's group at the Waterman's Arms

Crossing the newly opened M4 bridge to Eton.

Despite the dismal weather it was a pleasure to lead the Bs on some unusual tracks and trails, away from busy roads, in this part of west London. A grand turnout!