We were in Winchester for the weekend thanks to Cheryl's singing with the Ashtead Singers who were standing in for the cathedral choir. The schedule left me with quite a lot of time on Saturday and while Winchester is an interesting place I felt the need for more excecise than it could offer. Bespoke Biking ( a Community Interest Company supported by Cycling UK) hire bikes in the city centre so this seemed an ideal opportunity for a bit of exploring on a gravel bike.
I headed west on the new King Alfred's Way route over the downs to the Test valley at Kings Somborne. From here the Test Way heads north on the route of the old Romsey - Andover railway. This would have led me almost to lunch at Chilbolton but old railway routes can be dank, sunless tunnels and so soon after Stockbridge I took the exit (or was it a rabbit hole?) onto The Bunny, which crossed the Test for a more scenic route via Longstock and the Leckford estate.
After lunch I went east over the downs - high, big sky country where farmers with their combines were taking advantage of the weather to get their wheat in. Occasionally I crossed a main road but otherwise traffic levels were like rural France.
Finally a long descent to Itchen Abbas allowed me to pick up our past Wayfarers route through the Avington estate to return to Winchester.
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