THE RIDGEWAY AND GRAND UNION CANAL PLUS RUTLAND WATER

From our secluded location in the New Forest we cycled on a chilly day up to the pub at Nomansland settling in for lunch just as a short sharp blizzard blew through although a weak sun emerged for our return ride through the woods where spring was only just showing signs of arriving.

We crossed to Wales for me to collect mail and catch up with friends at Sennybridge and Brecon - all were well with a fairly mild winter and recent dry spell making life easier.

We called at the bothy in the Elan Valley to check all was in order and removed the usual bags of rubbish before returning north to Sheffield where Mandy had mail to deal with and I had an oil change booked for the van.

I then stayed overnight in York where members of the family live and met my two cousins, aunt and uncle for a rare gathering of the clans before returning to the pub above Todmorden that I had used last summer as part of my undertaking of the Trans Pennine Bridleway. Here Pete turned up after a frustrating end to a walk on Shap when he locked his keys in his van and we enjoyed a good catch up.

The following day we rode the Mary Townley Loop with a good mix of tracks and trails, long climbs and stunning views across to Rochdale and Manchester on a cold clear day. A sleet shower caught us out as we returned through Bacup after a tough day so the warm pub was very welcome for an evening meal.

 

Pete left for home as I cycled down to Walsden for the train in to Manchester and another out to Hadfield from where I completed the final section of the TPB around Saddleworth Moor and crossing the M62 passing through beautiful deserted moorland and along well surfaced tracks.

Mandy drove out to Dethick near Cromford for a night with Pete and Nina who are off to Suffolk for a month to enjoy a family wedding whilst also awaiting their new van, expected in the summer but held up by the Ukrainian conflict (wiring looms are made there apparently) and the chip shortage that has been affecting the global automotive industry.

I stopped in Shropshire on the BH Sunday night to see Penny who was staying at her sisters and also dropped in on my brother who has had the disruption of a new septic tank installation to contend with - so glad I no longer own a property.

Dropping back to my favourite little site at Llangurig it was good to catch up with Sue the owner and ride through the forest, first to Nant Syddion bothy where a spring work party had pretty much finished off the extensive repair and redecoration works that began last summer and then back to Nant Rhys.

 

This bothy was also in good nick with the daffs out on a sunny afternoon - it was good to be back in such a stunning area although the mountains of Morocco would have been my preferred choice.

I returned to Brecon for the Wednesday badminton session and again enjoyed catching up with good friends before at Lower Chapel I replaced all the brake pads as a warning light had come on whilst in the Pennines - 30,000 miles seems a reasonable mileage and I also stripped and cleaned the sliding calipers, renewed the fluid and gave everything a good inspection as I plan to have my MOT done early this year to allow me to make full use of a planned return to Europe in July - watch this space. A new living area carpet was carefully cut and fitted and everything given a good hoovering after the four months away and a meal in the local pub celebrated Jan and Ian's 40th wedding anniversary. 

 

Jan, Ian and I spent a lovely day over near Llandovery where friends have recently bought a small woodland for peace and enjoyment - something I have considered in recent years. It was a delightful spot with bluebells and a good variety of deciduous trees and more being planted as the Scots pine has been harvested and removed. Barry is a skilled mechanic and welder and has upgraded a small quad with a larger engine, tyre chains and an articulated trailer to take in materials for a shelter and woodshed and take out firewood.

That evening the three of us went over to Builth Wells to see folk group Gigspanner - excellent.

 

 

 

On Sunday Phil and I drove round the stunning Llyn Brianne reservoir and parked up at Nantystalwyn to ride the top track round to Moel Prysgau bothy where there was some cleaning up to be done and rubbish to be bagged up which of course we were unable to remove. Down at the confluence yet another barrier may deter the idiots who still insist on driving up to the bothy causing damage to the ground, river banks and bothy frontage. We cycled out via the wonderfully remote Soar Y Mynydd chapel and then drove home through Llanwrytyd Wells and over the Epynnt Ranges via Tirabad - a route I haven't done for over 20 years.

 

My plans were now to head in to Wiltshire and begin riding The Ridgeway an ancient rack that once linked Dorset with East Anglia. The remaining section links West Overton near Avebury with Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns so I decided to start from east of Swindon using The Blowing Stone Inn at Kingston Lisle as a base. On my way through Swindon I called at Steam, a museum dedicated to the Great Western Railway and Brunel as well as the history of railway engineering and manufacturing in the town. It was well worth a visit and tied in nicely with last year's visits to the SS Great Britain. I noticed on a photo of old coal waggons that they were transporting coal from the mines at Abercrave where I had spent 15 years on the farm - happy memories.

The pub was actually closed on Mondays and Tuesdays but were quite happy for me to stay in their tree shaded car park surrounded by fields which was perfect for my needs. The pub is part of the excellent Britstop network which lists over 1100 places where self contained vans can overnight for free.

A steep climb past the Blowing Stone itself (Google it !) brought me up on to The Ridgeway on a superb day with blue skies, fields of bright yellow rape and the green Wiltshire Downs rolling away into the distance. The route passed the remarkable Wayland Smithy's long barrow and Uffington Hill Fort  before at West Overton I stopped for lunch in the sunny churchyard.

A return route using the byways and bridleways that criss cross the area passed many horse training gallops before a final descent brought me back to the pub after 57 miles.

Wednesday's ride took me through Wantage and on to Goring on Thames where a decent cafe refuelled me for the return via Didcot and the Nuclear Research facilities at Harwell using country roads and bridle paths that might have been hard work after rain. Back at the pub I enjoyed an appreciative pint and thanked them for an excellent stay - food is only available at weekends otherwise I would have eaten there as well as the menu looked very good.

 On my way through Wantage once more I visited the excellent Vale and Downland Museum with its history of the area's geology, farming life and recent more modern developments such as the nearby location of the Williams F1 racing team's HQ. They also cover the life and reign of Alfred The Great who was born in the town and ruled much of Anglo Saxon England from 871 to 899 and was highly regarded as a progressive monarch.

A small Certificated Site at White Mark Farm east of Watlington provided a base for my last two sections of the Ridgeway, firstly riding back to the cafe at Goring and then heading east to Ivinghoe near Tring - red kites are well established in the area and liable to swoop like gulls on food so many eating areas have a netting cover. Around here The Ridgeway is often footpath only but the Icknield Way also passes through the area so I enjoyed various sections of that that were off road as well. A glimpse of Chequers, the PM's country residence, and other large houses confirmed that this is a well to do area but many of the towns and villages are seeing large new housing estates going up and of course HS2 is having a big impact. However for now the superb routes along the Chiltern escarpment were largely empty and I enjoyed mile after mile of good riding on chalky tracks beneath lofty beech trees.

A rather rundown CS near Aylesbury provided a base for exploring the Grand Union Canal for a couple of days before I moved on to Leighton Buzzard for a spin up the GUC to Milton Keynes - the canals are remarkably peaceful despite being so close to centres of population and being a ''wide canal' there were some very impressive houseboats seemingly permanently moored up as well as numerous dilapidated boats where people seemed to be living very dismal lives, no doubt cold and damp in the winter. Between these two extremes of course are the hire boats and continuous cruisers who were a friendly bunch.

At Roade north of Milton Keynes I used another Britstop in the middle of the village and parked up before walking across to the Canal Museum at delightful Stoke Bruerne near the longest wide gauge tunnel at Blisworth where a boat and its crew emerged from the gloom after an exciting passage of almost 3km.

North of Northampton I parked up to ride the section of NCN route 6 up to Market Harborough that follows the old railway line partially used by the Northampton and Lamport Heritage Railway with an interesting collection of engines from the early days of diesel motive power. The area was previously quarried for Northampton ironstone which was removed by the line until fairly recently.

Up at MH I picked up an arm of the GUC and returned south via the long flight of locks at Foxton enjoying a bacon sandwich at the basin cafe before passing round the Spencer family's Althorp estate and returning to the van after another 50 miler.

Moving north again I stayed at another Britstop location : Ferneley's Ice Cream parlour and Dairy Barn Cafe. The hugely friendly owner was quite happy for me to stay on the car park next to a field of sheep and I joined her later as she gave a young farmers group a tour and history of the farm's recent diversification in to home made ice cream. I decided to stay two nights so after a good breakfast in their cafe drove down to Oakham and parked up for a ride round Rutland Water including the Peninsula which was something I've been meaning to do for years. There was a good variety of birdlife and traffic free routes for most of the ride with the church at Normanton particularly appealing. Unfortunately a short but torrential shower had me drenched just before I got back to the van so I was grateful for the heater as the water warmed up for a hot shower. Oakham Castle grounds contain the Great Hall with its collection of hundreds of ceremonial horseshoes traditionally presented to the de Ferrers family by peers of the realm on a first visit and is a fine Grade 1 listed example of Norman domestic architecture.

 

After another quiet night at Ferneleys I bought some of their delicious ice cream and headed north again to park near Southwell in Nottinghamshire and ride various sections of NCN 645 and 6  towards the Sherwood Pines Forest Centre and eventually Clumber Park returning via Wellbeck Abbey. Again remarkably rural riding given the area and good trails that with the relatively flat ground made for very enjoyable progress.

Back at the van the car park was so quiet and inaccessible that I decided to stay the night and before loading the bike changed a gas cylinder that had run out. I was annoyed to discover that the replacement still had a faulty valve that made tightening the regulator impossible unless you gave the cylinder dome a sharp tap with a hammer to create a small indent - not something you really want to do... I had reported this issue on a number of cylinders to Calor last year so will pursue it once more.

Anyway after a peaceful night I was away to Sheffield after a busy and rewarding month covering a variety of scenery and experiences in largely good weather.

My plans for July and August are to head to the Baltic Sates via Berlin and Poland - before then we hope to get a few weeks following the Welsh coast round from north to south so much to look forward to and be grateful for.

A few pics here...