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CHISLEHURST CAVES While most people prepared for Christmas, 2 of us set off along the Waterlink Way and parts of the Green Chain to Chislehurst Caves in Kent. Once you leave Croydon and cross into Bromley, you start coming across unmade roads that the council have never tarmacked. Some of these are nothing more than mud tracks yet the houses are magnificent. The first of these is Barnmead Road near Kent House but the most amazing one is Mavelstone Road with it's fantastic manor house.
Originally the ride was to return the way it came but we opted to try a new route down the deserted and unmade Gosshill Rd to Jubilee Country Park, through Norman Park between Hayes and Bromley and then through Langley Park which brings you out near Eden Park. The road towards Shirley leads past the Bethlem Royal Hospital, better known as Bedlam, the hospital for people with mental problems. It was originally founded in 1247 at Bishopsgate (where Liverpool St station now stands) and has a fantastic museum that is well worth a visit.
Just round the corner, we picked up the Waterlink Way which took us back to Pollards Hill via Thornton Heath.
Out for 6 hours, 28 miles.
See some photos from today on Flickr
Saturday 17th December LOCKS, DOCKS AND ONE SMOKING FERRY 5 of us took a train to Greenwich to join Southwark Cyclist's regular Locks & Docks ride. 10 riders in total set off along the Thames Path, past the Millennium Dome, to the Firepower museum at Woolwich Arsenal for coffee. Outside is a new art installation of rusty iron figures in the style of Anthony Gormley which we admired before setting off to the north of the Thames on the Woolwich Ferry.
We returned via the University of East London and snaked through the ExCeL centre towards Wapping where we had a coffee in the amazing Pump House, a former hydraulic power station. The ride then went along the Ornamental Canal and over Tower Bridge for a final push along Tooley Street back to London Bridge.
Out for 6 hours, 30 miles.
See some photos from today on Flickr
Sunday 11th December CHRISTMAS LUNCH RIDE
No new faces at the library so five regulars set off towards Morden Hall to pick up our sixth rider. The ride hit a sour note after a couple of miles when we were faced with some brand new barriers blocking the route in Ravensbury Park. The path through the park is part of the Wandle Trail and is also part of Sustrans National Cycle Network. There should not be any barriers on NCN routes yet someone is obsessed with blocking this route as it travels through Merton and Sutton.
Morden Hall was bathed in early morning sunlight streaming through the trees. We enjoyed some festive mince pies at the tea rooms before continuing along the Wandle Trail to Earlsfield where we cut through to Wimbledon Park. At this point we were doing well on time so we looped around the outside of the park, going past the All England tennis stadiums and up to the roundabout on the A3.
Lunch was busy. We met cyclists from Kingston CC, Central London CTC and Wandsworth CC. It's not often London cyclists get the opportunity to gather on such a large scale and it was nice to put a few faces to email addresses.
Winter afternoons can be icy cold after 2pm so we took the most direct route home using the A3 parallel cycle track to Raynes Park and then back via Merton Abbey and Myrna Close nature reserve.
28 miles. Out for 6.5 hours.
See some photos from today on Flickr
Sunday 4th December CROYDON'S COUNTRYSIDE
The advertised prospect of muddy bridleways around the pleasantly rural areas of Croydon must have been unappealing to those who had watched the rain fall over the past few days. Only one other taker appeared at the library but with the cold aready taking it's toll, we decided to cut the ride short and stay out of the mud this time. Instead, we made off through Mayfield Park and tried to trace the abandoned route for the cycle link between Mitcham and Croydon which must have intended to use the long path behind Harcourt Rd. We missed Church Alley but this would have kept us off main roads all the way to the town centre. What a pity this idea won't see the light of day in the near future.
See some photos from today on Flickr
April 2007 ride reports
We lunched at the reasonably priced cafe at the Caves and looked at the gallery of pictures in reception. 15000 people lived in the caves during WWII. It was also a concert venue in the 1950s and has played host to Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Today it is not just a tourist attraction but is also the home of the Labyrinthe role playing society who were out in force.
A couple of cruisers were moored up, on their way to ExCeL for the Boat Show. We passed City Airport (no weekend flights) and lunched at the smoky greasy spoon at Dagenham City Farm.
There's a nice traffic-free cut through towards Roehampton which took us down towards Richmond Park. We were still making good time so we opted for the slightly longer but considerably more scenic cycle path around the park's perimeter.
We rode out of Croydon and down towards Leyton Crescent, part of the Waddon Community Trail, where we hoped to view their tree decorations but we were either too early or they've been abandoned this year. Waddon Ponds was the next port of call, one of the sources of the Wandle and Croydon's starting point for the Wandle Trail. The newly resurfaced path took us up to a busy Beddington Park for a cake stop and then down the cycle path back to Mitcham Common. Out for a couple of hours - 11 miles.
March 2007 ride reports
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December 2006 ride reports
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December 2005 ride reports
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August 2005 ride reports