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WANDLE VALLEY FESTIVAL Starting rides in the rain is no fun, especially when your shoes are
still soaked from the day before. But 8 people still wanted to
persevere with the explore of the Wandle Trail as part of the annual
festival to celebrate the river.
We started by using the 'sewer path' (or the Thames Water path to give
it its correct name) down to Beddington Park. This area will become
the Wandle Valley Country Park in 2023 when the landfill operation
ceases and the path is the first step towards this. A further path
from Hackbridge station is planned by Sutton Council and this will
link onto the sewer path.
We picked up the Wandle Trail at Beddington Park and rode out to
Waddon Ponds, just inside the Croydon border and one of the sources of
the river. About 20 Sutton Cyclists had just left on their own ride
along the river. After a quick look at the pretty ponds, we retraced
our steps towards Carshalton where the second source of the Wandle
rises. These ponds are now lined with concrete and are topped up with
treated water from the sewage farm if the levels drop. Years ago, when
the ponds ran dry, the river also dried up.
Sutton Cyclists had beaten us to the ponds so we joined them for a
photoshoot with the Guardian but then moved on to the cafe in Grove
Park. Closed. No surprise as it's one of those unreliable park cafes
so instead we piled into the greasy spoon just round the corner,
slightly ahead of a group of ramblers out walking the Wandle.
We now started to follow the river downstream, cleverly avoiding all
the barriers. Instead of going direct to Ravensbury Park we detoured
into The Hub, home of Mitcham & Tooting Utd, but British Cycling had
just packed up their stall and were about to leave. They'd been
running a skills course and info stand. Instead we rode through the
new and open Radar gates into Ravensbury Park, taking care on the
lethal bridges that cross the river's tributaries.
Morden Hall's rose garden had free drinks for cyclists but it seemed
that whatever was happening had finished. It was still raining so we
opted to make Merton Abbey Mills our lunchstop where we decided to
abandon the plan to go all the way to the Thames and instead all went
home after lunch. No pix today because it was too wet to take the camera out!!
Saturday 23rd June SOUTH LONDON WINDMILL RIDE 9 people met up to reprise the South London windmill ride, visiting
all 5 windmills. We set off towards Croydon using quiet backroads but
in hindsight I should have gone straight to the remains of the
windmill on Mitcham Common behind the Millhouse pub. Instead we rode
off towards Shirley where there's a fantastically restored Postmill
sitting neatly in the middle of a modern housing development.
A nice shortcut through South Norwood Country Park and then through
the vineyard allotments at Kent House brought us up to Crystal Palace
Park cafe for a morning stop. A cheeky bird hung around for the crumbs
from our table! Afterwards we climbed steadily through the park,
sharing the path with runners in a race, past the concert stage at the
Bowl until we were at the top of the hill.
There's a great traffic free tarmac descent through Dulwich Wood
accessed near John Logie Baird's house on Crescent Wood Rd. When you
reach the bottom, you're in the other-worldly Dulwich village with
it's wooden tollhouses, white picket fences and grandiose college
buildings. We rode on quiet streets to Brockwell Park and up to the
hill by the mansion house with it's great views across London towards
Wembley. The gate we wanted to leave by was closed but we swiftly
revised the route and were soon at windmill number two - the completed
secluded and nicely restored Brixton Windmill which brought back
memories for one rider who played in the area as a youngster when it
was a bombsite. The Friends group have done a great job of
coordinating the restoration of not only the windmill but also the
surrounding park.
I hadn't fixed a lunch stop so we decided to try the Italian bandstand
cafe on Clapham Common. Good choice. Food was very quick to arrive and
is reasonably priced. But then it started to rain so we sat it out
underneath a tree. As soon as it cleared up we moved over to
Wandsworth common and the sail-less windmill number 3 hidden at the
roadside.
The imposing Gothic splendour of the nearby Royal Victorian Patriotic
building warranted a closer look. It's home to a mixture of flats,
artist studios and workshops with a French restaurant in the middle.
Then it was direct down to Wimbledon Park where preparations for the
tennis were taking place. A few hardcore fans were already camped out
on the roadside and the All England Club was a hive of activity. The
dozy Met police had stuck signs to all the lampposts warning that any
parked bicycles would be removed. Anyone heard of using bicycles as
bombs?? Don't think so.
A little non-windmill detour into the Buddhist temple surprised those
who hadn't seen it before. It's a great building. We then rode towards
the only windmill that everyone already knew, number 4, the one on
Wimbledon Common. It's open at weekends but instead of having a look
inside, we stopped for cakes at the tearoom around the corner.
At this point, the rain started to return. We rode over the common
towards the Wimbledon Village show where we stopped for a quick look
at the horses jumping fences. Then we decided to make our own way back
home due to the weather. Four of us got completely drenched just after
Wimbledon and by the time I got home, my shoes had filled up with
water. This meant we missed windmill number 5 at Mitcham and so it's
been suggested we rename the ride Four Windmills And A Teastop! Out for 7hrs.
Saturday 17th June HAMPTON COURT This was supposed to be a joint ride with Merton Cycling Campaign to
bolster their Bike Week events. Unfortunately, nobody came on their
feeder ride from Wimbledon so it was just the 14 PHC riders (including
a 7yr old regular from the Beddington Park rides, riding her own bike)
who had an early break at Merton Abbey Mills.
The route out to Kingston is quietly suburban but goes through some
great sections such as the pretty John Innes Conservation Area at
Merton Park. Kingston is unavoidable on this route but luckily we had
a rider who could get us through the complicated town centre mix of
roads and cycle contraflows.
After crossing the Thames, we rode the traffic-free Thames Path down
to the back gates of Hampton Court where we stopped for the now
traditional group photo. Then it was on to lunch at the Albion, a
small but reasonable pub but with no beer garden, so everyone decamped
to inside. Arriving early meant everyone was able to sit in the small area outside but a couple opted for the pub over the road.
The return passes through pretty Thames Ditton where we'll have to try
one of the riverside pubs one day. Then it's all London Cycle Network
routes on quiet roads back towards Morden Hall for an afternoon stop.
It's a shame that nobody from MCC came as we've done this ride 3 times
now but we were asked to provide a meeting point on the Wandle Trail
for anybody from Wimbledon and that really limited our options. I
think any future rides with other groups will now have to fit in with
our plans as we're currently getting far more people turning up than
the other groups.
Sunday 10th June MERTON CYCLE QUEST 11 people ventured out around the Merton Cycle Quest route today. As
part of a grant we were awarded last year, PHC produced a printed
leaflet of a circular cycle route around the borough. Along the way
are 10 'Quest' points where you stop and look for the answer to the
question on the leaflet. It's not hard to find the answer but it
proves you were there. We've got around 40 completed entries back so
far although lots of people just enjoy the ride without bothering to
participate.
From Pollards Hill, it's a trip up the Wandle Trail to get to the
first Quest point in Wimbledon Park. One young family didn't make it
this far but generally this is a good ride for beginners. After the
park, Merton's highlights start to come in quick succession. The
famous tennis stadium is right outside and the hidden delights of the
Buddhist temple are just up the hill.
Wimbledon Common is always busy. There's a Quest point at the Windmill
and then it's onto Cannizaro Park using the Common's cycle tracks. Our
Quest point there is just inside the gate but it's a fantastic park
that always deserves further inspection. However, lunch at the Crooked
Billet was calling.
The 2nd half of the ride picks up the Wandle Trail again. We use these
routes all the time but they still remain fantastic oasis' of green in
the middle of suburbia. For a vast majority of the ride you could
easily be in the countryside yet you're never more than a couple of
miles from Mitcham.
We'll probably retire this ride for a while now. There are family
rides every week from Beddington Park so there's still plenty of
opportunities for those returning to cycling or getting on a bike for
the first time to try riding with a group. Our day rides are proving
very popular so we'll just follow the demand for the time being. But
if you want to try it on your own, pick up a leaflet on a ride, look
for it in your local library or click onto mertoncyclequest.co.uk. 17 miles.
Saturday 9th June VIKING COASTAL TRAIL An amazing 33 people, 20 of whom were female, descended on
Birchington-On-Sea for a trip around the 28 mile Viking Coastal Trail
route. We did the ride last year but struggled for somewhere decent at
lunch so we changed the starting point to give us more opportunities.
It also meant that the ride immediately headed off along the fantastic
coastal routes towards Margate.
The weather couldn't have been better although a slight shower caught
some of those pedalling to the stations in the morning. We had 3
meeting points and each of those groups arranged their own Group Save
tickets which averaged out just under £15 each instead of the full
price of £26. Spreading out along the train ensured there were no
problems (technically trains carry just 4 bikes) Luckily the guard was
also a cyclist whose 9 year old daughter had been bullying him to take
her round the Viking Coastal Trail. Several others met the train at
Birchington-On-Sea.
33 is a lot of people to have on a ride but we're very skilled now at
handling that many people. Our rides are always mixed ability and
we're always able to accomodate the person who is doing the ride as a
personal challenge to see if they can make it. There's especially no
rush when the scenery is as good as this.
First stop was at a seafront cafe on top of the cliffs in Margate.
Then it's more coastal riding towards Ramsgate. Broadstairs clearly
thinks of itself as a cut above either Ramsgate or Margate, especially
with its Dickens connections (the route goes straight past 'Bleak
House'). Its sandy beach was pretty busy with a few hardy people in
the sea. Lunch was in Ramsgate and although most went for fish n
chips, the growing queue meant some went next door to the bistro or to
a pub further down the road.
After Ramsgate, the route heads inland towards Minster and
Manston airfield. It's dramatically beautiful countryside and still
offers stretches of traffic-free cycling. Eventually you pop out at
Minnis Bay.
Everybody made it round, no punctures or mechanical mishaps. Out for
7hrs plus train travel. 28 miles.
Sunday 3rd June EEL PIE ISLAND Today started with a bang - literally. 3 wheels exploded within
minutes of each other, before we'd even set off. One was old and worn
and should have been replaced years ago but the other two were on a
brand new, unridden Specialized Globe. A call to Putney Cycles
suggested the bikes had been recalled but there's nothing on the
Specialized website. Two new tubes seemed to do the trick.
That put us about half an hour behind, so the 20 of us set off just
after 10am. Fortunately, there's a quick way to Wimbledon Park, our
first stop. It's the old favourite of using the Myrna Close nature
reserve to cut through to Colliers Wood and then straight up the
Wandle Trail. The nettles need cutting back but we just about escaped
getting stung.
A short but tough climb took us up to Tibbets Corner, the giant A3
roundabout, where we cut through to the very rural and hidden
Telegraph Road with it's recently refurbished pub, now touting itself
as a Country Pub In London - a very fair assessment.
We lost a couple just before Richmond Park due to a loose crank.
They'd planned to visit the bike hire in the park and see if they had
the correct tools. We took the Tamsin Trail around the perimeter as it
masks the climb to Richmond Hill quite well. Hundreds of people were
out on their bikes in the beautifully sunny weather. At the top of the
hill we split into two groups; those that wanted to go on the
Hammerton ferry across the river and those that were going to ride
over Richmond bridge and meet us.
The ferryman is always really good with bikes. We squashed 12 on. It's
a quid to cross and nothing for the bikes. We tangled a pedal through
some spokes which hampered our exit. Removing the wheel soon solved
it.
Eel Pie island is the home of boat builders, musicians and artists.
It's traffic-free and can only be reached by a pedestrian bridge. In
the 60s, the hotel played host to the Rolling Stones, The Who and
Fleetwood Mac. One of our riders was a regular but the hotel has long
since burnt down. The island doesn't have anywhere to eat or drink so
we split into two groups again. Only 2 fancied the Barmy Arms pub on
the riverside so the rest of us flowed into the old Magic Carpet cafe,
now called Arthurs On The Water.
It's a modern building in a playground with a Lebanese flavour to the
menu. Unfortunately, it was staffed by only one person who wasn't
expecting such a large number to turn up. She struggled to cope with
our order until one rider went over to help her prepare the food!
After an hour, we'd all got pretty much what we'd ordered although the
Baba Ganoush had definitely fermented, an concept seemingly lost on
our stressed server.
Teddington Lock got us south of the river once more. It was absolutely
teeming with cyclists, all the way along the Thames Path to Kingston.
It was starting to feel like Copenhagen and with a few more converted
to the joys of cycling, those areas will soon resemble Amsterdam on
sunny Sundays.
We always get lost in the middle of Kingston but a rider with local
knowledge easily got us to David Mach's Tumbling Telephones sculpture
(proper title "Out of Order") on the Old London Rd. We were behind
schedule so a quick bit on the main roads got us to the LCN route that
goes over Malden golf course and under the A3 to Raynes Park. We then
crossed over to the pretty John Innes conservation area on the way to
Merton Abbey Mills.
A live band, Buffalo Bill's Blues Revue, had cranked the volume up so
much that conversation was impossible. Whilst it's great that bands
get booked to play there, they really need to consider the type of
show they are playing and reduce the volume to a level where
conversations can continue if poor Primal Scream cover versions aren't
your particular cup of tea. We pretty much sat at the cafe in forced
silence.
As always on the return, the group had started to disperse so the
remainder went back to Pollards Hill using the same route as the
morning. Out for 8hrs, 27 miles.
Saturday 2nd June EPSOM DERBY 5 riders went out to experience the greatest flat race in the horse
racing calendar. As it's on the Downs at Epsom, there are loads of
places you can watch the race for free. A huge funfair sits across
from the Downs Kiosk and there's a carnival atmosphere inside the
track around The Hill.
The route out took in Oaks Park, former home of the Earl of Derby
which is where the race gets it's name from. The Oaks race was the day
before.
Everyone did their own thing whilst at the races and regrouped for a
quick downhill ride home.Thanks to Robert for leading & suggesting this ride.
Click here for ride reports from 2008
Click here for ride reports from 2007
Click here for ride reports from 2006
Click here for ride reports from 2005