25 July - Swavesey & St Neots

More nice weather.  Big group at Haslingfield, about 16.  Set off on a slightly different route towards Swavesey, some muttering from the die-hards but what the hell, leader's prerogative.

Nice slab of cake at the Church hall, and a few more people joining the throng.  On to St Neots and the Ambiance Cafe.  Very busy in the town because of market day.

Featured lady of the day .... our Sue

Others taking shade ...

... and others in the full glare

Back to the Orwell turn together then bye bye from me.

18 July - Train to King's Cross, Bike Back

Met up with Nick just before nine and caught train to King's Cross, meeting up with others who'd come from Cambridge.

Eight in total for the ride back.  Lovely weather and amazingly off the streets of London within a couple of miles, joining the cycle track on the tow path out towards Stratford and the Olympic Park.

This was in Victoria Park, where we stopped for liquid refreshments - out.

Great ride along beside the canals, but quite slow.  Stopped for refreshments along the way, getting towards Nazeing.

Then on to Hunsdon and a lunch stop at the Fox & Hounds.  Big mistake, very expensive.  Bought drinks then went across road to the Spa shop for sarnies and pies.  Incurred wrath of pub staff but what the hell, message that drinks at £4, starters at £7 and mains at £14 were just too much.  Nice garden though.

Rode on, hitting some stretches of road where the tar had melted.  Not nice, goo sticking to tyres and picking up stones.  Tried to avoid wet bits and soon turned off onto better roads.

Back up to the London-Cambridge route, turning off towards Fowlmere after Elmdon, and home.

60 miles.  Map included train ride.

16 July - CTC, Waresley to Hemmingford

Lovely day.  Met Sue with friend and made way to Waresley where the numbers were very down on normal.  Even so, six went on from there, heading towards St Ives.

Turned off before getting to Hemmingford, so map below doesn't fully apply. Went to White Swan pub in Conington for lunch, sitting out in the garden.

Then stopped at the icecream place in Toft before the final push home.

12 July - Short Ride Before Meeting Clare

Drove back from Canterbury, getting to Shenfield with enough time for a short ride before lunch.  Nice biking country when away from the main roads.

Kent Day 4, Charing & Wye, 11 July

Bit more overcast but developing into another nice day if a bit windy.  Customary bacon & egg breakfast before saddling up for a ride to the south west of Canterbury.

Took the riverside path to Chartham then continued along the cycle route to Shalmsford Street and Old Wives Lees.  Very quiet roads apart from the occasional huge tractor, and very undulating like Cornwall.

Stopped briefly at the far end of the ride, just before Charing, for a choc bar and slurp from the water bottles, watched by two tiny ponies, just visible through the bars of the gate but coming right up to scrounge for treats.  Didn't have any, sorry.

Went down Pett Lane with its right angle bends, leading to what turned out to be nothing more than a rough track through the woods.  Lovely though despite being being very bumpy in places, and morphing into Pilgrims Way.  Emerged at Westwell then turned into Eastwell Estate, past a sign saying no cycling. Stopped to ask some walkers about this, only for the gates to close behind us so no choice other than to ride on through the south part of the estate and eventually past a golf course.

Soon arrived at Wye and the Tickled Trout pub, immediately a winner because of the lawn beside the river. Bit breezy but found enough shelter in the corner, to the right of the bloke in the photo.

Nice lunch of chicken baguette and a couple of Canterbury Ales before jumping on the bikes again for the ride back.  Alternately warm in the sun and cool in the breeze but a very pleasant quiet road through wooded areas.

Found a lad whose rear derailleur had smashed into the wheel, wrecking it completely.  Couldn't help other than to disentangle the chain and make it possible to freewheel, and provide some magic wipes for his mucky hands.  Went on to Chartham and the ice cream shop, finding a convenient graveyard as shelter from the breeze.  Then saw the sign for the Farmers' Market across the road, including home made ice cream so felt obliged to share one after popping and buying some home made marmalade and jam.

Back into Canterbury along the usual riverside path with its frequent cattle grills, arriving close to the high street.  Found Specsavers because Hilary's expensive rimless glasses had broken on one side, and found a suitable frame that they said they'd courier to the Cambridge branch. 

Kent Day 3, Sandwich, 10 July

Another sunny start to the day but promise of cooler and windier conditions.  Tried a few alternative places to spend the next two nights but the prices were much higher.  So cap in hand asked if we could stay on at the St Stephens Guest House, no problem.

Planned the route for the Garmin after breakfast, packed the bikes and set off on the same cycle track as yesterday, towards Fordwich.

Another nice quiet route to Preston where we stopped at a garden centre for tea and a slab of cake.  Qui te overcast now and a feeling of rain to come.  Continued on to Sandwich, parking the bikes in the grounds of the church turned visitor centre.  Walked to streets for a token pre-lunch amble, then had a ploughman's lunch each at the Red Cow.

Bit of difficulty finding the Garmin route out of Sandwich, having to retrace steps after discovering that the route we wanted crossed  the fast road we were on, but via a bridge. Had to make up an alternative that headed for the Garmin route without quite reaching it for ages, but passing this intriguing road sign telling us how far to Los Angeles etc.

Very undulating towards the end of the ride.  Found and followed the Garmin route through the hilliest part but then left it again for what looked like a more direct route back.  More direct meant busy and lots of high speed traffic but muddled on to find ourselves pretty much where we needed to be and a short hop away from the B&B.  

Kent Holiday, Day 2, Whitstable and Reculver, 9 July

Lovely sunny morning and a decent night's sleep apart from Hilary's difficulty with temperature of bed covers.  Good bacon & egg breakfast then into Canterbury to find the tourist office and pick up some guide books.  Asked about accommodation nearer to Ashford but they didn't have much information and couldn't phone for bookings so left it at that.

Lovely ride out of Canterbury mainly along a cycle track heading for Whitstable. Quite windy there but some brave souls sun bathing in the shelter of windbreaks, a couple even swimming.  The sea looked very uninviting, brownish with clumps of seaweed everywhere.

Rode on along the coastal cycle path, stopping at Herne Bay for a cuppa at the exorbitant price of 60p for tea, 80p for coffee.  Continued on to Reculver and rode up to the towers then, preserved as a navigation aid for shipping.

Doubled back and found nice pub for lunch, sitting outside on the terrace.

This photo of The King Ethelbert Inn is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Continued after lunch along quiet roads, turning off towards what should have been a cycle track beside the Stour.  Came to a level crossing with locked gates and a sign saying the route was closed.  Instead went along a path for a couple of hundred yards to another crossing and what turned out to be a very overgrown footpath.  In two about continuing but did so, enjoying a lovely route beside the river, albeit a bumpy one.

Stopped for a read and to cool feet in the river.  Restrained by Hilary from having a dip.

Emerged eventually from the path, at Fordwich, where there was a nice inviting pub for a beer and peanuts. Then found a splendid cycle track from there to Canterbury.  Decided to add a bit more to the ride by going down the cycle track towards Chartham, which was great apart from frequent cattle grids.  Had a nice choc Magnum and sit beside the playing field before heading back.

Showered and topped up on tea, then headed off into the city.  After a few false starts found a good eating place on the high street, finding a table outside on the back terrace.

The pies turned out to be only lukewarm so asked for them to be given another quick burst in the microwave, fine after that.  Ambled back along the riverside path for coffee and choc.  Hilary stayed up for a 2 hour filmed retrial documentary but all too much for me so succumbed to the call of sleep.

Kent Holiday Day 1 - Sissinghurst, 8 July

Left home at 9.30 and set off down M11 and M25. Big queue before the Dartford bridge but we jogged along adequately.  Arrived at Sissinghurst in time for a tea and caked break before doing a good tour of the gardens, including the tower below.

Then had lunch in the same tea place because the main cafe was chocabloc with old timers.  Did a nice walk around the periphery of the estate and a bit more after missing the main route.  Very warm.

Stopped and bought some cherries on the drive towards Canterbury then had the usual Satnav skirmish with Hilary before it brought us to the guest house.  Hilary immediately took a dislike to it because there wer no comfy chairs and the TV was up near the ceiling.  That apart the room was very clean and well equipped.

Walked into the city and looked at menus before choosing the worst possible restaurant.  It was slow and understaffed and the food came out looking very shrivelled.  Hilary commented to this effect as she was paying the bill so they said the drinks would be free, and yes, their normal chef was on day off and the rest couldn't cope.

2 July - Waresley to Southill

Nice sunny day and quite a few at the garden centre.

Met up with Mike S then collected Sue and her friend Clare at the top of Malton Lane.  They didn't continue but five of us did, going on the lovely route through Tempsford, Blunham, Ickfield and on to Southill.

Very crowded inside so had lunch outside in slightly greyer weather.

These were in the background of the picture, Hilary later identifying them as Loosestrife.

Bit of rain as we finished lunch but then dry for the ride back via Ashwell.