02 June 2019: Wheathampstead to Great Barford

Our riders assembled at Wheathampstead on a fine but breezy morning for our trip out into Bedfordshire. Setting off through Kimpton we were soon zigzagging through the network of quiet lanes to the north, to drop down to Lilley Bottom.

Route checking

We headed towards Lilley village. It seemed to me a route too much used recently, so for a change we climbed up to Great Offley and then down onto the main Hitchin road for a bit where Herts CC had done us a favour and coned-off the onside lane to allow us to cycle safely along the dual carriageway. We turned left along Wibbly Wobbly Lane (boringly now re-named Carters Lane).

A505 Luton to Hitchin road

Though actually the surface was quite good and there weren't too many bends, so maybe fair enough. A nice long straight road took us to Pirton and then on to refreshments at Lower Stondon golf club. Several of our party turned back for home at this point, but the rest struck out into deepest Bedfordshire. We passed the gigantic airship hangars at Cardington (built 1915) and used as film studios more recently.  A now flat route soon brought us to the Great Ouse and the picturesque bridge at Great Barford. We sat by the river to eat our sandwiches (drinks from the pub) and admired the river traffic. We had turned in the best part of 40 miles and the return trip was going to be into a brisk head wind. Some people now, realising that Bedford train station was only 7 miles away, suddenly began to remember urgent evening appointments or were surprisingly troubled by bad legs and said they were going to get the train back to St Albans.

So, it was only a sadly depleted rump who set out on the bracing return ride. But ride it we did and it involved climbing the hill at Hexton and tea at Emily's. Top marks to Sue who had to get further still and into north London.

Route was about 70 miles back to Wheathampstead

Richard