09 June 2019: St Albans to Wrest Park, Silsoe

As it was the start of Bike Week, we'd listed this event on the LetsRide website, so we welcomed some newcomers, which simultaneously fixed the usual gender imbalance, and started off from St Albans with 12 riders. Avoiding the route of the St Albans half marathon, we cycled towards Redbourn before skirting Maylands industrial area in Hemel to gently climb to Gaddesden Row. In Studham we missed the planned turn as Carol was chatting so zig-zagged back to join the gradual ascent towards Whipsnade then cut across to Kensworth and then used the very quiet Isle of Wight Lane to the top of the Dunstable Downs. A fast descent brought us to the newly found Downs café where it unfortunately took ages for the food to arrive.

Neil joined us at the elevenses stop, so 13 carried on to Silsoe using the back streets of Dunstable before joining NCR 6 for a couple of miles through a surprisingly green area of Dunstable and Houghton Regis.

Posh picnic area at Wrest Park café

It was a short distance along the road towards the new M1junction, then we rode on the cycle path alongside the new-junction access roads bringing us us back onto the lanes near Sundon. Largely quiet roads took us past Flitton church where the De Grey mausoleum is situated. (The De Greys were the family who lived at Wrest Park). We split into picnickers and pub-goers in Silsoe. The picnic area of Wrest Park was generously equipped with proper tables and chairs where we enjoyed the sunshine. The pub-goers were not so lucky as the pub didn't serve sandwiches. Two bad choices on one day is not a good track record. We didn't get to see Wrest Park House, so I've included a picture below to show its architecture. It also is run by English Heritage and was a run-down agricultural college until 2006.

Wrest Park

Ronny had gone straight back from Silsoe, so after lunch 12 of us made our way to Emily's at Whitwell for an afternoon stop where we encountered a huge queue of other cyclists. However we still got back to St Albans at 5pm, just as the rain began, after almost exactly 60 miles. On reflection, another trip out this way should use the Gary Cooper (named after the 1950's film star who lived in Dunstable as a child), just off the cycle route in the park in Dunstable, as a morning-coffee stop.

Carol