Eleven of us were present at Wheathampstead car-park at 9:30, a fitting tribute to England’s recent cricketing success, although none of us could claim comparable ability to Ben Stokes’ prowess, especially the drinking & fighting in night-clubs. We welcomed two new riders, Emma & Jonathan, both Audax veterans and new to the area, who were forewarned about our usual modest average speed. To impress them with the local cultural heritage, the route passed through Ayot St Lawrance & Bernard Shaw’s house before taking the track down to Kimpton Bottom and St Paul’s Walden, the birthplace of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who became the Queen Mother. We then passed through Preston, which claims the country’s first community-owned pub, before heading north-west to Letchworth, entering the first Garden City via a cycle path to reach the golf-club cafe which has a semi-circular window with a vista of green serenity. We were impressed with the welcome from the manager & the presentation of the food which came fairly quickly. From here we passed through the city centre before heading south-west to Ickleford to pick up the ancient Icknield Way (the “oldest road in Britain”), which is now a bridleway, but due to the lack of rain was completely dry.
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| Exiting the Icknield way |
Fortunately it was downhill for the mile that we cycled. Joining the road to Pirton, we skirted Barton & continued to Sharpenhoe before making the challenging ascent up Sharpenhoe Clappers to the Chequers pub at Streatley where the village has a cute sign.
Unusually for a Sunday, it was very quiet but this made it easier for us to find a large table. The afternoon took us down & up to Lilley before following the familiar route to Whitwell, stopping at Emily’s for afternoon tea and the up the hill to Kimpton & back to Wheathampstead. A shorter than usual ride for early September meant an early finish.
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| leaving Streatley |
Steve B
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