07 Sep 2014: Hatfield to Allens Green

A happy bunch gathered in Hatfield ready to venture East into Essex.  It was a fair distance to Old Harlow so I avoided most of the hills by using a cunning route along the Cole Green Way to Hertford, where we followed the almost flat New River to Stansted Abbotts.  We weren't quite so happy when in Roydon a particularly thick bit of cloud decided to shed it's load on us, especially as the forecast hadn't mentioned rain and some (including me) were dressed for the warmer weather we've been spoiled with recently.  After not quite 20 miles we reached the Cross Keys Cafe, relocated from it's old site on the old A11 to the centre of Old Harlow.  The fare hadn't changed much though, with the Big Boy Breakfast being popular amongst the less active customers and we found plenty to refuel us too for the next stage.

Gathering in Hatfield Outside the cafe in Old Harlow

You may be surprised that Harlow boasts some 60 sculptures by various artists and has earned the designation of 'Harlow Sculpture Town'.  We spotted one of these sculptures outside the Cross Keys Cafe, but you can discover more of these works by following this handy Sculpture map.

Stuart arrives in Old Harlow to join our ride 'Kore A Little Girl' is by Betty Rea

We were served quickly at the cafe and had time for a 17 mile loop on some really quiet lanes around Matching Tye, High Laver and Matching Green.  Then we passed the strangely isolated Matching Church, well off the beaten track, and through Sheering and Sawbridgeworth to Allens Green.  

At Little Laver Craig and his shadow

A slight panic ensured after lunch, knowing that the Rose Cafe in Hertford shuts at 4 pm, but we made it just before they started upending the chairs on the tables.  

View map full screen

Jon 7/9/2014

31 Aug 2014: Hatfield to Maulden

Several months ago after years of riding with South Herts CTC, mostly on Wednesday rides which I’ve led on numerous occasions, I finally stepped up to the plate and volunteered to lead a Sunday ride on the last day of August to the north of Hertfordshire and “Central Bedfordshire”, as the numerous signs inform us. The first leg was to Hitchin. I decided to depart from Hatfield via the Garden Village and Lemsford. Quite soon we were crossing the A1M at Ayot Green, passing the site of the old Ayot station on the branch to Leighton Buzzard. This is the station that George Bernard Shaw used when travelling up to London to see his publisher. It was burned down in 1948 and formally closed the following year, well before the building of the A1M in 1971 severed the stump of the branch to Blackbridge dump. Soon we were passing through Whitwell and further “railway” interest at “Cressman’s Corner”, before turning right to pass through Preston and Gosmore and arriving at Hitchin.

Leaving Hitchin Kitchen Colourful sign near Hitchin Judy on Oughton Head Lane Thatched cottages in Ampthill

Lots of establishments would do well to heed the price structure of some of our elevenses cafes - Hitchin Kitchen et al seem to be able to offer substantial amounts of food at low cost and remain a thriving and enduring business. The Hertfordshire traffic police “refuelling” in the corner certainly seemed to agree with me, at least on this matter. We’d arrived quite early at Hitchin, although Jon and Judy were already there, so I decided to add a bit of distance to the following leg to the pub. In retrospect this may have been a mistake. I’d researched the exit from Hitchin extensively so we had a smooth progression to Arlesey and Clifton, a village that sadly no longer has the “Byercycles” shop, Richard Byers having retired. We then proceeded up the B658 until a left turn past the Shuttleworth Collection and Old Warden. Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth founded the Shuttleworth Collection in 1928, the avowed, and visionary intention being to preserve historic machinery as far as possible in working condition. This has been achieved, with a Bleriot XI being the world’s oldest airworthy aeroplane, and a Blackburn Type D being the oldest airworthy British aeroplane, as well as many other aircraft, cars and bicycles.  Richard Shuttleworth was killed in 1940 in an air training crash, and his mother formed a remembrance trust to teach “the science and practice of aviation, afforestation and agriculture”. The Shuttleworth mansion was frequently in view as well as the fields that constitute the classroom of the agricultural college.

Passing through Old Warden village I took an incorrect left turn, but not too much trouble ensued; we were soon passing Ireland as intended and crossing the A600. Joining up again at Haynes Church End, we descended Great Lane to Clophill, and then crossed the A6 (near Deadman’s Hill, the site of the infamous 1960 A6 murder) before coming into Maulden and The Dog and Badger, where we re-joined Jon and Judy in the pub garden. It was now 13:10 and we’d ridden about 42 miles in 3.5 hours of cycling since 09:05 - exactly 12mph as advertised on the club’s website. However, after lunch there was a considerable thinning in the ranks of the peloton, with only 4 of us continuing to Dunstable while several others opted for a direct route back via Whitwell.

View map full screen (The blue route was used by most; mauve is Graham's route after lunch and brown is Jon & Judy's short cut to lunch).

On leaving the pub, fortified by a beef sandwich and 2 pints of “waggle-dance”, I continued to Ampthill, and then to Steppingley, turning left just before the M1 and then through Harlington, upper and lower Sundon, up a steep hill over the end of the Chilterns and into Dunstable via Houghton Regis. Café Latte was again excellent value and served us even though we were just past their formal last orders time. Having crossed the Luton-Dunstable guided busway (the other end of the former Hatfield-Leighton Buzzard branch encountered earlier) on the cycle path to the café, we decided to use the cycle path alongside this piece of novel infrastructure to get to Luton, despite the gates to prevent motorcyclists using it being almost too narrow to squeeze a bicycle through. I can’t say I’m a big fan of this form of public transport. Road vehicles running on bits of concrete seems a bit of reverse evolution from steel rails and wheels to me. The similar busway in Cambridgeshire undisputedly cost more to construct than just reinstating the railway it replaced (although it has a fantastically smooth, fast cycle route), and once a bus leaves the busway, which is not available for any other motor vehicle to use, it just gets snarled up in all the town centre traffic as before. As such they combine the worst aspects of both rail and bus travel - surely a tram system would be better?

From Luton we stayed on the old railway path into Harpenden, losing a further rider at Luton station. By the time I got home at 18:00 after 9 hours out of the house, 7 cycling I’d ridden 82 miles, an average speed of less than 12mph in perfect weather and through beautiful countryside.

Graham 31/08/2014

24 Aug 2014: St Albans to Winslow

Richard led a super ride of nearly 74 relatively flat miles. It was a bright but chilly start from St Albans, with frosts reported from parts of the UK - and still August too!

Steam tractor on the Redbourn Road Steam train in Leighton Buzzard Straw man in Drayton Parslow The Bell in Winslow Leaving Winslow

It was going to be one of our longer rides, so we took the main road to Redbourn to get some distance covered quickly, and then along Gaddesden Row to Studham. Descending to Dagnall we climbed the edge of the beacon and then on to Slapton.  The roads were quiet on this Bank Holiday Sunday, except when disturbed by the rumbling of the odd steam driven tractor.

We soon came to the station on the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway, where steam was up in the tourist trains and that was our handy and cheap coffee stop. Leighton Buzzard seems to be bursting at the seams with new developments, but we managed to head off on a cycle route through some industrial estates and suburbs to get to Soulbury and nice quiet lanes taking us towards Winslow; the pleasing rural scene only spoilt by distant views of Milton Keynes.

A convenient cycle path took us to the centre of the town and a lunch stop at The Bell in the market square, an excellent venue with nice and reasonably priced food - what cracking sandwiches - highly recommended. I had forgotten what a charming place Winslow is.

After enjoying a relaxing lunch we needed to navigate towards more familiar country, but fairly soon we were back to villages visited before and soon through Tring and then a final stop in the ever popular Wetherspoons in Berko. The flattest and easiest route from here was called for as a certain weariness had set in. A great day out, if slightly longer than usual. I clocked up 75 miles by the time I got home, thankful that all that rain had held off until the Monday.

Richard 24/08/2014