The Ridgeway midsummer odyssey.....

[MagnusOpus]

The Ridgeway  Day 1

Route link : https://ridewithgps.com/trips/9533494

Having just rebuilt Mac, my beloved Saracen Conquest, into an adventure touring mode, I decided he needed an interesting maiden voyage, also a bit of a voyage of discovery for me, as I've never really done this kind of cycle tramping, apart from the odd overnight trip.

I've been meaning to ride the Ridgeway from Ivanhoe Beacon to Avebury for about 25 years, having grown up near the Chiltern end I've ridden many parts of it, and the countryside there is full of memories and good feelings for me. Avebury, is a wonderful place that also has a special place in my heart, and the fact that the oldest track in Britain links the two via some wonderful scenery and interesting history.

So, this year, close to midsummer I resolved to go for it. Arriving at Tring station on a Friday lunchtime I decided I'd let the Google lady navigate me to Beacon Hill.  I've used her services a few times on the bike with no real problems, and she seems okay in the car or walking, but I don't know what has happened to her cycling brain.  This was to be a big frustration over the course of the next day as she sent me down ridiculous routes, kept getting her left and right mixed up, and repeatedly got confused about where I was and what direction I was headed.

Eventually, my convoluted Google route got me over the Grand Union canal, and onto Beacon Hill, via Aldbury, complete with it's closed pub and stocks by the village pond.

_1020118_1 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

_1020130 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

_1020122 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

_1020127_2 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

Once there I spent some time enjoying the views and chalk down flowers (orchids galore), and taking some time to take pictures.

_1020141 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr


_1020163 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

_1020174 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

Climbing up past Beacon Hill with a great view of the start of the Ridgeway journey….

_1020181 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

The first half of the Ridgeway, between here and my planned first night stop around Goring on Thames, isn't all open to bikes, I was trying to follow it where I could, but it was slow progress and navigation was proving painfully difficult.  Eventually giving up and following the Icknield way along the bottom of the Chiltern ridge, familiar roads between Wendover and Princes Risborough, with red kites wheeling in the thermals above me (as a kid, these birds were something I'd always wished to see on holidays in Wales, but now they are everywhere where I grew up, but still give me a shot of joy whenever I see one)

_1020199 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

By late afternoon I was starting to get a little dehydrated (I'd been having too much fun, and not passed many shops to stock up on supplies). Finally I found a pub for a quick shandy, and not long after a garage to stock up.  From there I headed back up to the Ridgeway proper at Princes Risborough and started to concentrate on covering ground as it was now into the evening and I was way behind schedule if I was to hit Goring before dark.  A spooky and tough hollow way climb in the rapidly darkening twilight followed eventually, this place really didn't feel like a good spot to camp, you could feel the history of thousands of years of people passing this place, of the stories and ghosts that must be hidden there.

With probably 10 miles to go it was clear I'd have to find somewhere to bivvy quickly, first of all coming to a wonderful spot on very comfy looking common land.  As I tried to find a place to sleep a guy on an old Marin Palisades (just like I had in about 88) rode past, shortly after he rode back and we got talking.  After saying I was headed for Goring he gave me directions, but wouldn't leave me to it until I'd cycled away from this perfect spot.  Getting hopelessly lost in the dark on a bridleway I found a promising looking spot to lay my head, the skies starting to flash and rumble around me, but luckily the storm never really coming close and sleep coming quickly and deeply.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Lovely, another trip to enjoy vicariously!

Those tyres are awesome! In their own way...

[MagnusOpus]

Day 2 - Goring to Avebury (almost).....

The second day of my trip, waking at dawn, a cuppa and some snacks, pack up and on the way.  Still a good 15 miles at least from where I'd intended to be in Goring, with a slightly tender behind, and pretty sluggish legs.

This is where Google woman finally drove me nuts. Trying to get to Goring for a good breakfast (I'd not really eaten much the day before and was now famished) it should have taken an hour or so, but she had other ideas, Constantly taking me down rough tracks, or up big hills, before changing her mind and sending me back.  After a couple of hours of getting nowhere due to her pissing me around I gave up on her and reverted to using my phone as a map. 

With the hopeless Google bint disposed of, I soon had just one hill to get over and than a good downhill run into the Thames valley.  Also, the delays had meant it was now 8am and I stood a chance of locating a much needed full English.  As I came to the village of Woodcote I spotted a small Post Office, and decided to get some supplies in.  Walking in to the small shop I spied one of the most welcome sights I can remember, a single banquette booth and a sign promising my greatest desire of that moment.

IMG_20160618_074249101 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

Yep, that was a truly magnificent breakfast, I was even tempted to have a second.  But I spotted something else, the Post Office also sold curry, home made by the lovely Indian lady who made my brekkie.  A big pot of veggie curry and another of rice were purchased, that'll be dinner sorted for tonight.

Assisted by gravity and pork based goodness the roll downhill to Goring was rather wonderful, and by 9am the Thames was crossed and the climb back onto the Ridgeway well underway.  The first part of this up a nice hardpacked chalk track was truly amazing, as the vistas opened up, with the birdsong at dawn chorus volumes, swathes of poppies blowing in the hilltop breeze, as I settled into a nice steady rhythm my legs loosened up and all was well with the world.

Of course this wasn't to last, after reaching the high plateau the track changed from hard pack to rutted puddly green lane.  Trying to keep out of the deep ruts was a challenge, the barge like handling of the heavily laden bike giving my shoulders a real workout. I really was thinking I should have put knobblier tyres on for this ride as I kept slipping into ruts and having to bail out, then lift the whole lot back up again.  If this wasn't slowing me enough, I soon found myself going against the tide of a large off road sportivey thing.

Eventually losing them and having the trail to myself, by early afternoon I'd covered enough ground to hit the devils punchbowl, taking a few pictures before the great view got spoiled by a nasty taste of chemicals as a crop sprayer ran up a field right next to me.

_1020246 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

_1020254 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr


_1020259 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

More of the same combination of fun and ruts took me to White Horse Hill, where I spent a fair while trying to find a decent place to take a picture of the chalk figure, giving up when it became clear I'd have to lose a lot of elevation and then regain it, but it was a nice chance to stop and have a snack.

By now the afternoon was well underway, the pounding from rutted tracks had given me a very nasty saddle sore, and it was clear I was going to have to cover some ground to get anywhere near Avebury, so I skipped past Waylands Smithy and decided I'd cover some ground on road to get where I needed to be.  The roll down off the Ridgeway to the village of Ashbury was probably the fastest I'd gone all day and a nice pub was located where I got a shandy and bag of kettle chips for £2, after those I had a well deserved pint and some lovely chilli pork scratchings, which sadly came to a more plausible price.

Next part of the trip involved going through a few villages looking for a shop for some supplies, tho sadly none could be located, and before I knew it I was hitting the outskirts of Swindon.  I've never really been to Swindon much, but it appears to be entirely devoid of any kind of shop, after riding around for about an hour looking for one I finally came to a garage which at least sold cider for my campsite nightcap, and various other unhealthy snacks.

Tired and sore I made my way back towards the Ridgeway, my intention being to end up camping somewhere near Barbury Castle then doing the final run in to Avebury first thing in the morning.  As time moved on I hit cycleroute 45 which seemed to go exactly where I wanted to be and was a wonderful ride in the evening sun.  As time was passing and I was getting peckish I decided to bail out before climbing back onto the hill, finding a lovely spot to set up.  All that was left to do was heat up the curry I'd bought from the life saving Post Office that morning, crack open a cider and watch a lovely golden sunset.

_1020278 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

[Cudzoziemiec]

Dunno about Swindon, pretty sure there's a shop in Uffington village. You're wild camping? How easy is it to choose good sites?

[iddu]

Dunno about Swindon, pretty sure there's a shop in Uffington village. You're wild camping? How easy is it to choose good sites?

Ashbury - R @ X & 200m to small store
Wanborough - R down Callas Hill, PO/Store in 400m
Liddington - Small store at PH
Chiseldon - Come off route at B4192 & take road below Liddington Castle. 
  Three Tress Farm shop & Cafe just over A346, or
  R @ A346 to Garage/shop, or
  R @ A346, L by garage into Chiseldon for store.  L @ rbt & R along Old Ridgeway to rejoin current by Barbury Castle (actually.
  I'd go down the old rail line/NCR to Ogbourne St George, and rejoin there - Smeathe's Ridge is quite nice).

All good for next time

[MagnusOpus]

Cheers Guys.....

yeh iddu, there will have to be a next time! It all went a bit wrong on the final morning, I'll get to that in the final installment....but thanks for some handy info for when I do.

Cudzo, can't say I've ever found it hard to find places to wild camp (or is it controlled tramping?) with a bivvybag, though looking at where I did that night, it's right next to a shooting school so probably lucky I got up early before any lead started flying! with a bivvy you are pretty low profile, and if you don't hang around too long in the morning I've never had a problem.

[perpetual dan]

I don't think I've ever cycled more than very small parts of the Ridgeway, but I've walked, run and wild camped there. Brings back great memories and confirms its place in my list of tours to do. Thanks!

[Canardly]

Ta, enjoyed.

[Pancho]

Thanks for the write up. I really enjoy these tales - and the pics really add to it.

How do you get on with a basket on the bike? I'm toying with adding one to mine if I can get the butterfly bars to accommodate it (I think Klickfix do the appropriate extenders and a range of baskets).

A basket always strikes me as much more usable than a bar bag for actual cycling. Mrs P certainly is always popping things in and pulling things out (jumpers, drinks, cameras, phones, etc) with much less faff than a bar bag. And when she leaves the bike she scoops a handbag out of the basket.

I'm only holding back because my poor wife and children might regard it as an eccentricity too far. But then, with butterfly bars, a trailer, and a poncho I may be a lost cause on that front.

[MagnusOpus]

Thanks for the write up. I really enjoy these tales - and the pics really add to it.

How do you get on with a basket on the bike? I'm toying with adding one to mine if I can get the butterfly bars to accommodate it (I think Klickfix do the appropriate extenders and a range of baskets).

A basket always strikes me as much more usable than a bar bag for actual cycling. Mrs P certainly is always popping things in and pulling things out (jumpers, drinks, cameras, phones, etc) with much less faff than a bar bag. And when she leaves the bike she scoops a handbag out of the basket.

I'm only holding back because my poor wife and children might regard it as an eccentricity too far. But then, with butterfly bars, a trailer, and a poncho I may be a lost cause on that front.

The Basket really worked well, Camera bag strapped into it, bag for life folded under as a raincover/extra luggage space and a whole bunch of clothing etc all tucked around.  As you say it's really convenient for grabbing stuff, though did have a few things bounce out on fast bumpy bits until I'd got it all better organised.

And yep, Rixen Kaul do an extender that should do the trick with butterfly bars (I work for their UK importer  )

https://www.greyville.com/products/1871-kf828-rixen-kaul-distance-adapter?store_referer=true#.V3OXCLgrKUk

[Cudzoziemiec]

Pancho, most bar bags can be easily opened and closed while riding. And they have the advantage of keeping things dry when it rains and not falling out when you go over bumps. I guess you could fettle a waterproof cover for a basket though.

[Pancho]

Pancho, most bar bags can be easily opened and closed while riding. And they have the advantage of keeping things dry when it rains and not falling out when you go over bumps. I guess you could fettle a waterproof cover for a basket though.

Over the years I've had several bar bags - including decent (well, expensive) ones with good mounting systems from the likes of Altura. They're certainly useful but never as faff-free, flexible, or large as Mrs P's basket.

For distance cycling in pottering mode I'd say that *something* up front in the cockpit is essential but I'm not sure the bar bag is it. And off the bike they're really quite awkward boxy things. I prefer (what Mrs P calls) my poacher's bag for off the bike and a basket in which to sling it (along with jumpers, bottles, snacks, hats, etc) when awheel.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Poacher's bag?

I'm sure that a basket is very useful, I'd just feel cautious about rain and spillage. Thinking about it though, I recently zip tied a climber's chalk bag to my "audax etc" bike for snacks, chocolate coated coffee beans being my current favourite energy booster. It's too small for anything else though. I agree about bar bags being bulky and uncomfy to carry round. I try not to unless necessary!

[MagnusOpus]

Day 3 –

As it starts to get light, I glance at my watch, 4am this time of year.  I have a decision to make.  My initial plan was to get up early enough to cover the last bit to Avebury in time to catch the sunrise there.  But I'm so comfy and tired I drift off again, something wakes me a little later and I force my eyes open.  As I look around I'm met with a quite beautiful misty predawn light which snaps me awake and I grab the camera

_1020291 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

As I watch glorious sunlight starts to play on the clouds, enchanting me as I pack up and snap some more pictures

_1020292_1 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

_1020295 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

And then as I glance Eastish, a pinprick of golden orange, and I'm treated to the first rays of sun on a beautiful midsummer morning.

_1020300_1 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

_1020312 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

A little giddy from such a special gift I set off on the final leg of the journey, just a few km to Avebury.  Climbing back onto the ridge I feel pretty good, my saddlesore has gone down a little, still very tender, but the birdsong and early morning light help me filter out any pain.

Soon coming across Barbury Castle, only a short while and I'll be heading towards Avebury, and though I've been to this magical place many times, It will be the first time I've ever done it this way, aproaching as it was intended, and I feel a tinge of excitement at experiencing the theatre of an amazing landscape unfolding.

A kerfuffle with a crow and a lapwing protecting it's eggs in a field to the side, then rutted tracks, this time flanked by flowering elder and wild roses.  Asthe path descends I hit a big traveller's camp lining the way, although I'm tempted to nose around I'm on a mission and pass by.

This is where things start getting strange, I hit the sanctuary, a part of the Avebury complex full of burial mounds.  I'm confronted by a weird looking sheep salt licking from a cleft in the side of one such mound, and can't help smiling at the irony of him gaining sustenance from our ancestors.

_1020350 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

Walking my bike down a steep path, I'm confronted by the River Kennet, this wasn't what I was expecting.  I thought the last bit into Avebury was supposed to be a journey through a ritual landscape, with Silbury hill showing itself off.  Hmmmm, and now I've lost phone signal, so can't load up a map to figure out what has happened.  My bearings have been completely lost, but it can't be too hard to get back on track surely?

Eventually signal is regained and it becomes clear I've made a bit of a mistake, somewhere back away the Ridgeway splits from the track into Avebury, and I'd missed the turning.  I locate the A4 and as time is running away, and I was supposed to be cycling to Bristol to meet the Mrs by lunchtime, I decide I'll have to give up on scenic route in and do it the way I always have previously. 

Stopping off for a while at Silbury, I make a daisy chain for a little ritual I had planned at the stones, take a couple of pictures and take the tourist route into Avebury.

_1020351 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

_1020354 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

At the stones, I try to find my favourite, one I'd photographed some years ago and caught an angelic looking cloud in the pictures

avebury by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

Part of my mission was to get a picture of my companion for the journey, my special poppet Lilly, with that magical stone, but I can't find it anywhere, eventually figuring out that it looks completely different to the picture, the raking sunlight on the picture making it look far more contoured than it really is.  This might be a problem for what I'd intended, but with a bit of fiddling I get what I'd come for. A picture of Lilly with this special stone.

_1020362 by Mike Clampitt, on Flickr

I've been looking forward to the run down the A420 from Tog Hill into Bristol, so head towards Chippenham.  After covering a few miles, and stopping for a drink where I get talking to a guy who has a Hetchins in his garage, I get a call from the wife.  She's leaving Bristol earlier than expected, so we arrange to meet in Calne, then as we are both peckish find a pub for possibly the best Sunday roast I can remember (it'd have been good even if I'd not been cycling hard for a couple of days!), and then a sleepy drive back to the Midlands.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Shame you missed out Tog Hill, it's a nice descent. It's not a bad climb either. I've always found the section of A4 immediately east of Calne the only unpleasant section, in terms of traffic, of the whole A420 and A4 from Bristol to Newbury, so shame also you had to ride that! That sheep does look weird indeed. I wonder if it's been 'mis-shorn' or perhaps it's suffering some bad ovine form of mange?

[MagnusOpus]

Shame you missed out Tog Hill, it's a nice descent. It's not a bad climb either. I've always found the section of A4 immediately east of Calne the only unpleasant section, in terms of traffic, of the whole A420 and A4 from Bristol to Newbury, so shame also you had to ride that! That sheep does look weird indeed. I wonder if it's been 'mis-shorn' or perhaps it's suffering some bad ovine form of mange?

I'd kinda got it into my head that feeding on ancient dead people had turned it into some kind of ovine zombie

[iddu]

I'd kinda got it into my head that feeding on ancient dead people had turned it into some kind of ovine zombie

Good for a larf

[Peter]

Excellent, Mike - thanks!