About 25 miles with Rebecca NOTP, from Wickford Station, around Hanningfield Reservoir. The tea room at the Fishing Lodge on the way out, lunch at the White Hart, Margaretting Tye, which I thought was pricier and with a far smaller choice than the last time I was there. I reckon it may have changed hands, which is a shame. It used to be one of my favourite pubs, but the bar staff no longer go out the back to the tap room to fill a glass from a barrel lying on its side. We had a second tea room at the Essex Wildlife Trust establishment, also at Hanningfield Reservoir, on the way back.
The weather couldn't have been better - unbroken sunshine- but on the cool side. I kept my thinsulate gloves on all day although the Tilley Hat got an airing. We included a bit of COR not far from the Great Baddow Marconi Tower which I hadn't intended to use, but pointed it out to Rebecca with the comment "I decided not to use that as I thought it would be too muddy."
"It doesn't look too bad. Shall we give it a try?"
As I pointed out to her as we were cleaning all the gloop off our bikes afterwards, that was a cunning ruse to make it All Her Fault.
We saw a couple of kestrels, a lot of ducks, geese, gulls & cormorants, an assortment of tits on the bird feeders, and I heard quite a few goldcrests as we were riding along.
Brilliant day.