Recce number two, this time with Mrs Miggins, she having returned from two weeks of 'Mum Caring'.
We had considered gate crashing Barakta's ride, but Mrs M was fed up with car travel and there and back + the ride itself would have been too far in one day, she having been off the bike for nearly a month.
We rode from Ketton to the SE end or the resevoir to follow an anti-clockwise route. After a quick tea stop at Whitwell, we followed the cycle trail through Barnsdale wood and past Barnsdale Hotel before the path joins a newly resurfaced cycle track alongside the A606. After just over a mile, the path does a sharp left, to join the road towards Hambleton and on to the peninsular. As the road starts to climb, the path goes left to drop down to the north shore and pretty much follows the shoreline all the way round. We rode to the westernmost tip where there is a handy bench for lunch and coffee stop. We sat in the sunshine and were entertained by a display of poor sail trimming on a keel boat and much heated discussion between the crew.
Backtracking to the main route, we followed the south shore past the old Hambleton Hall, to rejoin the road towards Egleton.
It's pretty much all offroad from here to Manton, with a short section alongside the A6003 before rejoining the new section of path to avoid the railway bridge.
At Manton, we took the road up to Wing to check out the campsite. This is the only sustained climb on the route, but it is only about a mile. Mrs Miggins has now officially passed the site as suitable! There is a pub in the village, about a halfmile stroll from the site. I will make enquiries as to their catering capabilities in the near future.
There are a couple of options for the route from Wing back to the resevoir, we took the comedy offroad option along the bridle path. This is fairly steep, and may cause some traction issues for trikes, but there is a road alternative that meets at the same point.
We rejoined the shore at Lyndon Top farm and the path then follows the shore. There are a few minor lumpy bits and one short sharp climb which is a bit rough and may cause traction issues when wet.
Tea at Edith Weston, then a final mile back to the start!
All in all, a great day.
Assuming that we start the April ride from the campsite and ride clockwise, what do the panel think about a slightly past midway BBQ at Whitwell?
