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On 14 Sep I went to Sibford Ferris in Oxfordshire, where I picked up NCR5 and rode to just north of Woodstock. This route, as I remembered from the last time I was in these parts, is quite hilly and passes through some rather pretty countryside. Mostly it is on country lanes with a few traffic-free sections. The route by-passes Banbury where I saw this interesting white windmill (pic 1). I returned from Woodstock by Chipping Norton (pic 2 is of the Bliss Tweed Mill), the Rollright Stones (pic 3) and Hook Norton, where I sampled some of the beers at the Pear Tree Inn (pic 4), which are brewed at he local microbrewery down the road.
I stayed on this occasion at Stow-on-the-Wold YHA and spent the evening at the Queen’s Head supping a few pints with another similarly-aged cyclist who was riding from Market Harborough to North Devon over four days. This was the first time I had stayed at this hostel since 1969 and I believe I slept in the same dormitory as on that occasion, but this time the warden didn’t have to repeatedly wake me in the morning because I had drunk too much cider the night before!
The next day I rode from King’s Norton (guillotine lock gates – pic 5) , just south of Birmingham, to Stratford on Avon via Bromsgrove and Redditch. For me, this was the best cycling I’ve done so far this month, even with some indifferent signing in places. The route out of Birmingham on the Rea Valley Trail (Heron – pic 6) and the Arrow Valley Park trail south of Redditch together contained relatively long traffic-free tracts. After Bromsgrove, the route crosses the Worces and Staffs Canal somewhere along the famous Tardebigge Flight (pic 7), probably the longest flight of locks on the canal system. The lanes of Warwickshire were quiet and included, near Coughton, a footbridge over the River Arrow next to a ford (pic 8). The road was flooded and therefore impassable, but not for bikes which can use the footbridge. The route passes by Mary Arden’s house (pic 9) and entry to Stratford is on the canal towpath. Wonderful! I took a train back to Birmingham.
I stayed on this occasion at Stow-on-the-Wold YHA and spent the evening at the Queen’s Head supping a few pints with another similarly-aged cyclist who was riding from Market Harborough to North Devon over four days. This was the first time I had stayed at this hostel since 1969 and I believe I slept in the same dormitory as on that occasion, but this time the warden didn’t have to repeatedly wake me in the morning because I had drunk too much cider the night before!
The next day I rode from King’s Norton (guillotine lock gates – pic 5) , just south of Birmingham, to Stratford on Avon via Bromsgrove and Redditch. For me, this was the best cycling I’ve done so far this month, even with some indifferent signing in places. The route out of Birmingham on the Rea Valley Trail (Heron – pic 6) and the Arrow Valley Park trail south of Redditch together contained relatively long traffic-free tracts. After Bromsgrove, the route crosses the Worces and Staffs Canal somewhere along the famous Tardebigge Flight (pic 7), probably the longest flight of locks on the canal system. The lanes of Warwickshire were quiet and included, near Coughton, a footbridge over the River Arrow next to a ford (pic 8). The road was flooded and therefore impassable, but not for bikes which can use the footbridge. The route passes by Mary Arden’s house (pic 9) and entry to Stratford is on the canal towpath. Wonderful! I took a train back to Birmingham.
To be continued ...
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