West London to Great Milton, Wallingford and back
Cold but Dry - Last Ride to Qualify for RRtY 5
Thursday 2 March was cold but sunny with a hint of warmth in the sun during the afternoon. It would have been an ideal day for my next 200 km ride but I still had planning and preparation to do. With rain, sleet and possibly snow forecast for the week ahead, I decided to ride on Saturday 4 March. This ride would complete my fifth RRtY since taking on this challenge in August 2020.
Planning, Preparation, Visualisation
200 km - it’s a long way. I’d ridden from West London out to Great Milton and back via Wallingford and Benson the previous week but wanted to tweak the route slightly to correct one tiny mapping error and to reduce the distance while keeping it over 200 km.
I also wanted to make sure that the bike was completely ready. I’d charged the battery for the SRAM rear derailleur before my last ride and the front derailleur battery was showing as charged. I decided to update the firmware at which point I found that the front derailleur battery needed charging too. I’m well aware that some, perhaps many, cyclists will think this is just a faff. Cyclist editor, Pete Muir, asks “who ever came back from a century ride saying, “My legs are fine, but my fingers are exhausted from all those gear changes!” (Cyclist, February 15, 2023). Well, I did more than once when finishing a 200 km ride on a cold day: my left hand ached from the long stretch to activate the front derailleur on a hilly ride. I’m very happy with the easier shifting on my SRAM AXS system and it’s also very reassuring to know that once it’s set up (by the bike shop technicians) it’s unlikely to need any maintenance other than keeping the batteries charged.
Drinks mixed (33Fuel.com), energy bars (33Fuel.com again) and small sandwiches prepared and in the fridge overnight, I registered my ride with Paul Stewart on the Friday evening before the ride. All that remained was a quick check of tyre pressures; riding tubeless, I inflate to max 62 psi rear, 59 front.
Once on the ride on Saturday morning, I set off knowing that the Garmin Edge recognised 10 climbs but being able to visualise quite a number of these including the only two steep climbs. Knowing what is coming gives me confidence.
West London to Marlow
The weather forecast was for a dry day; the reality was drizzle. It had been cold the night before with some frost on rooftops and cars; the road surfaces were damp. Therefore, I took the descent of Quarry Wood Road into Marlow fairly cautiously. Marlow (at 48 km) has a number of cafes but I pressed on with the drizzle clearing to the forecast dry day.
Marlow to Watlington
Too early for a stop, I continued, taking a right turn off West Street by Platts of Marlow car dealers into Oxford Road to begin the long but gentle climb to Fingest. This was climb #3.
The route passes Finnamore Wood which was a Young Offenders Institution from its opening in 1961 to closure in 1996. It served as an open prison for young offenders (18- to 21-year-old males) serving their last 2–3 months before release. The camp was opened as a satellite camp for Feltham Borstal and later used as an annexe to HM Prison Huntercombe near Nuffield. Demolition began in January 2023 in preparation for building five substantial houses, no doubt with substantial prices.
Two Spitfires (photo taken in October 22)
A little further on at Moor End, the route passes two yellow Triumph Spitfire cars parked on the verge on the right hand side. They’ve been there for what seems a long time, waiting for restoration or rot - who knows?
Holloway Lane gets steep here!
The route continues over the B road from Lane End to Frieth and down to a left turn to Fingest. Past the Chequers Inn and the church (with memories of an outstanding tea with cakes one weekend long ago), it’s a right turn through Turville village past the Bull and Butcher pub and the church on the left, with views of the windmill to the right. The route continues along Holloway Lane with its cover of trees on both sides. With little traffic, Holloway Lane starts as an idyllic gentle country lane but soon becomes steep. This is climb #4, displayed on the Garmin Edge as 2.1 km with an average gradient of 5% and a total ascent of 117m. The reality is somewhat different. As the road becomes narrower and populated with potholes and stones, it rears up to a maximum of 16% although not for long. This is where I really hope not to meet a vehicle coming down the hill as I would have to stop and would only restart again with some difficulty!
Garmin declares the climb as complete at about 220m elevation but the road continues to climb to Christmas Common at about 240m. Continuing along in the direction of Stokenchurch and Chinnor for a short distance, it’s a left turn into Hill Road to descend to Watlington. The Garmin RTL 515 rear light and radar picked up three cyclists descending past me at speed as I stopped to take a photo of the view on this grey day.
Descending Hill Road into Watlington
The Spire and Spoke which I remember as the Carriers Arms, a fairly unremarkable pub, has been reinvented as a cafe and bar with a particular emphasis on serving cyclists. This is a good place for a stop at 67 km, a third of the 200 km ride.
House near St Mary’s Church, Pyrton
Watlington to Clifton Hampden
For me, this was the most beautiful part of the ride. Leaving Watlington on the B4009 towards Chinnor, the route passes a new development of housing for the over 55s and then turns left towards Pyrton.
The road bears right by St Mary’s Church, becoming Knightsbridge Lane.
I stopped a little further on at Pyrton Village Hall which has a bench outside by the road: good place to eat a sandwich, “real food” to complement the energy bars and energy drinks.
Knightsbridge Lane climbs for about 2 km, at first gently but with a bit of kick as it approaches a left turn by Clare Hill. Straight ahead is Stoney Lane which becomes a bridleway and appeals for a day when I want a shorter ride.
The road drops, at first gently and then more steeply towards the turn for Easington village (which is off the route). I love bare sculptural trees like this one photographed just before the road starts to descend more steeply to a view across fields.
Click each photo to open a larger view
From here the road drops towards Cutt Mill and the B480 to Chalgrove. Cutt Mill, now a large home, is described as follows:
Cutt Mill (photo Jan 23)
“Cuxham’s 2 surviving former Mills occupy the sites of Medieval predecessors, but their fabric dates primarily from the 18th & 19thCs. Cutt Mill, in the North of the Parish, is a 3-Storey 18th & early 19thC Mill with attached domestic accommodation and white-painted, weather-boarded ancillary buildings. The Mill machinery was in remarkably complete condition until the early 1980s when the interior was remodelled.”
After less than 2 km along the B480, the route passes a new housing development and turns left through Chalgrove. Houses on the right have a stream between them and the road, as shown in this photo of a thatched house just past Brinkfield Road.
Thatched house with stream between it and the road
The route continues through Chalgrove, passing a housing development in construction on the right and fields that have been cleared for more building work on the left (as at March 2023). Soon rejoining the B480, the route continues for less than 1 km before the right turn into Rofford Lane. Google Street View from May 2022 shows the tyres and rusting trailer guarding a gate into Ditchend Farm that were still in evidence as I rode past and turned right towards Little Haseley and Great Haseley.
Great Haseley and the next village, Great Milton, have some very picturesque housing. They are also locations for expensive fine dining, not the sort of places for a stop on a bike ride. The first is La table d'Alix at The Plough in Great Haseley, which is very expensive (at least by my standards) and then Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons with its cooking and gardening schools and its double Michelin starred restaurant.
Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons at Great Milton
I rode on, turning left and ascending climb #6 to Cuddesdon where I stopped in the church grounds for another sandwich to supplement the energy bars. The route continued downhill, along Denton Hill to a left turn for a short climb (#7) along Denton Lane, eventually meeting the B480 again. From this junction it was just over 1 km to a right turn in Chislehampton on to the B4015 Clifton Hampden Road. At about 100 km into this 200 km ride, the route crosses the busy A4074 Oxford to Reading road at a roundabout, just past which is Notcutts Garden Centre with a cafe.
The route continues into Clifton Hampden where it’s right and immediately left at traffic lights over the A415.
Clifton Hampden to Stoke Row
Crossing the Thames over a narrow bridge, the route continues towards Long Wittenham for a left turn towards Little Wittenham. The grassy fields on the right are “doggy heaven” with many dog walkers in evidence. Soon after passing the entrance to the Earth Trust, the road rises to pass Wittenham Clumps and Castle Hill; the car park on the left was full with cars parked on the verge as their occupants put on their walking boots. Descending, the route turns left to cross the A4130 on a clearly marked cycleway (part of NCN5) to enter the village of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.
Thatched house in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell
This is a small, beautiful village on the outskirts of Wallingford. I passed many old houses, including Dobsons which had an EU flag flying: we can all dream.
Leaving the village, the route rejoins the A4130 for a short distance before taking the first exit from a roundabout to enter Wallingford. There’s the possibility of being delayed at the cross roads in the centre and again at the bridge but on this occasion luck was on my side and I rode through the centre and over the bridge without any waiting at lights.
No.25 Cafe, Benson with Sheffield cycle stands
The area beyond the bridge is Crowmarsh Gifford, where the route turns left at a roundabout on to Benson Lane. This joins a cyclepath alongside the busy A4074 before a left turn through the village of Preston Crowmarsh. The route crosses the A road into Benson. On rides near Ewelme I had seen signs for No.25, a cafe in Benson; I decided that I would find it either for coffee on this ride or for a future ride. As I turned right into High Street shortly after the Benson war memorial, I was pleased to see No.25 in a parade of shops on the left, with Sheffield cycle stands outside the neighbouring pharmacy. Great to find a coffee shop with secure bike parking.
The route continues into Ewelme with its many picturesque houses and cottages, many (if not most) of which are not insulated sufficiently well for our present energy issues. I had watched work to add a blanket of insulation and wood cladding to one of these cottages; with work now complete, I stopped to take a photo which shows the wooden exterior and a heat pump. Gone is the attractive brickwork but also much of the heat loss.
Yew Tree Cottage, Ewelme, after energy conservation works
The route passes one of my favourite cafes, the Ewelme Village Store, to continue to a right turn for climb #9, a short ascent along Days Lane. The road here was closed, but accessible by cycle; there appeared to be works to the verge and steep banks.
The route continues south, crossing Beggarsbush Hill and the A4130 before meeting Cox’s Lane for a left turn; at this point the Garmin Edge displayed an alert to the last climb, shown as 3.6 km at 3%. The reality was a rolling route with great views on both sides for about 1.5 km to Ipsden and then a short, sharp climb to a left turn into Garson’s Lane, still signposted as NCN 5. Garson’s Lane is narrow, with potholes and stones as it climbs: definitely not a good route for cars. Just as I turned into the lane I met a grey Porsche Carrera reversing towards me because there was simply not enough space for it and the two cars coming towards me. The Porsche driver wisely stopped while I rode carefully past. Soon I heard the roar from its exhaust and pulled over to let it pass; the driver waved his thanks energetically as he accelerated towards the climb: perhaps we were both out to enjoy ourselves in different ways!
At a slight bend to the right which I have started to recognise, Garson’s Lane starts to climb; it’s very steep for about 400-500m. The gradient at about 15% feels even steeper as cyclists have to negotiate potholes and stones while contending with the climb.
The route soon flattens out, continuing on NCN5 to Stoke Row. Just pass the Maharajah’s Well is the Stoke Row Store and Coffee Shop, highly recommended for its food and drink and for its cycle parking. It’s worth noting that the Store is not open on Sundays; I have been disappointed on other rides!
Stoke Row to West London
The next part of the route begins with the right turn in Stoke Row on to Busgrove Lane, one of my favourite stretches of road as it is largely downhill through countryside with little traffic.
I’m not going to describe the route back to London; I’ve described this in other posts with variations depending on roadworks. From shorter rides I’d done shortly before this, I knew that Forest Road was closed for repairs and I also knew that “closed means closed” - even for bikes. My route is shown on the map below.
The Route with gpx and fit files
Route map for West Ealing Great Milton Return on plotaroute.com
Refreshment Stops
Spoke and Spire, foot of Hill Road, Watlington at about 67 km
Notcutts Garden Centre near Clifton Hampden at about 100 km
No.25 Cafe, Benson at 118 km
Ewelme Village Store at 121 km
Stoke Row Store and Kitchen at 133 km
