Langley Windsor Great Park Hurst Langley 73 km

An easy ride with little climbing

When I collected my bike from Alex, the Ealing Bike Mechanic, he mentioned the “Brace of Bramleys” 200 km Audax event from Surbiton and said that perhaps we would see each other on this ride. Sadly not, as I have another commitment for that day. But the prospect of this ride prompted me to replan it from closer to home in West London. My route would take me through Windsor Great Park, Wokingham and out to Sindlesham, south of Reading, before going on to Whitchurch in Hampshire. For me, it is a great confidence booster to know at least part of the route. As I have never been to Wokingham, I decided to try out the first part of my route, taking the Elizabeth Line to Langley to cut out the all too familiar first few km from West London.

Starting from Langley Station

All Reading and Maidenhead services stop at Langley, providing a service every 15 minutes. As with all stations on the Elizabeth Line there are lifts. The toilets (just outside the gate line) are spacious enough to wheel a bike in. I found the staff really friendly and helpful.

Leaving the car park, I turned left and rode through Langley town centre to cross the A4 into Riding Court Road and on to Datchet. Here it’s a left turn along Southlea Road with the Thames on the right. The route crosses the river on the Albert Bridge before reaching a roundabout which was, thankfully, not busy on the Thursday of my trip. The route skirts Old Windsor before a right turn into Crimp Hill. At about 10 km into the ride, the road starts to climb maxing out at about 11% for a very short distance.

Through Windsor Great Park

The route enters the Park through Bishop’s Gate; the heavy white park gates always remind me of railway level crossings from my youth. Shortly, the route turns left; the photo below is taken after the turn, looking back.

Follow sign towards Royal School (looking back towards Bishop’s Gate)

The first km or so is flat and traffic free, ideal for parents with young children learning to ride. It then becomes more rolling but never steep. The route remains almost traffic free.

Inside Windsor Great Park, almost traffic free

Leaving the Park, the route turns right (north) along the B383 Suninghill Road. Although it was a weekday, there was little traffic. However, the road does undulate and I found my Garmin Varia RTL515 rear light and radar reassuring in that it gives traffic warning of me as a cyclist and alerts me to traffic behind me.

On to and around Wokingham

The left turn off the B383 into Lovel Lane has a “no cars and no motorbikes” sign. After a short distance it crosses the busy A322 road, with “Keep Left” signs on a small central refuge providing a safe means of crossing for cyclists and pedestrians.

The route soon joins Forest Road for about 10 km before a left turn into Warren House Road to turn right at a roundabout and skirt Cantley Recreation Ground and Park on the outskirts of Wokingham. There is then a right turn into Jubilee Avenue followed by an almost immediately left turn (easy to miss) into Holt Lane. The route turns left on to the A329 Reading Road. My initial plan took me to Wokingham centre but I found that I could take a right turn at traffic lights into Station Approach; although this is signed as “station only” for vehicles, there is a cycleway on the pavement past the station, leading to a right turn at traffic lights to pass under a railway bridge along Barkham Road. This avoids the town centre completely although of course there is the option of continuing past the traffic lights for Station Approach into the centre, then right on to Station Road to pass under the railway bridge into Barkham Road.

Sindlesham, Winnersh, Dinton Pastures

It’s an easy and largely flat ride along Barkham Road, turning right into Bearwood Road for about 3 km before a right turn at Sindlesham to cross the A329 Reading Road at traffic lights in Winnersh. From there it’s only just over 1 km to the turn into Dinton Pastures Country Park for a coffee and cake stop at the Coffee House with its ethically sourced coffee branded Ground Control.

There’s a large covered area with two Sheffield bike stands next to it; I locked my bike with the heavy Sold Secure bike lock I had been carting around before venturing into the cafe. Personally I like strong coffee and always ask for an Americano with a reduced amount of water. There’s a small selection of very good cakes. The staff make the coffee and place orders on a side counter which also has water for topping up water bottles.

And so to Return to Langley

Leaving Dinton Country Park, it’s a right turn onto the main road and an immediate left to turn left by the Wheelwright’s Arms.

Turn left by the Wheelwright’s Arms

At this point Little Hill Road is a very quiet country lane but only a few metres from the A329(M) on the right.

Route Planning Software - Check Carefully!

It’s a fairly quiet route reaching woodland alongside Broadcommon Lane. The route then turns left and shortly right along “The Straight Mile”. Having ridden this many times I allowed my planning software to plot the route back to Shurlock Row and did not give it a second glance. Big mistake! As I rode towards Shurlock Row my Garmin alerted me to a left turn shortly ahead: but, my memory told me, there is no left turn. The software had found Wicks Lane which is a narrow bridleway, too rough for a road bike and quite overgrown. I just rode on, no problem on this ride. However, it would have been more than unfortunate if I had been on a DIY Audax ride with the mandatory option where riders have to stick to the planned route. Check carefully - the purpose of this ride was to check the route and the irony is that I made an error on one of the easiest and most familiar sections.

It’s a fairly quiet route to Shurlock Row with its pond and two benches, one of which is the Lutyens design that I always admire. This is a pleasant place to stop and it’s where I met George who told me of the advice he received after diagnosis of a minor stroke: “Keep Cycling!”

Benches and pond at Shurlock Row

Traffic along Drift Road can be quite fast but sight lines are good and cyclists are a common sight on this part of the route; at weekends it is used by groups from cycling clubs practising fast chain gang riding and by lone TT specialists. It’s only about 5 km to a left turn into Fifield Lane for a fast downhill ride to turn right along the B3024 Forest Green Road to Oakley Green where it’s a right turn by the pub into Windsor.

Back in Windsor, there’s a large roundabout on the A308. Personally, I have no problem crossing this but I am posting an alternative route for those who wish to avoid it.

My usual route after this roundabout takes me left into Alma Road, then right into Arthur Road for left turn at the roundabout near a large multistorey car park before reaching Goswell Road and Thames Street. It’s then a straightforward ride past Windsor and Eton Riverside Station, into Datchet and back along Riding Court Road to cross the A4 into Langley.

The Route Map

Route map for Langley Windsor Gt Park Wokingham Dinton Langley on plotaroute.com

Alternative Route through Windsor

Route map for Windsor Alternative by Clifford French on plotaroute.com