Cycle Geography

Over the past 5 years, I have cycled the whole length of the Grand Union Canal (GUC) between London and Birmingham in segments, and this is a list of the blogs covering my experience. They are listed South-North from London to Birmingham, although sometimes I rode them North-South. Some are incorporated as part of circular rides. this post: Brentford Lock on the Thames to Bulls Bridge, Southall; also Regents Canal from Limehouse and Paddington Arm from Paddington Basin this post: Bulls Bridge, Southall to Cowley and Uxbridge this post: Cowley through Uxbridge to Kings Langley this post: Kings Langley to Berkhampstead this post: Berkhampstead to Northampton this post: Northampton to Kingswood Junction this post: Kingswood Junction to Birmingham Alternatively, here is a map showing the rides in outline: more detailed maps will be found by clicking each coloured line, which will bring up a link the relevant blog.

Cyclists guide to the Downs Link, Guildford to Shoreham (and on to Brighton)

Summary The Downs Link provides a near-continuous off road cycle route following two disused railway lines (Guildford to Christ's Hospital, and Christ's Hospital to Shoreham), linking (as its name suggests) the North and South Downs, passing through pleasant countryside and emerging through the Shoreham Gap to reach the sea at Shoreham. Officially the Downs Link starts on St Martha's Hill, but, as described in this post , the route from there to Bramley is hilly and either stony or sandy, so most people starting from Guildford will follow either NCN22 or the Wey Navigation towpath to reach the disused railway path near Shalford. Travel: Guildford is on the main line from Waterloo. Having arrived at Shoreham you can either turn round and cycle back, or take the train from Shoreham (to return to Guildford, change at Havant). Alternatively, you can pick up the NCN2 along the coast, for example East to Brighton (trains back to Guildford via Gatwick Airport) or West to Worthin...

Round the Hog's Back Cycle Ride

Today, I joined the annual Round the Hog's Back Cycle Ride organised by Guildford Bike User Group (G-BUG). This is a very pleasant route, essentially following NCN22 outward to the South of the Hog's Back and returning on the Christmas Pie Trail to the North. This route is mainly on back roads and tracks and most of the on-road sections are fairly quiet, especially on this Sunday morning. But there is a very short stretch on the busy B3000 through Compton, and the crossing of the A331/A31 junction requires great care (Guildford Borough Council is proposing a light-controlled crossing here, and it can't come soon enough ( Update 2024: this has now been installed! ) It's about 22 miles long, and today, it took us about 4 hours, including a leisurely coffee break provided for us at the Puttenham Camping Barn (this is not generally open for non-guests, but there are several other convenient coffee and food stops along the way, as mentioned in the description below.)

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